For those teachers out there (and Erica)

[Dr. Dan]

One of my favorite movies was Lean on Me..and it was a story about "mean" Joe Clark, the highschool principle with the baseball bat whipping incompetent white and black students into shape (as well as  the teachers and parents)... To me, if the movie was accurately portraying him, one of my favorite personalities of all time.  What is everyone's opinions of him?

[ape]

didn't see the film.....but if you even mention a bat today in a school, you'll be removed faster then a criminal

[ape]

that's the only way to treat some of these gibbons.

[Erica]

One of my favorite movies was Lean on Me..and it was a story about "mean" Joe Clark, the highschool principle with the baseball bat whipping incompetent white and black students into shape (as well as  the teachers and parents)... To me, if the movie was accurately portraying him, one of my favorite personalities of all time.  What is everyone's opinions of him?

I think he is a great example of never giving up on students' potential and their ability to succeed academically. The bat thing was a little excessive but I must admit that it got the majority of students at his school to wake up and pay attention to what's going on in the world around them.

He offered tough love to those who had no love for themselves nor their futures. So I can't fault him for much. I just hope that when I become a teacher that I'm working under someone who has his same qualities but also allows teachers the freedom of teaching students in the way the students learn best.

[Erica]

David Ben Moshe once told a story about how his math teacher kicked Willy Jones down a flight of steps for misbehaving.

I think that's excessive. There is a difference between carring a bat as a prop used to motivate and kicking someone down the stairs, possibly killing them because they misbehave. I don't see how that helped the victim even if he was acting up prior to the fall down the stairs.

[Erica]

that's the only way to treat some of these gibbons.

Do you remember the movie, Trading Places, with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy? The premise of the movie was that a social experiement was bet on by two stock market tycoons; that if you take a white prominent member of society who had no prior criminal record, and was very successful and suddenly put him into a situation and made his life mirror that of a homeless criminal that he'd fall apart and be lost in the system. While on the other side, taking a poor black person who had a history of coming from a broken home, serving time in jail, no father figure that he'd fair as well as  the rich white guy if put into that situation.

My point is that a lot of times Americans don't have a lot of faith in the education of black kids, or wayward kids. They think that if offered the chance that the kids would not participate in a learning program  because of how they were brought up. That's not true at all. I think the first mistake we make as Americans is just writing off those who are poor, homeless, black, fatherless, and born out of wedlock. If you come to them the correct way with a promise that if they work hard that anything is possible, then give them the proper steps to follow (without having to depend on Affirmative Action) they can become prominent members of society of ANY color. Crazy Joe is a good example of what can happen with the proper motivation.

[Dr. Dan]

that's the only way to treat some of these gibbons.

Do you remember the movie, Trading Places, with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy? The premise of the movie was that a social experiement was bet on by two stock market tycoons; that if you take a white prominent member of society who had no prior criminal record, and was very successful and suddenly put him into a situation and made his life mirror that of a homeless criminal that he'd fall apart and be lost in the system. While on the other side, taking a poor black person who had a history of coming from a broken home, serving time in jail, no father figure that he'd fair as well as  the rich white guy if put into that situation.

My point is that a lot of times Americans don't have a lot of faith in the education of black kids, or wayward kids. They think that if offered the chance that the kids would not participate in a learning program  because of how they were brought up. That's not true at all. I think the first mistake we make as Americans is just writing off those who are poor, homeless, black, fatherless, and born out of wedlock. If you come to them the correct way with a promise that if they work hard that anything is possible, then give them the proper steps to follow (without having to depend on Affirmative Action) they can become prominent members of society of ANY color. Crazy Joe is a good example of what can happen with the proper motivation.

joe clark i think was a good example of how certain teachers should treat degenerate children and degenerate people...black or white.

[Erica]

that's the only way to treat some of these gibbons.

Do you remember the movie, Trading Places, with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy? The premise of the movie was that a social experiement was bet on by two stock market tycoons; that if you take a white prominent member of society who had no prior criminal record, and was very successful and suddenly put him into a situation and made his life mirror that of a homeless criminal that he'd fall apart and be lost in the system. While on the other side, taking a poor black person who had a history of coming from a broken home, serving time in jail, no father figure that he'd fair as well as  the rich white guy if put into that situation.

My point is that a lot of times Americans don't have a lot of faith in the education of black kids, or wayward kids. They think that if offered the chance that the kids would not participate in a learning program  because of how they were brought up. That's not true at all. I think the first mistake we make as Americans is just writing off those who are poor, homeless, black, fatherless, and born out of wedlock. If you come to them the correct way with a promise that if they work hard that anything is possible, then give them the proper steps to follow (without having to depend on Affirmative Action) they can become prominent members of society of ANY color. Crazy Joe is a good example of what can happen with the proper motivation.

joe clark i think was a good example of how certain teachers should treat degenerate children and degenerate people...black or white.

 I don't think every teacher has that quality. There are lots of teachers who have the mentality that they only teach to collect a paycheck and therefore dont' give a crap about where the students end up. A lot of problems with younger people nowadays are the lack of proper adult interactions. Most often, bitter and angry parents raise children who are bitter and angry. And when the teacher sees these children they run for cover, deeming the kids unteachable and therfore unreachable. So while those bitter, angry kids have been molded by their negative parent(s), the teacher becomes part of the problem also.

[Daniel]

I run an advisory group in my school where I show my students classic and important movies. I plan on showing Lean On Me to them really soon. I think they will enjoy this film and will hopefully give them a good message.

When I went to college at Oneonta, Joe Clark came to my school. They showed the movie first followed by Joe Clark speaking. I really couldn't tell much of a difference between Morgan Freeman's performance and the actual Joe Clark (except Morgan Freeman is just a bit taller ). He was extremely inspirational and said that everything that was portrayed in the movie was true, including that crazy lady with the bandanna on her head that fought against him. Afterwards, students had a chance to go up and get his autograph and speak with him. Just about every black student that went up to him, he was telling them how important it was to stay out of trouble, stay in school and study hard, and stay out of jail. I got his autograph and was able to speak with him briefly. But it was hard to get too much of his attention since he was focused more on talking to all the black guys about staying out of trouble which was understandable.

[Erica]

I run an advisory group in my school where I show my students classic and important movies. I plan on showing Lean On Me to them really soon. I think they will enjoy this film and will hopefully give them a good message.

When I went to college at Oneonta, Joe Clark came to my school. They showed the movie first followed by Joe Clark speaking. I really couldn't tell much of a difference between Morgan Freeman's performance and the actual Joe Clark (except Morgan Freeman is just a bit taller ). He was extremely inspirational and said that everything that was portrayed in the movie was true, including that crazy lady with the bandanna on her head that fought against him. Afterwards, students had a chance to go up and get his autograph and speak with him. Just about every black student that went up to him, he was telling them how important it was to stay out of trouble, stay in school and study hard, and stay out of jail. I got his autograph and was able to speak with him briefly. But it was hard to get too much of his attention since he was focused more on talking to all the black guys about staying out of trouble which was understandable.

Wow, Daniel. That must have been a great experience.

[Daniel]

I run an advisory group in my school where I show my students classic and important movies. I plan on showing Lean On Me to them really soon. I think they will enjoy this film and will hopefully give them a good message.

When I went to college at Oneonta, Joe Clark came to my school. They showed the movie first followed by Joe Clark speaking. I really couldn't tell much of a difference between Morgan Freeman's performance and the actual Joe Clark (except Morgan Freeman is just a bit taller ). He was extremely inspirational and said that everything that was portrayed in the movie was true, including that crazy lady with the bandanna on her head that fought against him. Afterwards, students had a chance to go up and get his autograph and speak with him. Just about every black student that went up to him, he was telling them how important it was to stay out of trouble, stay in school and study hard, and stay out of jail. I got his autograph and was able to speak with him briefly. But it was hard to get too much of his attention since he was focused more on talking to all the black guys about staying out of trouble which was understandable.

Wow, Daniel. That must have been a great experience.

It absolutely was! A lot of times, I wish that we could bring Joe Clark to speak at the schools in the south Bronx. I think that could knock a lotta sense into these kids (as well as the parents).

[Wayne Jude]

Erika,I hope you do a great job teaching kids when you graduate.BUT, the bat idea isn't a good one.LOL