Lean on Me

1. This urban high school had many problems involving violence and drug abuse. They were not focusing on educating the students, only keeping them off of the streets. The staff had completely lost control of the students who attended the run-down school. Joe Clark tried to solve these problems with discipline. He expelled the students that were the worst behaved in order to show the other students how serious he is. 2. The young boy, Thomas, was very concerned about how his mother would react to him being expelled from school. Kanisha was upset because her mother was kicking her out of the house. Children should learn at a young age how to communicate with their families. They should be taught valuable lessons and basic skills like respect. Thomas was obviously not taught a lot of respect. In the beginning of the movie, when Joe Clark was giving his speech in front of the community of students, Thomas yelled out, “Suck my dick!” He was obviously not showing respect. Kanisha was not taught how to properly express how she felt, which is evident when she is upset in school about her mother kicking her out of the house. 3. Mrs. Barrett showed how parents can interfere with proper education because she complained that children were being kicked out of school to be put on the streets. She didn’t understand that those children were failing all of their classes and not there to learn. They were causing all the problems in the school. When parents are offended they can make mistakes and put other students at risk for selfish reasons. 4. Joe Clark’s “tough love” techniques were the only way of educating this type of school. They were in a state of emergency. The teachers couldn’t control the students and none of them were being disciplined. A strong, strict way of doing things was desperately needed to tame these students. 5. A pro of catholic schools is that there is more discipline explicated in the school. The religious atmosphere helps keeps children in check. A co of catholic schools is that the uniforms may make the students feel like they can’t express themselves properly. A pro of public school is that the tuition is free. A con is that there is a lack of strictness and religion. It makes the students think that they can do whatever they want. I do think Joe Clark would have been more successful at a private school because those students were used to his strict techniques. 6. The role of Education in today’s society is still important, just less important than it has been in the past. A lot of teens drop out of school at an early age. Hidden Curriculum is a way that students learn things that are meant to be taught in the home in school. An example is learning how to be social. In the school, it is easier to learn how to be social because there are more people around to become friendly with. This is a part of our educational system today because the things they don’t learn in the home can be crucial to their everyday lives outside in the real world.