When LouAnne discovers that his life is in danger because of a personal grudge held by a recently released thug, she advises him to seek help from Principal Grandey. LouAnne tries to encourage him to focus by paying a special visit to his family to congratulate him on his work and going to dinner with him as a way of instilling confidence and self-respect.Įmilio Ramirez is her most troublesome personal 'project', as he believes strongly in a sense of personal honor that prevents him from asking for help. Raul Sanchero is a boy who is frequently involved in gang warfare and street crime. Her methods draw the attention of the school authorities, George Grandey and Carla Nichols, who try to force her to remain within the curriculum.Ī few particular students attract LouAnne's interest for their personal problems. LouAnne rewards the students liberally, using candy bars, reward incentives, and a trip to a theme park. Tambourine Man' to teach symbolism and metaphor once this is achieved, she progresses on to Dylan Thomas's ' Do not go gentle into that good night'. In order to introduce them to poetry, LouAnne uses the lyrics of Bob Dylan's ' Mr. She also tries to motivate them by giving them all an A grade from the beginning of the year and arguing that the only thing required of them is that they maintain it. The students show some interest in such activities, but withdraw when LouAnne tries to teach the curriculum.ĭesperate to reach the students, LouAnne devises classroom exercises that teach similar principles to the prescribed work but using themes and language that appeal to the students. They immediately coin the nickname 'White Bread' for LouAnne, due to her race and apparent lack of authority, to which Louanne responds by returning the next day in a leather jacket and teaching them karate. Showing up the next day to begin teaching, however, she finds herself confronted with a classroom of tough, sullen teenagers, all from low-income working-class backgrounds, involved in gang warfare and drug pushing, flatly refusing to engage with anything. LouAnne Johnson, a former Marine, applies for a teaching job in high school, and is surprised and pleased to be offered the position with immediate effect. The film grossed $179.5 million and led to the creation of a short-lived television series. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls it 'rife with stereotypes'. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Latino teenagers from East Palo Alto, a racially segregated and economically deprived city. It is based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by retired U.S. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Dangerous Minds is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N.

Hidden Paradise by Michelle Dalson