Abstract

The paper has delved on the 1989 film, “Lean on Me”. The film revolves around Joe Clark who is a high school principal transferred to East Side High School. The need to bring Clark to the institution was necessitated by the poor performance that was being exhibited, and he was seen as the individual that would have brought the necessary changes. The basis of the paper is to review varied communications concepts that are found in the film. The paper has paid more attention to the conflict resolution style employed by Clark, communication climate, and interpersonal relationships. The paper’s introduction sets out the issues that will be discussed, the body section discusses the aforementioned communication concepts, and the conclusion highlights what can be learned from these communication concepts as they have been represented in the film. Communication comes out as an integral element in the interaction of people. It determines the type of relationships to be formed and the extent of solving the existing problems.

Introduction

The paper has been based on the film “Lean on Me”. This is a fictional film based on a true story and was produced in 1989. The film revolves around Joe Clark, who was transferred to East Side High School as he was viewed as a suitable candidate to deliver the school from the problems it was facing. Clark undertook the capacity of the principal, and this meant he was in charge of everything and everyone at East Side High School. Clark had initially worked at this institution before he was fired. The school was now marred with poor student performance in tests, the usage of drugs had skyrocketed, and gang violence had spiraled too. Clark’s arrival at the institution inspired hope among the students. He taught the students that they could confide in him when they are facing any sort of problems. He was more of a father figure to the students.

The analysis of the paper has delved on the communication concepts that have transpired throughout the film. According to Adler et al. (2014), communication is “the process of creating meaning through symbolic interaction.” Communication can either be intrapersonal, organizational, interpersonal, small group or mass communication. People communicate with the objective of fulfilling varied needs. Without communication, people would not understand each other hence living within the same environment would be a problem (Glanz, 2011).The communication concepts that will be analyzed in this case include conflict resolution style employed by Clark, communication climate and interpersonal relationships.

Communication Concepts

Conflict Resolution Style Employed by Clark

Given the situation that was there in the institution, Clark opted to come out with a conflict resolution style that was forceful in nature. He ensured that he led the way and others followed without asking questions of why things were being done that way instead of another way. In almost all the situations, Clark preferred to come out as the winner. According to him, this was the best way forward to restore the school in a stable and acceptable state. A good example is how Clark disregarded the grievances of the parents whose students had been expelled from school for indulgence in varied unacceptable behavior within the institution. Clark’s style of solving conflicts resulted in other conflicts with the mayor’s office, school staff, and even the students. It was either his way or no other way.

The belief that Clark had on his conflict resolution style was based on the passion and determination to succeed in his quest to bring East Side High School to normalcy.  Clark’s style of conflict management is meant to instill fear and intimidation on the people involved. There are moments where Clarks uses methods that would not be regarded as being appropriate.  A good example is the aspect of abusing teachers in the presence of the students. In case there was a staff member that did not seem to align themselves in the desired direction, Clark threatened them with suspensions. The approach was meant to ensure that the staff members were working with similar objectives, but it did not seem appropriate since it denied them freedom of expression.

Clark considered the problems facing the school as being serious. As a result, the best way to solve these problems was for all the stakeholders involved to work in partnership. This meant doing things in a similar manner and following the same procedure to enhance consistency. This approach was favored by Clark since the people that had come before him failed in actualizing the desired goals. There was need of doing something different. The famous Einstein quote says “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” (Schlaerth & Ensari, 2013). Clark was not ready to make such a mistake. That is why he was ready to lead the school towards success using a different approach.

Clark saw the problem of the students failing in the school tests as something that ran deep than what the stakeholders thought about it. That is why Clark opted for an approach that would help eradicate behaviors that are not suitable for enhancing better education prospects. Among them was the eradication of drugs, violence, and crime within the institution. Clark takes the initiative of sending the students with such behavior home so that they can give the others an opportunity to carry on with their studies. He goes on to break the fire regulations in the institution by chaining the doors to protect the students from the interference of individuals involved with these undesirable acts. It is prudent for any leader to use a style that is appropriate for the management of the conflict at hand (Schlaerth & Ensari, 2013). There is no particular style that is appropriate for all cases.

Communication Climate

The communication climate at East Side High School was negative before Clark came in as the school principal. The way that the students related to the teachers and fellow students was undesirable. The students did not have respect for their teachers as they would communicate as it pleased them even when it sounded rude. The presence of the teachers would not deter them from indulging in unwanted behaviors. The students also seemed to have a poor communication prospect among themselves. Students that were being regarded as being inferior were bullied by their colleagues for one reason or the other. Such a climate was not favorable for the development of positive interpersonal relationships. How people relate to each other tends to define the nature of relationships that exist between them (Glanz, 2011).

However, the introduction of Clark in the institution worked to change the communication climate. Now, the climate that prevailed was that of fear and intimidation. Clark required everyone involved with East Side High to be reading from the same script. Students that did not work in accordance with required regulations were expelled from school. The teachers that went against his instructions and directives also faced the consequence of termination. This meant that the communication climate was now filled with fear. People would not speak out their minds now as they would appear as going against the principal. This made them take orders without asking questions due to the fear of the consequences that might befall them. Clark used to blame the teachers in the institutions for what the school had turned into. He used to find fault in most of the actions that they were undertaking. For this reason, he was ready to put them on their toes to ensure that they corrected the mistakes that they had committed in the past.

When Clark first came to East Side High, he laid the benchmark of what he wanted from the word go. He assembled all the relevant staff and students and gave them an idea of how things would be moving forward. The trouble makers were lined up on stage and expelled. This was meant to drive fear among the others that were left as it informed that they would follow the same path if they did not work in accordance to the regulations. As time passed by, it was evident that Clark was true to his words. He did not budge, and his intimidation tactics were becoming successful.

Nonverbal communication had become useful during this period too. Clark’s presence was powerful that at some moments he did not need to say a word for others to take action. His presence prompted people to do what is expected of them at times. This aspect changed students’ behavior of roaming the school corridors as and when they pleased. There was the understanding that indulgence in any wrongdoing would easily result in expulsion. This environment prompted the students to work hard. It can be attributed to the success that accrued.

Interpersonal Relationships

Aspects of interpersonal relationship are quite vivid in the film. A good example is how Clark feels towards the students. His style of leadership is autocratic, but this does not mean that he does not care for the students. As an indication that Clark cares for the students, he begins by expelling the ones that would influence the others into indulging in unwanted behavior. He goes an extra mile to risk his career as he chained the doors to prevent the students with undesirable behaviors from coming back to the school premises. He was making sacrifices for the students so that he can see them succeed in their school endeavors. At some point, Clark even became a confidant to some of the students. They would share their troubles with him with the hope of getting a solution to the problems at hand. This was even for issues that did not relate to the school directly. He was more like a father-figure.

Clark also enjoyed interpersonal relationships with people like Thomas Sams. Thomas was a good friend to Clark. In his line of duty, and through his leadership style, Clark was expected to develop enemies along the way. Most of his enemies wanted his services in the school to be terminated. Thomas always informed him of the things that were going behind his back. This made it possible for Clark to anticipate the actions that would be undertaken by the community, police and the mayor’s office among others. Having the information helped him to act accordingly to prevent things from going out of hand. Interpersonal relationships bring the aspect of caring hence the people involved tend to become the other’s keeper (Costa et al., 2015).

The love that the students had for Clark is also vivid when he was captured by the police, and his fate was being deliberated by the board. The students could not hear any of the propositions that were being made towards them; all they wanted was their principal. They all protested in unison to have their principal released. Clark had helped them move in the desired direction, and they wanted his guidance even more. He helped them to move from the 33% score in the basic skills test and actualize the 75% threshold that had been set. This is something that the others who came ahead of him failed to achieve.

Conclusion

“Lean on Me” is an inspiring film that can be used to provide teachings for varied issues. It is a good example to help learn different concepts of communication. The film encompasses numerous communication concepts, but the paper could only analyze three of them; conflict resolution style employed by Clark, communication climate and interpersonal relationships. The film has shown that when it comes to conflict resolution, every situation calls for a unique approach. Clark opted for an autocratic approach in solving the problems that were facing East Side High. Many people would argue that a democratic approach is more viable, but the results show a different aspect. Autocratic leadership worked very well, and this showed that every conflict should be approached differently, and there is no universal way of solving conflicts. The film has also shown the importance of interpersonal relationships in solving problems. The interpersonal relationships established in the film helped people to care for each other hence the possibility of improving behaviors and the basic skills test scores. Communication climate has shown that even an environment that oozes with intimidation will also bring desired results. East Side High used to have an environment that allowed for freedom, but this made things worse instead of making them better. All in all, communication has come out as being an important element for the interaction of people. It is a tool that people can use to overcome different adversities.

References

Adler, R., Rodman, G., & DuPré, A. (2014). Understanding human communication (12th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Costa, S., Ntoumanis, N., & Bartholomew, K. (2015). Predicting the brighter and darker sides of interpersonal relationships: Does psychological need thwarting matter?. Motivation And Emotion, 39(1), 11-24.

Glanz, K. (2011). Special issue of Communication Theory: Communication and Normative Influence. Communication Theory, 15(2), 216-217.

Schlaerth, A., & Ensari, N. (2013). A meta-analytical review of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leaders’ constructive conflict management. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 16(1), 126-136.

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