lean on me...

I had never watched 'LEAN ON ME'. I knew it was a good movie. Well, almost all Morgan Freeman's movies are good and worth watching. So, today, while I was browsing the movies on Astro, I saw that particular title queeing up for the next show. Got all my house chores done and then I was ready in front of the tube.

It was a very moving story. I was overwhelmed by the determination of Mr. Joe Clark (Freeman) as the principal to change his school and his students for the betterment no matter what the obstacles were. I cried watching the movie, boleh??? hehe.. semakin tua semakin vulnerable and touchy lah... hmm....

Anyway, below is one of Clark's brilliant speeches which I got from one of the websites:

Next time it may be you. If you do no better than they did (referring to the students cum gangsters and drug dealers who were just being expelled) , next time it will be you. They said this school was dead, like the cemetery it's built on. But we call our East Side teams "ghosts," don't we? And what are ghosts? Ghosts are spirits that rise from the dead. I want you to be my ghosts. You are going to lead our resurrection by defying the expectation that all of us are doomed to failure.
My motto is simple: If you do not succeed in life, I don't want you to blame your parents. I don't want you to blame the white man! I want you to blame yourselves! The responsibility is yours!!
In two weeks we have a practice exam and a minimum basic skills test on April 13th. That's a hundred and ten school days from now. But it's not just about those test scores. If you do not have these basic skills, you will find yourselves locked out! Locked out of that American Dream that you see advertised on TV -- that they tell you is so easy to get.

You are here for one reason -- one reason only: To learn, to work for what you want. The alternative is to waste your time and to fall into the trap of crime, drugs, and death. Does everyone understand that? Do all of you understand me?! Then welcome to the new East Side High!