LEAN ON ME

LEAN ON ME 

LEAN ON ME - 8.0/10

Very good movie. Had a strong captivating beginning, that immediately hooked me. I question whether the violence and the terror of the school was realistic though. Maybe it was, but I will gander for now it was exaggerated. As an educator myself (I educate for Iowa One Call and I plan on substitute teaching again in the near future) I can empathize with all of the struggles and difficulties that a teacher must go through. I understand the decision that Mr. Clark (Morgan Freeman) made in permanently expelling all of the kids he felt were completely incorrigible. I understand that he wanted to create a better environment for the kids that wanted to learn. Yet I also understand that those kids don't disappear. What was the school's problem, now becomes the streets. It's not an easy solution. Answers don't come easy. It's why I'm supportive of alternative schools.

Some of the ideas of Mr. Clark seemed a bit conservative, but I respected them because they are old school conservative. Unlike today when conservatives say, "Work hard, succeed" he said it and he did everything in his power to make sure that opportunities existed for those kids to not only work hard, but be able to see their hard work pay off with opportunities for success.

I also like how Mr. Clark refused to be a hypocrite, and took responsibility for his own actions. The way Dr. Napier said to him,"If you're so big on discipline, then start by accepting mine" and he obeyed. The way he took responsibility for his own actions.

He cared about he kids, and he cared about his staff. It was a tough love, take no bullshit but he cared. The way he encouraged school spirit by the demand of the school song and the way he brought everyone black, white and Hispanic together. It was really inspiring. My favorite scene in the movie is when he tells the choir teacher, "Congratulations you just rewrote the school song!"

Love the quote, "Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm" It reminds me of Mr. Fred Gilliland my high school psychology/sociology/economics/government teacher. He ran a tight ship. He tolerated no bullshit, but he also loved all of his students. He cared about you tremendously. My senior year was my favorite year of high school and one of the many reasons was because I took so many classes with him. You wanted to be in his room. You wanted to learn. You wanted to be around the man. I think that's what Mr. Clark was like.

Also thought the sign on the girl's bathroom door was a pretty powerful message. "Miss the wrong period, and you'll be seeing someone else besides the Principle." Politically incorrect, but it makes you think.

This is most certainly a romanticized story of a real life event. So if your looking for a documentary on the actualization of what happened, don't watch this film.

However, if you're looking for an inspiring, motivation film, then I recommend checking this out.

Final thought

This is the first and only time I've ever seen Lynne Thigpen in anything other than "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego."