The most important character in "Lean On Me" is Mr. Joe Clark, the former teacher at Eastside high school and later, the school's principal. Joe's character is interesting and admirable. Throughout the film, we learn that although he seems to be a dictatorial, he is committed and determined to save the school and he also cares for the school's students.

The most obvious characteristic of Joe is that he is a dictatorial. Clark used dictatorship to control and manage the school when he became its principal. For example; in his first meeting with the staff, he was going around giving orders and shuffling teachers into new positions. He even said, "Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm. This is not a damned democracy. We are in a state of emergency and my word is law", verifying that he approves of dictatorship and thinks it is the only way...