Lean on Me

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
~Bill Withers~


Another true story? REALLY? This Joe Clark fellow must be the drill sergeant of miracle workers if ever there was one.

The students in the movie were more interested in making drug sells and fashion statements than their studies. In the first five minutes of the movie we see a girl's clothes ripped off in plain sight of everyone and a teacher's head bashed in by a student. That is NOT the dream school I had in mind.

Then Mr.Clark came into the picture. Returned to school as principal and maintain control of the students and the staff members. He comes in full-blazing to try and change the school. He focuses on raising the achievement tests score of the students. He turned a rough high school into a nice, clean place of learning. Story perfect. I wonder if there is any educator in our education system that can do that, force that needed change in our schools.

His methods to clean up the school are not exactly orthodox. First he cleaned up the school by getting rid of the drug dealers and those who didn't care about learning. Lectured the faculty staff by telling them the reason why the students are failing is because they fail to see if they are learning. It made me wonder, if our principles are like Mr.Clark, our teacher would be more serious into educating students and not just teaching them stuff. Mr.Clark’s demands were extreme, but that is what he needed to enforce to get to the point that he was asked to. If our principles are that extreme, our schools would be a real centre for educating future leaders of the world.

Mr.Clark shows tough love to students who plan to stay there and further their education. Being that the school is placed in one of the worst neighbourhoods in North Jersey, Mr.Clark's goal was to keep the students and the staff members focus on passing the basic skills test. Although he's demands were extreme and interfered with the law, he still accomplished what he wanted. That is to make the students feel good about themselves by having self-respect, a sense of morality, and continue their education so they can have a future with various opportunities.

Mr.Clark spends most of the movie yelling at people. Most scenes feature him either berating students or teachers. The character of Clark is not a man without fault. He is portrayed as a strong and energetic individual who sometimes hurts the feelings of others due to his lack of finesse when dealing with other adults.

I particularly enjoyed one sequence that has Mr.Clark screaming at a kid to jump off the roof of the high school, because if he keeps on doing drugs, he will be dead soon anyway and at least this way is quick and painless. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

This movie is worth watching if you are interested in teacher-flick. I cannot say this movie was good, but I enjoyed it. Though it was jam packed with issues scene after scene, it came to a point where one can literally guess what will happen next and made the story bland. Nevertheless, this movie has its own twist of moral issues educators must face in schools and the message reaches out to all. Mr.Clark for one inspired me. It is ok to be strict and stern with your student, as long as you know how to reach out to and for them.