Story Of High School Principal Joe Clark example essay topic

"Lean on Me" tells the story of Joe Clark, a tough disciplinarian hired to run the worst school in Paterson, New Jersey. To make sure his students would pass a basic proficiency exam, Clark resorted to what some felt were questionable methods, including wandering the halls threateningly with a baseball bat, to restore order to his school. The film chronicles these extreme tactics, but it also shows Clark's success, which resulted in the school remaining under the town's jurisdiction rather than being placed under the state's control. There's much to learn hear about leadership, management, and discipline. All of which seem to be in short supply in many of our public schools. But that may be more of a result of lethargic school boards rather than faculty.

Morgan Freeman is transformed into Joe Clark, the brash, hard nosed, take no prisoners principal of the all too real East Side High. His principles are straight forward. 1) Discipline. No cigarettes, weapons, mouthing off, grafitti, drugs, tardiness.

2) Personal responsibility for both teacher and student alike 3) Pride in yourself, your race, your community, and your institution. 4) Hard work. And perhaps most importantly 5) the value of an education to affect your opportunities in life. Joe Clark listens, encourages, chastises, and directs students and faculty.

And perhaps most importantly he is accessible. Walking the hallways, attending classes. Although his measures may have been at times extreme and not in keeping with popular sentiment you could not argue with his results. Clark's expulsion of the most delinquent students was a pretty intresting scene, and was something of a surprise when I first saw it.

Anyone who'd attempt that nowadays would probably get sued penniless. And the rooftop scene where he tells expelled crackhead student Thomas Sams to just jump off the roof of the school and kill himself swiftly rather than slowly by smoking crack is one that shows "tough love". And as the school improves, Clark does as well. In the movie you see him learning and adapting alongside the students & faculty. Even with his best efforts, he discovers that can't turn things around by himself. At first, his gruff behavior and strongarm approaches to solving problems makes most of the teachers reluctant to help him out.

But they learn to adapt to Clark, and he learns to soften his methods a bit, and even gains a sense of humor. Lean on Me is the rousing, fact based story of high school principal Joe Clark, who armed himself with a bullhorn and a Lousiville Slugger and slammed the door on losers at Eastside High in Paterson. New Jersey. Brought in as last hope to save the school, he chained the doors shut to keep troublemakers out and strivers in.

Parents fought him. Teachers fought him. But lots of kids loved him. Clark turned Eastside around, becoming a national symbol of tough love education and appearing on the cover of Time". If you students don't succeed in life", says Clark, "I want you to blame yourselves".

His message is simple: Don't lean on excuses. Don't lean on drugs, crime or anger.