Lean on Me

Lean on Me (1989)

3 factual errors - chronological order

(4 votes)

Factual error: In the scene where Joe Clark and the Vice Principal go to the project buildings to see the young girl's mother, they walk down a short ramp to an apartment. Those project buildings are in Paterson,N.J. (where the story takes place), but walking down that ramp takes you to the boiler room, not an apartment. None of those buildings have apartments like that.

Factual error: Just after the opening credits, Thomas Sams is stuffed into a locker by two other boys, but a big kid like Sams would never fit into a real high school locker.

Factual error: The dates used in the movie were inaccurate. For starters, in the auditorium scene, Joe Clark said that the minimum basic skills test would take place on April 17. April 17, 1988 was on a Sunday. Also, when they did the countdown, 99 days before that date would have been Saturday January 9 (they couldn't have updated the sign). And in the scene when Ms Levias is yelling at Joe Clark, she said 'for the past 7 months' - it was only April, but he came in October (6 months earlier).

Other mistake: When Joe Clark first comes to Eastside High as principal, he takes it upon himself to confront the staff. At one point, as he begins to turn his back, watch his lips. His mouth does not match the words being spoken.

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Trivia: Although in real life Principal Joe Clark improved the discipline problems at Eastside High School, he did not, contrary to what the film has you believe, improve the academics in any meaningful way. Although test scores improved very slightly his first couple of years as principal (partly due to the fact that he expelled so many bad students) from 1986 to 1988, during his time as principal, Eastside High School had the lowest state exam passage rates in all of New Jersey. One of these years in particular, under Clark's tenure, Eastside High's passage rate was as low as 24.1%.

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Question: At the very beginning of the movie, Joe Clark is enraged when he finds out that there is a meeting going on without him. What exactly is the subject of this meeting (other than the obvious dismissal of Mr. Clark)? Why is Mr. Clark accusing them of "selling out," and what do the people in the meeting refer to when they say, "You want to be posturing, etc., but we just want to work."?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: They are discussing some of the things that Mr. Clark has done that has "embarassed" the school. They are debating what to do about him. And by "posturing," they mean his insistance on wearing African dress and espousing his political beliefs.

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