I watched “Lean on Me” with Joe and Dot this afternoon. For those of you who may not have seen this movie, it is based on a true story, and it stars Morgan Freeman as a high school principal who is sent into the worst, most dangerous school in the New Jersey district. His job is to whip the students and the teachers into shape, and to get the test scores up to par. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies and I cry every single time I see it. Joe enjoyed the movie as well, because when it was over he just couldn’t stop talking about school and teaching, etc.
For example, when I took Joe to the bathroom and got him seated comfortably on the pot, he said, “Well I’d better get this over with so I won’t be late for school.”
Me: “Oh yeah? What grade are you in?”
Joe chuckled: “No, no, no…you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not a student; I’m a teacher.”
Me: “Oh yeah, how could I forget? Remind me again, which class do you teach?”
(Joe was never a teacher)
Joe: “Oh this and that. Farming mostly.”
Me: “Yeah, I bet you’re a great teacher!”
Joe grinned: “I do alright I guess. Don’t get too many complaints. Not much to teach anyhow. I just tell them to dig a hole in the dirt and put a seed in there and cover it back up.”
Me: “That about covers it, huh?”
Joe chuckled: “Yup.”
Once I got him cleaned up and back on his feet, Joe looked in the toilet bowl and said, “That reminds me! I’d better teach them about manure as well.”
A little later in the day…
Joe: “School was sure a lot smaller when I went there…”
Me: “Oh yeah? How many people were in your school?”
Joe: “Oh…around 12 or so.”
Me: “There were 12 people in your class?”
Joe burst into laughter: “No, there were 12 people in my whole school!”
Me: “WOW, that’s a small school all right! Did you have lots of friends?”
Joe: “Can’t say I had lots of friends, but I had as many as were there. When there’s only a dozen people in your school you can’t be too picky!”
