To say educator Ron Clark is inspiring is like saying Oprah Winfrey is famous - a huge understatement.

Clark, a former Disney national teacher of the year, best-selling author and Oprah favorite, brought his passionate message to the LaGrange-Troup Chamber of Commerce banquet Tuesday. True to form, Clark hopped on a table and told the packed house that the way to promote learning and improve test scores is to set high expectations, then allow teachers to be creative and innovative in firing up students to reach them.

Clark’s success has been astonishing. The chamber audience, including dozens of educators, was tuned in and turned on by what he had to say. His challenge to “dream big for the students of Troup County” is exactly what we need to do.

But short of cloning Clark, what are the logical - and possible - next steps?

The obvious answer is to try his best techniques and adapt his strategies in ways that suit local classrooms and situations.

Actually, the first steps are already being taken. A five-year Callaway Foundation grant will send 120 Troup teachers a year to train at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. The first 120 have already made the first visits and came back fired up, their own passion for teaching renewed or revved up. That’s a good start.

The Callaway Foundation has, once again, stepped up to plate to give local schools an opportunity that otherwise wouldn’t be available. And Troup County Schools have given their blessing to exposing their teachers to “Clark-itis.”

We commend both groups for “dreaming big” on this.

And we commend the chamber, for putting education front and center at its annual meeting - and at the heart of its program of work. Chamber leaders understand that good schools are essential to good business. It won’t matter how many jobs are created or available here if the workforce isn’t ready for them. The workers of the future are sitting in classrooms today.

Like Oprah, we think Ron Clark is onto something. He gets that effective teachers are the key to good schools and that effective teaching requires caring about and connecting with students. He gets that rules are necessary - and believes that students must be taught to behave respectfully and courteously, must understand how to present themselves to others if they are to achieve success.

But he also gets that having fun enhances learning and exuberant laughter is not a bad thing in the classroom. A little play is not just OK, it’s desirable, because it helps students “super focus” on learning.

Not every teacher can jump on a table and do a rap song that teaches about American presidents or composite numbers.

But every teacher with a passion for the job can be creative and innovative in some way that will connect with students.

Those are the teachers we should encourage and support.

Students aren’t the only ones who need to “super focus.”

Educational and community leaders - all of us, really - need to super focus on helping our students by supporting their teachers.