In depicting juvenile delinquency in the classroom, a few film directors portrayed novice teachers' desire to reach what the school system customarily labeled as "problem students." These films illustrate that these students are often categorized quickly and unfairly, and hopeful intervention by a few caring and zealous teachers is enough to change their lives and attitudes for the better.

In the black and white 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle," Mr. Dadier (played by Glenn Ford) was an idealistic teacher on his first job in a tough urban mostly white male high school. The characters were dressed in clothing of the time (jeans rolled up at the cuffs, tee shirts, bow ties, baseball caps) and the boys wore their hair in the Elvis Presley pompadour style. The students were led by a gang leader, Artie West, whom they looked up to and feared. Mr. Dadier was faced with a bunch of...