Lean on Me

Let's talk American classic movies for a minute. The movie "Lean on Me," the turn-around tale of Eastside High School in New Jersey and their principal Joe Clark. Prior to Joe's arrival as principal, the school was a "cauldron of violence," the likes of which I had previously not seen in a school (I was young and this was 1987). Selling guns and drugs, ripping off a woman's clothes in the bathroom, students flirting with teachers, students beating a teacher's head into the floor, all to the tune of the Guns and Roses classic "Welcome to the Jungle." Then, Joe Clark comes in and sternly (and often times comically) gets the students focused on academics and school, while fighting against a political mayor, a racist fire chief, and the head of an angry legion to get him ousted (played by Lynne Thigpen, R.I.P.). You see, because of the low academic scores on a standardized test (the Minimum Basic Skills Test), Eastside High is on the verge of a state takeover. The mayor doesn't want that, because he's going up for re-election soon, but he doesn't want Clark to make waves with his radical views of discipline. Classic supporting roles by characters like Thomas Sams, Kid Ray, and Clarence whatever-his-last-name-is also helps to make the movie enjoyable. Of course, at the end of the movie, they achieve their goal and avoid a takeover by the state.

Something I just thought about is this. Lynne Thigpen (Winona Barrett) seemed to be upset at a PTA meeting that was had the night of Clark's first day, when he expelled all the rabble-rousers. It is never clear whether one of her own children was one of the children expelled, but when Clark suggested they "get their families off welfare", she was like the Rosa Parks of the "get this nut out of the school" campaign. My thought is this: if one of your children was expelled, DEAL WITH YOUR CHILD!!! All the time she dedicated to getting Clark fired, she could've been looking for a job to better her OWN situation. If not one of your children, then HELP ONE OF THEM!! As you could see, he expelled 300+ students. You mean to tell me you had all day to dig up dirt on Clark, but couldn't help a child on the verge of killing himself being a crack addict?She was there EVERYTIME somebody was in opposition to him. Every fire chief cameo, every mayor's meeting, at the School Board hearing, everywhere but at work. You loudmouth wench, you ever think the problem might be YOU?! Always gotta be an instigator somewhere, and it's a shame.

There was a Mrs. Barrett in New Orleans. Her name was Sandra Hester. I had the pleasure of reading an award-winning essay I wrote before the school board, and I got to witness this woman's intrusive and immature behavior before the New Orleans Public School Board. Of course, it was like dumping cow manure on pig shit, because both parties ended up being crooked, but you should have seen the yelling and carrying on. Security threatened to take the woman out of the meeting. After that, every meeting I saw on TV had her shouting about something. She EVEN went to the lengths of getting her own cable access show to rag on the School Board. She would come in with cartoons, costumes, songs, the whole nine. And when they were found out and the entire SB was going to get fired, she was playing Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" the whole time. I even think her daughter (who was in NOPS) made a cameo that night. Yet, when a caller called in and said that maybe SHE should run for School Board and make some change, she turned it down. I'm like "GET YOUR FINGER POINTING ASS UP THERE AND DO SOMETHING!!" It's easy to point fingers and blame to look like a crusader for justice. However, when you refuse to try to get to a point of power where YOU can make reforms and suffer the consequences for your decisions, you wanna back out. World don't work like that. Step up or shut up. Probably don't even know your school song!! To people like that, I say this to you:

"You are all expurgated. You are dismissed. You are out of here forever. I wish you well..."

-B

P.S. Morgan Freeman is the man!!