Many people have the opportunity to overcome challenges that can change their lives. In the film Lean on Me, the students and teachers of Eastside High School, located in Paterson, New Jersey, are given this opportunity. Over the years, Eastside High has created a horrible image. When they mention Eastside High to residents of Paterson, New Jersey, they will give a questioning look. People believe that Eastside High is a lost hope. The behavior of the students is unbelievable, with all the fights, the drugs sold and abused, all the disruptions in the classes, it would all result in the students scoring poorly on the state test. After a teacher was brutally beaten for trying to break up a fight, the state government recently passed a law that schools that fail to meet minimum test score requirements will be admitted to the school. In that time of trouble Eastside was appointed a new principal named Joe Clark, played by Morgan Freeman. Joe Clark was a former elementary school principal and teacher at Eastside High for 20 years. Once hired as principal of Eastside High, Clark was determined to change the situation at Eastside High and make a difference in the community and in the lives of students. Upon entering the Eastside, Clark realized that his goals would not be easy to achieve. Walking the halls of Eastside High, Clark could see students misbehaving in classrooms and hallways, teachers struggling to maintain order in their classrooms, administration unable to enforce control over students, students using profanity and they were disrespectful to teachers and others. After seeing what was happening at Eastside High, Clark began enforcing his rules within a few days. At his first meeting, Clark speaks... in the middle of the paper... the body of the bruised came marching towards the Central Office of the Paterson Board of Education. They were screaming and demanding that Clark be released from prison and that they would not remove him from Eastside High as their principal. Ms. Barrett tried to explain to the students that Clark was ineligible, but the students didn't listen to her. They explained to her and the mayor that Joe Clark was more than principal of Eastside High, he was like a father figure. The students could see that Clark cared more about them and school pride than anything else. After seeing how much Clark affected the lives of those students, and with enough Eastside High students passing the state test, Clark was released from prison and was able to keep his job as Eastside's principal High. Everyone at Eastside High was able to overcome the challenge that would change everything in their lives.