Laying Down The Law

This book is about how one man, who in matter of one school year, fought to keep the doors of an inner-city school free from a state takeover. He also fought to keep his students safe, in doors while trying to keep criminal activity out. With some detail on he met the modern crisis in education, here is the story of Joe Clark and how he saved Eastside High.

Joe said it best, something I have personally tried to convey to others, as well as, is also a FACT. The cure for ignorance is education. Patterson Eastside High School in New Jersey. A microcosm of the conflict, turmoil & violence in U.S. schools. That is the best definition to describe the ULTIMATE chaos of Eastside High B.C. (Before Clark) Bedlam reigned. The teaching staff was in a state of terror. The hellishness had been escalating at an alarming rate. (Since the start of the 1978 school year, dope rings, sex rings vandalism & violence.) At this time, Eastside was a disgrace! Joe was asked by the superintendent of schools, Frank Napier, to take over Eastside. Frank thought that Joe was the only one who could make a REAL difference. Joe Clark was too outspoken and too radical for many officials in the Patterson school system. Frank agreed w/ Joe's philosophy and KNEW he/Joe could put this plan into action! At first, Joe declined the offer.He had his own children to think about. With Joe's current position at PS 6, he could manage and not feel he's slighting either the school kids or his own. But Eastside, that was a monster. Eastside High remained a virulent microcosm of all the malignant forces in present day American schools.

Joe Clark

When the position began in, Joe accepted on account of loving a challenge and that his own kids would have graduated that June. Joe knew Eastside and knew what he was getting himself into. He loves education & a challenge. Joe couldn't change these kids' situations, but he could re-enliven them to dream. Shortly after arriving at Eastside, Joe tried to put himself into the shoes of his students. He grew up in one ghetto, spent much of his professional career in another. He overcame both. Because he accepted the challenge, Joe went to Eastside and created a school.

At the time when Joe took over, his BIGGEST problem was hoodlums. When Joe was being questioned by the Secretary Of Education, he was TRUTHFULLY answering their questions of his taking back order at Eastside in JUST ONE DAY, but it seemed as though he was being "ostentatious" about his work when he was being STRAIGHTFORWARD & HONEST. They seen that Joe's work was done through thorough management. Joe had visited Eastside a few times toward the end of the 1981-'82 school year before his appointment as principal became public. On his first visit to Eastside, on the afternoon following a conversation w/ Dr. Napier, Joe spent time standing unobtrusively in the school parking lot looking at the school building.

Eastside High School

The school itself, the damage, graffiti and more; enated desolation and was a reflective of the city's soul. Darkness filled the parking lot and the school became an arena for demonic activity and the building itself was a target for abuse and burglary. EVERY gang code, grotesque & obscene depictions, imprecations & denigration of students/staff and MORE! Joe stated to himself that it was the graffiti that was leaving the school, not the books.

One of the FIRST things Joe did that summer was confer w/ the head of maintenance for the Patterson school system and rented a capable sandblaster. Graffiti goes up, comes off the next day scouring that building clean. Joe was giving the building the appearance of respectability. It was VERY MUCH a matter of image, rebirth & pride. No sense in doing things half-ass. Before the end of June, the Eastside High that was so desolate was/is buzzing w/ the activity of renovation. Trucks were always arriving and dumpster-after-dumpster was filled w/ debris. The building itself was/is to invoke respect, orderliness & decorum. Joe added amenities, because school for all of it's necessary discipline, should never become a place of drugery, added various forms of pop music to be played over loudspeakers. He had had plants placed about the building, a fountain & a penny pond in the main corridor. Joe spent hours establishing numerous new before-and-after school programs and clubs. As of trophies & awards, Joe had them cleaned and put back in a clean display case, and NOT in the office or a dark closet in fear of being stolen, Eastside's glory was back in the glass cabinet. Keeping quiet about your plans is a better tactic than telling your plans and having them ruined and all shot to Hell.

To begin the job at Eastside, Joe assiduously studied the staff and seen he HAD to regroup w/ a WHOLE NEW set. He prefers to work w/ women, believing on the whole women are more likely to see the sense in complete loyalty to him & his program. Not every staff member was new. Joe needed some people who were familiar w/ all of the intricacies of Eastside's administration. One had been Joe's chief assistant at PS 6 and one was as able as any administrator in the system. Another woman was a veteran of Eastside and had distinguished herself as the Head Of the Science Dept. Joe was there every day for anyone in the building or connected w/ the building. NOTHING was to surpass Joe during business hours. The chain of command was to BE IN EFFECT unless a DIRE EMERGENCY. Joe wanted the staff to be accessible. He wanted them out patrolling the halls and at least half as visible as he would be. He promised the staff/teachers that as long as they did the job, he/she would have his FULL SUPPORT.

Joe was tired of the way things were run. At Eastside,  they tried it their way for years, AS OF NOW, THAT WAS OVER!! The new rules were to be ENFORCED without exception. By August, Joe was able to mail his staff and teaching corps. the newly drawn up Eastside High School Suspension Policy for the upcoming year. Each student received a copy on the first day of classes, and duplicates were posted throughout the building. Something Joe merited to be discipline were hats. Hats lead to murdered youth because the hat identified them to a particular gang. Others disagreed. Joe was outraged and gave some examples of his meanings. He also informed the teachers of his plan to make them his assistants for in-building security, which surprised and worried them. Joe presented the staff w/ a dress code that was not universally appreciated.The staff didn't quite trust Joe yet. There was usual skepticism & cynicism. The hope for change was gone. Joe was receiving death threats and he KNEW more were to come.

On Joe Clark's first day, bullhorn in hand, he was inwardly excited about his first day as Eastside principal. The school had been CLEANED & SHINED. Teachers were cordial and skeptical. Joe had NO illusions and no honeymoon period. In the past, it was the kids who ran Eastside. They had the power. Within a few minutes, Joe sent the message: Education was about to recommence at Eastside. The staff DID NOT like Joe Clark taking charge. Directing the students where they needed to get to! When the students arrived, they seen a lean man in a suit, standing like a drill sergeant, wielding a bullhorn and looking serious business. What used to look like a stampede was NOW a model of orderliness. For teacher, student & administrator, the tone was set for the rest of the year. A calm, firm tone of order. Teachers, on the whole, were astounded & appreciative. People were going to start to hear different about Eastside High. That first day marked the end of the Eastside High drug market. Joe's program involved making a fortress that drug pushers couldn't penetrate.

Joe began implementing ID cards and made sure the rule was enforced! It still works today! Drug dealers have been permanently shut out from Eastside High. He was about halfway through his first year as Eastside principal. He thought a teacher assembly was in order. Although positive change had been accumulating, it took several weeks for teachers to see the change and a newly established order. A change to slowly show results. Vandalism from different properties ceased. Drugs, alcohol & sexual assaults had disappeared from the school. Disruptive wildness & chaos vanished. For the first time in 20 years, the corridors at Eastside were quiet. Teachers began to unlock and open their doors during class. The staff thought it was prove too onerous a task for Joe and the teachers to make up in the in-building security team. After seeing how things have gone, they were happy with the change.

Bonds w/ the students grew stronger and promised a continuation of growth. With guards in the building, adults (teachers) are again in control of the building. The students are able to respect you now. They can listen to, and learn from someone they respect.

Learning and getting an education is what the great majority of kids want, and they do not mind the discipline it takes to get one. Now the teachers who cherish and value their work can now teach.  Don't think they're weren't teachers who challenged Joe. They saw it to their advantage to do all they could to derail Joe's program of reform. The staff was ordered to wear proper attire w/ jackets & ties or dresses and proper suits. He outlawed jeans, sweatpants & sneakers. Teachers who didn't care for the new regulations eventually seen the sense to it. Joe appeared powerless because teachers were tenured and could not be fired. (Keyword being - appeared) Joe offered and advised the teachers to apply for transfers in order to keep the peace and not jeopardize the revival of Eastside. But they refused.

Joe checked the staff's attendance sheets and each of their lesson plans personally. He DEMANDED PERFECTION w/ the lesson plans. Eventually, all of the staff's resilience wore down. Joe was prescribing a dress code because he wanted everyone to project an image of dignity, self-respect & professionalism. (For example: a slovenly, sloppy boy as an example of how NOT to dress. Self-respect permeates every aspect of their lives.) The kids are wanting someone to look up to. if they reject the positive influences, they're more likely to chose the drug dealer in the gold chains. Joe's standing policy regarding insubordination is a "three strikes, you're out". Rarely has he had to go there. Joe demands ALOT from his teachers. It is his duty and his responsibility to the students. He is an organizer and a fair man, came in w/ a plan and turned everything around.

Joe was EVERYWHERE around Eastside. Someone attached a pedometer to him and seen that he covered 22 miles on an average day just walking around the school. In addition to seeing, Joe wanted to be seen. He wanted students/teachers AWARE of Joe Clark and that he was everywhere. In addition to being seen, the principal has to be heard. The bullhorn has been Joe's trademark. He always carries it. It is to magnify the voice of authority. Other principals learned and follow the same technique/tactic.When chaos reigns the hall, he can direct and get order.

Joe waited to make a large impression, one of folklore proportions, if possible, upon the youths and their parents. The message got through for the parents to get serious about the children getting to school and acquiring their educations. When Joe took this job, he KNEW it would be a war and KNEW that the parents, if he could rouse them, were his natural allies.

Joe inherited a student body shot through w/ the diseases of the ghetto and the street, an infected student body in need of a serious purge. He did that by the absolute dismissal of 300 so-called students at Eastside. They were all expurgated. Dismissed and out of there FOREVER! 500 parents were there for Joe because every day, he was there for the children. They didn't know Joe, but they KNEW of the work Joe was doing and the change he was making. In some cases, his reputation garnered support. Joe went against the grain of a decadent liberal policy. For more than a decade, lacking administrators & teachers had been passing untaught kids to the next level. Joe began holding students back, doing it himself personally. He refused to allow a teacher under his tenure to promote an undeserving student.

Joe thought he would receive having to hear it from parents for that, but instead received massive support. They wanted and welcomed REAL education. One of the first things Joe did to reach out to the community was to formally introduce himself and his program at neighborhood churches. If you persist, you will survive. If you work hard and do NOT give up, though the obstacles are many and the road is hard & long, you can advance, you can succeed, your life will have meaning -even joy. Joe continues to tell of the education that is slipping in America and how easy things have worsened as time passes. People use facts & history as a point for a cop-out and just NOT TRY. GREAT leaders from various points on the political spectrum ALL denounced this terrible habit of self-degradation: "Why try? This is the life for us." and more identifying yourself as a stereotype. YOU CAN BE MORE!! The only valid hope is quality education and striving for it without the help of many strong families. At Eastside, Joe sees to it that education means more than just book learning. Eastside is a starting point for rebuilding an inner-city community. It is a battlefield to fight the good fight. In tempering tough discipline w/ benevolence, Joe more than tripled the number of after school clubs, increases & en-lived assemblies covering a whole variety of subjects initiating numerous extracurricular activities. Asking and receiving help from the community.

Parents NEED TO KNOW their community, each other and their school. That's what Joe Clark was doing. Not only was he restoring a school, he was restoring a community. Homes were abuzz with what was happening at Eastside. Joe Clark meant business. Parents seen change w/ kids. They seen what many haven't seen in a generation. Looking neat and being responsible was on the rise. Eastside was becoming the home these kids never had.

Although movie still, it's a clear description of Joe actually doing this

Joe knew when he took the job of principal at Eastside at times he would have to be the role of a somewhat surrogate father to his students. Every principal-ship has some degree of parental surrogacy built-in. One Saturday, Joe was in his office doing paperwork. One of the security guards escorted a young female student in w/ a problem. Joe recognized them both. The girl was sick of everything and wanted to kill herself. This wasn't her first time. She was referred to a special unit of Guidance Dept. called Choose Life, a program Joe had set up in the 1980s. It didn't affect her. Yet, she did come to Joe and he would NOT let her down. Joe DID NOT FUCK AROUND. He gave her a REALITY check he NEVER forget. (He took her to the roof of the school, told her to look down. She did as told while trembling. He reiterated the facts and told her to jump. He would have saved from the jump if she was actually to move forward. She was REAL quick to soon change her mind backpedaling to the center of the roof.) The girl went on to finish that school year and to graduate later on. She is still alive.

It occurred to Joe that this girl's situation was symbolic to ALOT of problems faced by teenagers in the inner city. At Eastside, Joe was their last change before being faced w/ the REAL REALITIES of ACTUAL life. He got involved w/ students lives both personally & professionally. Since he had been at the helm, Eastside has had a vibrant, on-going campaign to keep the kids in school. They drive the message home. One of Joe's innovations was the Virgin's Club, a support group that let teen girls make their own minds. It was a tactful ploy to bring down the rate & population of diseases and teen pregnancy. Joe also had to grapple w/ the proposal for a day care center at the school. After debating it for a few days, Joe was against it. He WAS NOT trying to keep things the same. He was making things change. He was trying to break the chain of early pregnancy. Joe had driven drug sales and drug use, all of it, out of Eastside High. But, Joe is NOT stupid. It's a battle he KEEPS on FIGHTING. He's on CONSTANT vigil pumping the message home.

When a student informed Joe, who himself discourages informants, informed Mr. Clark of another student hiding drugs in his locker. He went to the locker and made a request to the hall monitor. Joe asked for the fire emergency closet to be opened and to be given the ax. The halls went quiet and in shock. Joe handed his bullhorn over to another teacher and received the ax. He TOOK CHARGE and seen no reason to go/follow through. After 5 whacks and the door popped feebly open. Everyone was impressed and flabbergasted. Searching every locker and addressed everyone! No contraband found. His informant was mistaken. But, his purpose and determination was RIGHT! These students had something they never forgot: the vivid shocking image of a man, in a 3-piece suit, their high school principal, wielding an ax striking against the evil monster of drugs himself. When all was said and done, Joe apologized to the student for bringing suspicion upon him. You have to reach their hearts and turn them around. They have the energy, intelligence & the courage.

In the spring of 1983, still within his first year as principal, some concerned parents and Joe spearheaded a drive to institute a uniformed dress code at Eastside High. Joe addressed it best by saying:"They have Calvin Klein jeans on their behinds and nothing in their minds." He meant it to address those students too hung up on their appearence & look, rather than their education. Many more parents added their support, several claiming the expense was more than they could bear. Others cried of the freedom of choice. Joe drew up a crystal clear report and presented it to The Board Of Education. The Board applauded his efforts to implement a dress code until a committee studies the matter more. A parents' committee was formed, studied the question and opted for voluntary uniforms, promising to make outfits available at a set price. All seemed to go well. Until big businesses would be taking from the small ones. September came and Eastside students were in new uniforms. Joe took the opportunity to help institute the trend & dress code. He banned jeans, miniskirts & profusions of jewelry. He was denied! The choice of dress is still in place at Eastside. Throughout the years, they are winning the war. Students got the message. The dress neatly, conservative & casual. A businesslike atmosphere, where education is taken SERIOUSLY!

In late October 1984, Joe's third year at the helm of Eastside, on a Friday after classes, a fight erupted between a black student and a Hispanic student. Joe was standing in the outer office looking over a report when a student burst in and informed Joe of the fight in process. He ran out of the building and over to the fight. Joe pried his way through the on-looking crowd. He seen, stopped in his tracks, stung by the feeling that a bloody race riot was about to erupt. Just a few feet away, another black-Hispanic fight had begun. Joe entered the explosive circle just as squad cars were arriving, while on-lookers were along the street. Joe grabbed ahold of one of the fighters. (The police wouldn't let him handle it alone. Yet, later on, Joe received admonition from the mayor for going outside of his jurisdiction.) Joe took note of all the kids that were present. Several of the youths he recognized as novice members of a cult or a gang that was infiltrating the school since the previous year.

Joe had great respect for the Muslim community. Islam teaches you that you must work for what you desire, and that you do not drain the system. Something Joe is in FULL agreement. The students at Eastside were showing a new manifestation of the same disease that always lurked among the world's dissatisfied. One of gang, The Five Percenters, were so presumptuous as to call themselves gods (the boys) and queens (the girls) and give themselves names.

inside Eastside High

Joe had underestimated this groups influence at Eastside, and this violent face-off took him totally by surprise. It made Joe wonder, "Why begin and fight over words one has said, but you're not willing to fight for your education?" Numerous fights were breaking out in all sections of the city. it became a wild & shameful night in Paterson. One of the students moms called Joe and kept him updated. Joe was heartsick, as well, each time he thought about the effect of all of this upon the school. Two years of peace, quiet & academic improvement could all be shot to Hell. Joe was BOUND & DETERMINED for that NOT to happen. Joe thought of Dr. Napier's disappointment if the school should fail. Joe knew of racial turf between black & white, but NEVER viewed black Hispanic hostility as a REAL threat. Being principal of Eastside is a full-time job. Joe took a janitor on a somewhat tour of the neighborhood. Just across the street stood a row of 70-80 year old houses in severe disrepair. He pointed out that he can and will do battle against ignorance. Including fights neighboring from one town crossing into another. Due to the reigning violence in the neighborhood, morning attendance at Eastside, normally 90% plummeted to less than half. Fearful parents kept their children home. Joe KNEW he had to do something.

Joe was a realist and realized Eastside could lose all that they have gained. How could he properly discipline the wrongdoers if Dr. Napier, under pressure from an angry City Hall and an "I-told-you-so" school board were to waiver his support? There would NOT be any FEAR STALKS EASTSIDE AGAIN headline. Everyone thought Eastside would reign as it once did. Everyone - EXCEPT Joe. The police finally acted. They ordered loiterers to move along and spot-checked various characters. 10 arrests were made for drugs, weapons & more. They were providing the sort of preventative measure the community needed and deeply desired. Joe rallied together a meeting for frightened parents. He wore off gangs & violence within the school. If a fight were to break out, Joe challenged them to fight with him!

Joe seen that the students DID genuinely care for him. The large turnout at the parental meeting came to 300 parents. Joe thought it might be a display of faith in Joe and in Eastside High. He then went over the facts of the Eastside progress. He reminded parents that he COULD NOT do it alone. After the meeting, attendance by students was up 90% where it has stayed. The panic died down as quite as it came. There were no further incidents at Eastside. The police special patrol ceased on that same Friday. The Patterson 5 Percenter craze soon weeded out after these events.

Joe made a VERY IMPORTANT point on 12-9-1987 when he dismissed and permanently suspended 25 students there to waste time. The next day The Board Of Education demanded that they be re-instated at once, due to not following due process. Not only did he NOT follow guidelines, Joe also suspended another 41 procrastinating students. The media came out in force, several of them, stating that Joe Clark had gone too far and was now going to pay for his dictatorial methods. The Board focused on menial subjects instead of focusing on the REAL issues at hand. The president of Patterson Education Association vouched for Joe and seen what he was trying to do. Instead of focusing on the state's credit system of 110 to graduate, some students w/ 4 years of high school had 50-65 credits. But the media focused on "heartless Joe Clark who put out poor kids" or "Joe Clark won't heed his supervisors". Joe answered the Board's ultimatum by permitting 10 of 66 to return, because these 10 made efforts to contact Joe and continue their education.

The Board had NO DESIRE to compromise. They were determined to show Joe who was boss. Joe had to contemplate a middle ground of compromise. He announced to the media he would comply w/ the Board and re-admit the suspended students. But, they would not be permitted back to class. He housed them in the auditorium until they got alternate forms of education. The Board kept focusing on the students' rights to education. They avoided the issue Joe was initiating for the need for alternative education programs - entirely. Dr. Napier wasted NO TIME that Joe Clark wasn't the problem. It was for the lack of alternatives. Joe said he would be willing to compromise if the Board let him. He re-admitted 18 kids to class from the auditorium. That left 48 kids expurgated.

The halls were abuzz at Eastside w/ reporters and rumors. When he wasn't being hounded by media, Joe was finding himself surrounded by hyper kids wanting to know if Joe was continuing as principal. As he walked the halls, continuing support flowed for Joe Clark. It showed Joe that he still had plenty of allies, more than ever, if it was ever necessary to bring community pressure upon the board. Meanwhile, newspapers were trying to get the stories of the re-admitted students. With another 10 in the re-admitted returning, Joe moved all of these students from the auditorium to the library. From there, Joe extended to them the possibility of returning to classes.

Then something unexpected happened. An ABC News team that was part of the media blitz at Eastside, videotaped the doors of an exit chained shut that aired on the evening news. The fire chief and the mayor were BOTH furious. The mayor liked Joe and for what he has done for Eastside and all of Patterson. But he could not allow him to get away again w/ chaining the doors. Joe had that order placed for years, as an efficient way to keep crimes and miscreants out of Eastside. Joe knew it was wrong and knew he was breaking the law. but, Joe DID WHAT HE HAD TO DO ! Joe DID HAVE alternate plans in case of an emergency. A viable contingency plan.

Through a clever ruse of the inspectors, photos were taken of the chained doors in 1986. Joe Clark and the Board were brought to court and fined $1,000 for each of the doors chained. Joe was promised he wouldn't do it again. Now that it did, there was talk of him being charged w/ contempt. Joe petitioned the Board several times for electronically locked doors that could be controlled by a single switch in Joe's office. But, the Board's lack of finances.  If OFFICIALS got involved due to the chains on the doors, where were they when Eastside was full of drugs, violence & crime?

Then the following Wednesday, a shock since Joe came to Eastside, a student assaulted a teacher. After that incident, Joe decided to stop trying to compromise w/ the Board Of Education. They had better take their measures against him and Joe would give it right back in their faces. Thanks to the Board's involvement, chaos was slowly reigning again. Since Joe couldn't run Eastside, the way he needed to, he seriously considered resigning his position. Due to his threat of resignation, all of the pent-up excitement from Eastside burst into a huge display of protest & solidarity. The students began at once to organize a protest march on the offices of the Board Of Education. If the Board disregarded these necessities, then the undersigned were prepared to leave Eastside at once. The protest was scheduled for that following Monday morning.

The mayor was demanding for Joe to be held in contempt of court. Frank Napier suggested that Joe turn the big march of kids into a big rally for Eastside and for Joe Clark. He wasn't going anywhere. Dr. Napier promised that if Joe were to go - so would he! When Joe walked out on-stage w/ a baseball bat in hand, since he wasn't permitted to chain the doors and the Board won't help, "They used to call him Crazy Joe. Now they can call him Bat Man. He's got thugs, drug dealers and miscreants of all kind tryin' to get into his school." The rally was a positive & invigorating event. On that same Monday, a Superior Court judge set 1-7-1988 for a non-jury, contempt of court trial for Joe and The Board of Education. Staff members, teachers & supporters once organized a Joe Clark legal expense fund. On 12-23, The Board Of Education held a closed meeting to discuss the possibility of suspending Joe. Everything resumed on the night of January 4TH.

Joe arrived w/ his lawyer to a great deal of applause and vocal encouragement. He was accused of not following due process. He had 20 days to respond to the Board's actions. If he could not find sufficient reason to stop it, a suspension, if not dismissal, would follow. On January 7TH, Joe was in court for the contempt charge, The day before the court appearance, Joe received/accepted an invitation to the White House for a possible position in The Board Of Education or in President Reagan's Office Of Policy Dept. He turned the offer down. He wanted to stay and fight for Eastside. He plead guilty to breaking the law, and stated his reasons. The judge dropped the contempt charges, and pleaded that he follow the fire code. Joe gave his word. Case closed. This emasked national publicity. Joe continued the fight the good fight.

Despite all of the media attention Eastside had received over the past several years, they still work mostly in obscurity. The process of education is always full of obstacles to overcome. And the inner city environments increase the difficulty. At Eastside; they sink, they swim, they rise, they fall; they meet their fate together. One of the initial and most crucial problems Joe and the staff encountered at Eastside was the loss of actual classroom time. Before Joe, very little learning went on. Hours of lollygagging and hallway conversing went on ramp-idly. Joe came in, restored order, and set about putting those lost minutes back in place - learning in the classroom.

If Joe had stopped only at discipline, chaos would still reign in the classroom only to not learn and goof around. EVERY MINUTE TO LEARN AND TEACH IS BEYOND VALUABLE! Joe began initiating that both Mondays & Fridays part of the educational school work. (He meant that in a term because of the laziness or lollygagging occurring on those days due to the past/presence of a weekend.) He would no longer tolerate any teacher, student or administrator taking it easy on those days. They are not running a part-time school. Joe wanted tests and longer homework assignments on Fridays, reports & quizzes on Monday. Every teacher is going to be monitored to ensure FULL usage of those days, or every other day.

After putting plans into action, Eastside had REAL 5 day weeks and FULL 40-minute periods. Teachers were supposed to teach their courses in a cramming rush and fake their classes through an impossible schedule. Not a proper time frame in which to teach their courses. Instead of having two months to have students on prepared subjects, they were given 2 weeks. Homework was treated as an ultimate joke and not as a valuable lesson plan. Joe also resuscitated the term paper and long range project, something that hasn't been assigned in Eastside for 3 years. They now have students taking the SATs. Those scores have inched up since 1982. Eastside graduates are ready/able to snap the ghetto's vicious cycle and become good, productive citizens. Eastside has a computer club, a job seeking club & a forensic club just to name a few. The school newspaper cranks out an issue a month. Once a year, in the spring, Eastside celebrates Career Day. In the fall, Eastside celebrates College Day. Some of these programs Joe rejuvenated, some he inherited and some he invented.

Joe made a way for students to better enrich their young lives, especially for those wanted to better their educations and themselves. The Ghost is Eastside High's emblem. Their school colors are orange & blue. Joe implemented ACTUAL & GENUINE school PRIDE to flow throughout Eastside. Everyone in the school had to know the school song and sing it upon demand or suffer dire consequences. They had to know their alma mater. It was an enlightened tool to use for students learning to memorize. Most importantly, the adult emphasis on the school song fosters SERIOUS pride in the school and all it stands for. Every Wednesday is school colors day. Students were encouraged, not required, to display school colors. Eastside High abounds school spirit. But, it's more than that. It's conducive to education & self-esteem. It's more than rituals & symbols. It's TRADITION, something ALOT of schools are lacking, showing TRUE & GENUINE school pride.

Students of Eastside are proud of the honorable reputation they have earned, and have begun to understand what you do reflects on  the community. The simple positivity of education is infectious. Just watch & learn. The focus for these young people had switched from drugs/crime to success through diligent striving. The neighborhoods & Eastside have done a complete 180*. What was once riddled w/ hoodlums is now associated w/ decency and is welcomed throughout the neighborhoods. Schools are wonderment to be accepted and embraced and NOT "something kids feel is to be dealt w/ just to get it over with". A good principal must reach out move the whole community; letting students, parents & businesses know that the school is not just 8:30A-3:00P, but a vital & vibrant part of their lives.

In 1986, an NBC News team was at Eastside, working on Connie Chung's special about Eastside and Joe Clark. (That media story eventually led to the film Lean On Me). One of the NBC production team people congratulated Joe and what he's done and accomplished. It wasn't just your usual 1980s high school story. Considering their environment, Eastside was like a savior. The City Of Paterson has a drug awareness program that now functions in all of it's schools. During school hours, there is at least one designated adult (teacher or administrator) available in the building whom the student goes to at once, The door is always open. The meeting takes TOP PRIORITY. NEVER postponed or delayed.

The discipline of Eastside High is meant, as well as, to teach of your self-discipline. Self-discipline is HOW YOU GET THE JOB DONE! Complete effectively and overcome your obstacles. Joe gives a motivational message every morning. He does not let up, the street is too close at hand and he never lets up. He/Joe Clark is a proven commodity. The kids believe in him and he has their best interest at heart. Providing ANY type of help/assistance to those who need it.
Kids perk up when they see/realize that grown-ups TRULY DO care. They wake up to education and plan their futures.

One of the teachers started a choir. Independent from glee clubs. The choir is for anyone who wants to sing. It has been a marvelous success. Musical assemblies were unthinkable before their reforms, because chaos was too dominant. Now they have weekly musical performances. Joe does NOT want to re-enforce the myth that the only way out of the ghetto is a sexy voice or a good right cross. During the first few years of Joe's administration, he received numerous death threats over the phone and in the mail. He still gets them every once in a while, but at the time, a regular occurrence, thanks to the drug dealers and their associates. Joe even came close to a "bomb threat" brought on by a student trying to pull the wool over Mr. Clark's eyes.  What he stood to gain was well worth the risk. In April 1988, Eastside held a carnival fundraiser for extracurricular activities. It proved a GRAND affair. A few officers directed traffic outside the grounds not to keep the peace or make any arrests. NO negative incident or discard whatsoever.

The old Eastside High produced drug addicts, criminals, unwed mothers & welfare cases. Youths lacking direction & skill were put upon Patterson. The new Eastside turns out responsible drug free young citizens ready to contribute to society. Joe Clark's management made it happen. REAL leaders are born. NOT made. Despite growing up in the Newark ghetto, Joe was very fortunate. He made the right choice to climb out of poverty and want but, also make/do good for other people. Before choosing education as a career, Joe seriously considered criminology, because he detested someone else cashing in on another man's money. He talks about his own youth growing up and what made him choose education as his primary choice. A dedicated educator could probably do more to improve the lot of the innocent than a crime fighter. A educator can be instrumental in laying the foundation for decent homes. Joe became an educator. He was meant to be a leader.

On the first day of classes in 1983, an Associated Press reporter covering urban school openings got wind of Eastside to get a few things down. He was very impressed and decided to do a FULL story on Joe & Eastside. The evening news at CBS read the AP wire and made arrangements to interview Joe. He was mentioned on various news programs, even a call from the President Of The United States. By presidential invitation, Joe went to the White House for the first of several visits.  A movie producer caught on to the news stories and showed up at Eastside, in order to catch some of Joe's time. Joe's victory led to his being on the cover of Time Magazine. It caused Warner Bros. to stop looking for a major star and soundtrack to carry the "Joe Clark movie". Lean On Me starring the remarkable Morgan Freeman as Joe Clark.
                                                       
              

 Lean On Me movie trailer

Morning Sunshine: How To Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too!

To being the new 2014 year, I thought I would begin on a positive note and start w/ a book from someone who makes it look effortless. Not everyone is/was as perky as it seems. This book comes from one who, not only shares her story and to be grateful, but shows you how to be confident and not be so full of doubt in life. From the Morning Sunshine wake-up call on HLN's Morning Express W/ Robin Meade, here is the story from the woman herself, Robin Michelle Meade.

The first out of many lessons throughout this book, that Robin speaks out of personal experience, is that if you don't speak up for yourself, no one else will. When embarrassing moments happen, laugh at yourself before others can.

Originally starting her career in Mansfield, OH, a little town w/ a low powered TV station at the time. Robin would shoot her own stuff (w/ her own video camera), edited and delivered it all for the love of the job. Carrying her own equipment while in high heels was worth the effort. It was the best learning experience of her career. Next was Cleveland. After Cleveland came a better position in Columbus, where she and her husband, Tim, were there six months and Robin anchored the Monday-Friday morning and afternoon shows. After Columbus came a position in Miami. That was a whole new world in itself.The day and night expenses taught Robin and Tim ALOT about being resourceful.

After Miami, Robin, at the age of 26, arrived in Chicago to anchor the weekday morning shows at a network affiliate. Even though Robin was young and bright-eyed, she was grateful to where and how far she'd come thus far. She had a job in the third largest market in the country. Robin had counted and had 8 honchos in charge in the 6 years she worked in Chicago. The problems came when new honchos had different visions for what he/she wanted for the newsroom. At times, different changes cause you to lose yourself in the process. Everytime someone new came through, Robin wanted to prove herself and win them over. She was shape-shifting to get through day-to-day, trying to morph into what was needed. Somewhere along the way, Robin lost her own image and was uncomfortable in her own skin. To her that's how it felt: you couldn't be yourself. She was losing her authenticity. She was losing what made Robin - Robin. It taught her to take pride in the things that made her stand out.

Robin & Tim

Robin had lost and cost herself jobs due to not using her accurate authenticity.She was anything but original. In her cub reporter days, she had straight tunnel vision. COME HELL OR HIGH WATER to get the job done. Working like a mule if she had to! Some days lasting 16 hours. Robin had to learn to say NO! Otherwise she was walked on. Robin learned the hard way what happens when you give in. (In a way -  life makes you suffer. "Why didn't I say NO? Now life is making me suffer for it.) Setting boundaries is the key. It is cool to do favors, but things change when you're walked on! Robin couldn't help herself. By doing that, things suffered at home, bringing tension between Robin & Tim. Work brought Robin "breathing problems". She was having panic attacks from taking on so much work. Little did Robin know the hard work was only the beginning.

Robin didn't know but what she was feeling and her symptoms were a diagnosis of anxiety attacks. She envisioned worse of what she thought the term meant. She felt anxious and unsure w/ herself. Anxiety as a feeling - not an attack - had pervaded other parts of her life for years. She was always a worrier. Her parents did their best to shield her, as well as, her brother, Kevin, from any budget concerns while simultaneously teaching them thrifty spending habits, as well as, hand-me-downs. Trips to Sandusky for off-priced duds. (This was before T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and Kohl's.) What they couldn't find at the right price, their mother would make.

Robin's parents both had manufacturing based jobs, that were thriving in OH at the time. All of her life, being worried about something seemed to be her natural state. She learned that the more you fear anxiety or bad feelings, the more they will show up in your life. At a charity event, Robin was to give a speech. She waited until that morning to figure out what she was going to say. She was surprised when she arrived. She thought to herself  "she could do this". She thought she KNEW what she wanted to say. Everyone was into their own. No one was listening. Then she went out and confidently grabbed everyone's attention. Once again it was the anxiety that stopped her.

It is our nature to take our talents, abilities & situations for granted until they are taken away. After that experience, Robin has since been forever grateful for the ability of public speaking. All because of her anxiety. One weathercaster Robin worked w/ stopped her dead in her tracks. She was the first person to see past the charade that Robin was putting on. Work life began to interfere w/ her home life. The little things that Tim used to find adorable about his wife were becoming the flesh-eating bug of their marriage. He was also beginning to run a small company from their condo and was stressing about not becoming a statistic.

Robin has the same drill, if you've ever noticed, before every single show. If you see it REAL closely, you'd see 2 cough drops Robin keeps on-set. One is in her mouth immediately before the show starts, to coat her throat before 4 hours of talking. The other she keeps on hand just in case. There is also a coffee cup on the desk full of hot water to give her and her voice a quick warm up. While routine is common, normal & a good thing, there were other calming agents Robin had to have throughout her day - otherwise it seemed NOTHING could go right. It seemed if she didn't have them, the anxiety would return and she would be all worked up!

After 2 drawn out years of this behavior, loss of confidence and growing habitual routines, Tim was FINALLY FED UP! Robin couldn't blame him. Robin admits it herself she was a royal bitch to him because she was so unhappy. Her job was no longer fun for either of them and their conflicting schedules had the couple knocking heads. Tim's confident, carefree & happy wife was now some worry-obsessed lady. If you're willing to work for it, sometimes asking for help is ALOT better off than not at all.

Robin hadn't even met him yet, but Tim was a star running back at Ashland University. He was having the best game of his career in his junior year when his knee got blown out by a painful helmet by an opposing player. Robin was a TV/radio geek. That was her major: radio/television production, programming & performance. Due to what it entailed, Robin didn't have time for anything else. The TV studio was her sorority house. The news team was her crew. After Robin met Tim, it was obvious to her how devastating the football injury had been. It was career ending for him and he still suffers in part today. Tim says being a football player helped make him what he is.

Tim remembered his chiropractor saying something about counseling people through "breakthroughs". Something the way his chiropractor mentored people made Tim think this "breakthrough" thing might be just what his wife needed to help "break through" her chain of anxiety. This kind work piqued Tim's interest and suggested for Robin to talk to the same therapist to help her stress at work. Tim came home w/ what she, the therapist,  had done that day and suggested it for Robin. Robin thought he was crazy to have - a chiropractor help her w/ her breathing problems. Robin shocked them both w/ the decision to want to quit. Tim was supportive but knew she wouldn't be happy w/ that decision. He just wanted for his wife to find the fight - instead she fought him. Her anxiety affected the way she viewed her abilities, her purpose, her marriage and herself. But Robin had more to achieve . . . . .

But, Robin & Tim both knew that quitting her job wasn't an option - financially. A week later, Tim went in and set up an appointment w/ Robin's doctor without telling her. He was trying to save what there was of the old Robin. He had set up for an in-home meeting w/ the doctor. When he finally told Robin, things hit the fan. Instead of seeing the positives of what Tim did, Robin only saw the negatives. After finding out Tim's setup for an in-home private session between Robin & the doctor ONLY!, Robin slowly let her guard down. Robin, at first, would find ANY WAY to interrupt a session. She was full of chaos and her panic was a sign of it. Robin soon seen it wasn't so bad. She found relief and could've cried w/ joy.

Little by little Robin began to reveal things to her new doctor that she'd held so tightly inside of her for so long - it was choking the life out of her. Robin felt she wasn't allowed to show her true personality on-air. She felt that had led to her anxiety. While speaking to the doctor, Robin thought maybe her psyche and true personality had been boxed in for years; the notion she had to act, talk & look a certain way to be a journalist.

Up until that point, life was all about work for Robin. She treated her work like an addict, going all day without food until she got home. She felt the rush of the responsibilities that came with the job. She wanted to do a service and have others love her. Robin was raised to be accountable for her actions and tried to act accordingly. When she and Tim would go out w/ a news crew team after work, her reputation preceded her due to her upbringing. Robin would be so afraid people thought she was bad. She denied that part of herself that had a backbone. The part of her that gets satisfaction at cursing under her breath. Robin would deny the parts of herself that made her REAL & HUMAN.

We have an inner bitch inside all of us and Robin wouldn't/couldn't embrace hers. She would act sweet and wouldn't drop her guard and BE REAL. Robin's panic attacks were manifestations of physical anxiety - the breathing problems, muscle tightening & tingling fingers coupled w/ the mental side of anxiety. You feel anxious when you feel guilt about something in the past, or are fearful about something in the future. Robin would try to envision what could happen to her or in her life (The What-Ifs). She would work herself up until she had to learn to stay in the present. If she stayed present, she she could quiet the anxiety.

The single easiest way to stay present is, something I personally think is a lost art in itself, is to have an attitude of gratitude. BE GRATEFUL FOR THE THINGS YOU DO HAVE!!! Being grateful forces you to think about where you are and what you have at the very second. If someone doesn't like you (or vice versa), think in terms of energy. (If you're as positive as you can be, you won't match w/ someone who's energy is CONSTANT negativity.) That is something I can personally understand, sympathize and relate to!

Throughout her therapist, she was trying to get Robin to realize an exceedingly important point: we all have moments when we are unlikable. She tried to re-assure Robin what she TRULY thought of her when she FIRST met Robin. Robin had to realize to love everything about herself; the good, the bad & the uncomfortable. The therapist made Robin see that she was putting other people's opinions of Robin on a pedestal. Because of everyone else's views, by relation, Robin put herself lower than them. Without realizing it, Robin was infatuated w/ the audience's opinions of her.

Part of the work Robin had to do was knock down the opinions and bring up her self-esteem. She had to learn how to be confrontational and assertive in a nice way. In a nice way, Robin had to embrace her inner bitch! In order to do that, she had to let go of the vision Robin had of herself as a goody-two shoes. It wasn't realistic. There are days when we're angels to the world, others when we're a TOTAL bitch. THAT was the side of Robin she wouldn't allow herself to express. She wasn't being REAL, AUTHENTIC & DROPPING HER GUARD.

That was one thing Robin admired about others and worked on bringing herself to do it as well, being BLUNT and telling it like it is! She would always tell people what they wanted to hear. She didn't have the guts to give constructive criticism. Robin gave & earned more respect by being honest rather than passive. Being respected is more important in developing your confidence than just being liked. Around certain people, you always feel you have to be ON button, NEVER to show your REAL being. You affect every person you come into contact with in a positive or negative way. (Unless one person's negativity flows interrupt your positivity creating a domino affect.) To be off - to find your authentic self - you really need to go back to zero as much as possible. NO MATTER how it's done. You need to center yourself and relax in order to take on the necessary chaos. It would be the same environment when you can act a little stupid, sit around in your PJs & flip flops, as Robin describes.

The harder Robin stayed in the patterns, where one thing won't work without the other, the harder she tried to repress herself, the harder things would come. That's what would make her panic. From the beginning, Robin's doctor kept pounding into her the part of herself that allowed her to be bitchy & nasty. She always had to be happy & likable. It was drowning her. Robin learned it was ALOT better to be confident and respected than to be liked!

Robin was making progress. She was seeing that she had incredibly pass-or-fail perceptions and limited views. If she failed, that's what she focused on! If she passed and took a step forward, Robin thought it was permanent. Robin didn't see that one step led to another. She'd seen it as a permanent spot. The moment you've overcome your challenge, a whole new set arise. At least Robin was learning to get herself unstuck.

In her experience, Robin found the Demartini Method a way of finding herself worthy. It simply asks questions. The answers put certain information into the nervous system to override the present labels. They force you to think your way out of your hang-ups. For Robin, it was her anxiety. You ask yourself these questions. The answers become your key information. However you choose to use that information is your choice. On certain things, Robin was so stubborn. She just wouldn't see the other side where the doctor was coming from. The doctor asked Robin to see how and what purpose the panic attacks served her? It completely confounded her that she couldn't see any way in the world those damn things helped her?

The doctor tried to get Robin to see the meaning behind the panic attacks rather than their benefit. Robin was flummoxed. He tried to tell her that if she looked at them from a different angle, the attacks wouldn't be something to fear and they wouldn't materialize. The doctor challenged Robin: Find 25-40 benefits of her panic attacks. How do they create trouble for others or benefit her? Think of the past, present & future. Write down the disadvantages in all areas of life and wonder how that can serve others? Early on in her therapy, Robin wouldn't have her panic attacks except for when she was on-air. Never anywhere else. That was her biggest fear. She was the breadwinner, scared to screw up, had a good job and had the what-ifs. But of course, they would came at the worst possible time.

Robin worked on them until she didn't fear them anymore. Robin was so wrapped up in her title & position that she constantly fantasized about the future and outcome of her panic attacks. She had to empower herself. Turn it around! Instead of seeing the anxiety, Robin seen the gratitude in them. They would help her position in life rather than hurt it. Robin was really making progress at this point.

They would go over-and-over this, Robin & the doctor. In a very serious tone, the doctor challenged Robin to figure out where it's as fantastic to be disliked as it is to be liked? So, Robin had to do ALOT of mental gymnastics. Once she did, the benefits for being disliked really surprised her. Robin seen some of the positive weight lifting from being disliked. NONE OF THIS OR THAT! There is actual downright free time for whatever you want. Once Robin opened the door and found reasons to be disliked, things began to click for her! It was totally and completely worth it! Robin began to have fun and show REAL change!

Robin had to do ALOT of writing for 3 hours w/ 3 separate pages for each category in life. The doctor had her do ALOT of writing, because if you write, you're taking action, and your brain responds better. (Something I can personally verify as proof!) Eventually, Robin began letting go of her original restrictions. Writing helps your brain feel as though you're taking action! It's ALOT better than to just sit & stew. (Even something small as a pro/con list.)

Robin's homework assignment from her therapist was to declare an answer to this question: What do you call a woman who confronts people? Write down the names you call people in your head. Robin's homework continued w/ the question: Why aren't you likable? Out of everything that Robin wrote down expressing, the doctor was trying to get her to recognize that she was all those things. Recognize where Robin was a bitch and where she was a jerk.

Robin, at the time, was subconsciously cursing herself for multiple reasons. One was that her career path wasn't going as planned. Instead of seeing the benefits and gratitude of the job, Robin seen the drawbacks. (The good, the bad & the ugly) She didn't feel the love or togetherness that she should at work. She really felt alone. Robin couldn't really bring herself to say it. So, the doctor told her to write down everything she liked & disliked about herself.

Within this process of balancing her thinking: the more Robin worked on it, the less negative she felt about herself. (I personally think this is a great task and everyone should do it at some point.) Robin had ALOT from just one sitting. Once she got the knack of the exercise, she began letting go of her original restrictions that she had. Robin was able to see that w/ that integration, when she delivered the news, she could be reflective and able to relate to her audience as a human being. Then the doctor surprised Robin by saying she/Robin how she's a dictator? Robin wondered what it meant and thought about it. After pondering it over, Robin got/understood its meaning. She thought about her own marriage. Still in some respects, we're all dictators in some aspect. (Ex. -  something getting done to ANOTHER'S EXACT specifications)

The doctor pushed Robin to see, although she was 2 dementionally dictating the news,she was NOT having a reflective conscious. She wasn't having empathy. It would be like seeing herself and putting herself into the shoes of those she speaks of on-air. Speaks as though your coming from their experience. After hearing that, everything was in order. Robin was instantly quiet & humbled. Her eyes filled w/ tears. She felt a true warmth and knew she had a REAL breakthrough. It was a good and emotional moment. As soon as Robin seen to embark and broaden her perspective w/ humility, her mind began to open. Her contract in Chicago was ending, she didn't have to take whatever was open. Robin could explore her options.

When one door closes, another one opens. At the right and perfect time, CNN Headline News came calling through a referral from a former co-worker in Miami. Robin couldn't wait until her next session w/ the doctor to reveal the news. She was all excited. NO JOKE and SERIOUS that Robin's FIRST day at HLN on-the-air was 9-11-2001. Robin was busy taping a show, while another one was going on LIVE! Robin felt her heart race, thinking it was a nightmare she could wake up from! Staying in newswoman mode helped keep her focus. The anxiety within her personal life subsided. She was busy staying present. After a few months after arriving at HLN, Robin landed in her current role at the morning show. It was in this role Robin was relieved to discover that her bosses would let her be comfortable in her own skin. She could report the news and show her TRUE personality. When she felt certain she could do that - when she also loved herself for who/what she is, the panic LARGELY disappeared! Robin graduated from the doctor after a year 1/2 when she could think her way out of familiar traps. She now has a much better mind set.

Many things were better after that. Her marriage got better to Tim, as well as his business. What she does now, hosting Morning Express W/ Robin Meade is very much her life's purpose. She gets to be her REAL & AUTHENTIC ROBIN SELF!

Robin states a point, that I personally point out to others in life that I've come across, and that is we ALL have to recognize ourselves for what we are, NOT for what we do or have. (Putting this into my own words: I AM MORE THAN MY TITLES!) When everything is gone, the REAL you is still there! You are more than the sum of your experiences or resume. Robin delves so far into her past experience in her own life lesson about "frenemies". When she was in school, Robin was in student government, National Honor Society and band. Along w/ other popular girls as well. The girls showed disdain as Robin ventured to activities more to her liking such as drama club and choir. (Asserting her independence)

Robin soon had to learn to keep other things quiet. Secretiveness became her defense. It proved to be a very effective tool when she was in the Huron County Junior Miss Pageant. At one point, a fear to be victim of ridicule. The next becomes love & support. The way one person acts when in the company of others compared to being solo is the way Robin felt the "frenemies" operated. She was headlong into feeling excluded by the "frenemies" by the time she met her good friend, Julie (Jules) in high school, whom she met in typing class. When Robin met Jules, she seen something in her that Robin wished and admired to have herself. The ability to not care of others' opinions. On  the outside, Robin was bubbly and upbeat. On the inside, he gut ached. One day, one of Robin & Jules' classmates took care of the taunting Robin received from the "frenemies" in a very Dixie Carter/Julia Sugarbaker tone that became a beautiful moment and it shut everyone up!

Robin usually sees that what she sees as a fault in someone has to do with what she likes/dislikes w/ herself. What she sees in others, she often mirrors what she thinks she sees in herself. When you feel belittled by another person's criticism, the other person has the same and directs it negatively. When you're hurt, those who damage you may not even know it going on all that time! They don't realize the hurt that's actually being brought on! The best way to remedy this is to PUT YOURSELF IN THE OTHER PERSON'S SHOES!! (both metaphorically, mentally and emotionally)

Robin still remembers and uses the advice & sayings she's heard from her parents growing up in Ohio. While both of her parents come from Kentucky stock, you couldn't find a bigger opposites attract. Robin's dad became a Christian at age 29. He'd taken what's dubbed as "the Hillbilly highway' to find work and had met Robin's mom. She was 18 and he was 21 when they married. Three years after becoming a Christian, he was preaching in the Church Of Christ. Of course, church was mandatory w/ NO EXCUSES. Robin's mother NEVER went to the/any church and never has. She loves and respects her husband, but she is her own person.

As a unit, they balanced each other out - even in their separate professions. Robin learned ALOT as a kid. She got the union mind-set from her dad, and she got the management viewpoint from her mom. Tim says his wife is definitely her parents daughter. They both taught their daughter the value of a dollar and that it could be gone. They also gave her NO-NONSENSE advice on office politics. If you talk as if you discount what you do in work, others WILL too! If you talk as if you VALUE your work, others WILL too! (Something I have done and others did see it through my eyes.) These tools have been drilled into Robin and her siblings when they were teens.

Robin's brother, Kevin, and his wife were still teenagers when they had their first child, Heather. Their parents babysat Heather ALOT, Robin's mom was a BIG influence on her granddaughter. Heather had her own personality from the start, even if Robin's mom did influence her. Thanks to her young niece's behavior, it made Robin grateful to have the balanced upbringing that she had. If you can find it in yourself, that balance, of variety in human nature, you'll be a more confidant and well-rounded person. Diversity in itself is a learning experience. Robin looked around at one point in her life and realized if she were to write a headline about herself it would be: ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES ROBIN A WORKAHOLIC. Her life was definitely one-sided, especially in Chicago. Robin lived off adrenaline and the responsibility of providing a service to the community.

Just because you take your job seriously, doesn't mean you have to take yourself that way seriously. Become the author of your own life's "headline" (Think of your life as a headline, just like the one in the newspapers. What do you want your life's story headline to be!?) Don't take the credit if you're not willing to take the blame.

When you think about the earliest moments that brought you bliss, what do you see?  The world around you may have taken notice, but it was something that just came natural to you. When you think back about the earliest moments that brought you bliss, what do you see? The world around you may have taken notice, but it was something that just came natural for you. For ALOT of people, what they do as children - wheat brought them feelings of confidence - ended up foreshadowing their life's passion. Sometimes expressing your passion can open ALOT of doors and lead to ALL kinds of experiences. (For me, I guess you could say it was writing. NOT a book synopsis, but REAL AUTHENTIC poetry, that speaks of REAL life. It never opened any doors for me, but it got EVERYTHING out that needed to be!)

In Robin's senior year of high school, she had to take an aptitude test to see what she was good at. It showed she should have nothing to do with numbers, which didn't surprise her. But the test did tell her that she was good at creative writing, reading & word comprehension. The instructions further on told her to "write down something in this field that you would like to do." Robin went blank. She looked over at her "frenemies" paper and seen she had similar aptitude results. (It wasn't a REAL test, so it wasn't cheating.) Robin peeked again and seen that neighbor had wrote that "she would like to be a broadcast news anchor" that she/Robin wrote down the same thing. And that's where Robin's whole professional life came from. Obviously, there was more to it. Robin loved watching the Cleveland News growing up.As she got older, this whole broadcast thing really began to percolate. Filling out the form for Huron County Miss, Robin was asked her career objective. Her objective was to become a world-renowned broadcaster and follow in the footsteps of Diane Sawyer. Robin's mom seen what her daughter had written and told her to be more realistic. It wasn't the belief in her daughter, it was that Robin wasn't great at public speaking. The sheer notion of a girl from the middle of a cornfield thinking she could make a living in broadcasting bordered on delirium. It would be like being in small town w/ the big city being across the bridge.

As she has gotten over her reticence in front of groups, Robin sees that her profession actually suits her. Therefore, Robin is more daring when it comes to getting a story than she is about anything else in life. Following her bliss had created a perfect harmony, between Robin's work, personality & natural bent. Could you be so resilient about a life changing situation and retain that positive mind-set? Robin's point was to show that positivity is contagious.

Being connected to your purpose is something magnetic. Everyone can see it and it's written all over your face drawing everyone else in. (For me, I can say that it was the 8 1/2 years I spent beginning small in volunteering and expanding bigger over time. I started small w/ one responsibility and more was added over that time.) Robin feels passionate about helping the audience start their day on a good note through the news show. It's joining in for the days news, but also an emotional caffeine jolt. Being passionate about the news and what you're talking about. Robin, herself, is attracted to health stories. News you can use, as well as anything Military and stories of veterans. Apart from other types of news stories, Robin is passionate about music.

Robin often thinks about the music used for rehab or therapy. She can definitely see how it works, because she self-medicated w/ music when anxiety was a problem. Whenever she was anxious in Chicago before the shows began, Robin used music as a distraction. Robin has become involved w/ the World Children's Center. It's something she's most passionate about. Compassion equals confidence.

People in today's society, I personally feel, don't acknowledge what they're grateful for. What they're able to do and how they use it. I'm not even talking about their talents, just what they're able to do. Robin is thankful/grateful for her 2 voices: One is her singing voice; the other is her speaking voice. She is grateful to have something to say & the ability to say it. In junior high, Robin was indifferent about watching TV. She had a strong personality. She was her own person. She wasn't dependent on distractions like Punky Brewster, The Smurfs or General Hospital (such as case in point Luke/Laura's wedding). Robin didn't need television. The family just had togetherness time without the TV! For a kid, patience only runs so long. Robin's nonchalant attitude vanished after a few days. Robin & Kevin's parents were so impressed w/ the "togetherness"  the family displayed without television, it became a longer lasting experiment. For Robin, the "cool kids" at school would talks about popular she didn't had no idea what they were talking about. While others talked of having "the latest", Robin was grateful for what she had.

When they finally got the TV replaced, after a couple of weeks but to Robin felt like half a school year, the family sat googly-eyed and gorged themselves on Gilligan's Island and Alice reruns. The irony is that Robin ended up making her living from television. Do you have honest gratitude for innate gifts and the opportunities life has afforded you? What are you taking for granted? Robin became the most grateful for her voice after being in the position of losing it - once figuratively and the other literally.Although words are her stock-in-trade, it was a truly life-changing self-affirmation w/ gratitude feeling Robin felt when it she returned. She lost lost her speaking voice due to having so much anxiety. Her voice box worked fine, she just lost her ability to speak comfortably in public.

Due to anxiety Robin couldn't speak for long periods on the air, so in that sense, her voice was gone.(I can relate this to myself and others I know, where we could eat/drink something and enter it into our mouths, chewing and about to swallow and right then our throats lock up and close.) Robin didn't feel confident enough to express what she was experiencing. (So in that respect, Robin lost her voice) If Robin had to do so much as deliver a report in high school, as soon as she stood up, her knees would shake and her face would turn red. Her voice sounded like a vibrating chair. It bugged Robin's dad seeing her daughter who could perform for people and be confident in that context, yet couldn't speak in front of a group. Something Robin's dad experienced himself and helped his daughter through. Robin sees it as though the principle you grow up without something as a kid, you want even more of as an adult.

Something inside Robin told her she could survive in her profession if could overcome her fear of being judged. When she does breaking news stories today, she usually doesn't have all the info right away, so she'll dance around the subject until all the facts come into form a narrative.  It was the same principal as finding her singing voice.Robin is FOREVER GRATEFUL for both abilities.She recounts the time she lost her voice singing temporarily by a worsening viral infection, even HURTING to sing. Her voice itself hurt. Eventually, Robin went to the world class Cleveland Clinic, where they stuck a camera down her throat. The doctor seen 2 vocal chords, but only 1 that vibrated. It was due to that 1 vocal chord being paralyzed. One chord was doing all the work while the other was frozen. It was partial vocal paralysis. Robin was instructed to KEEP her quiet and speak when NECESSARY! About a year later, Robin noticed a tickle in her voice box. It was like energy running through a dead wire. Just a little ( a tickle and a twitch). It made Robin want to swallow hard and clear her throat. Then stop. She could regain her voice again in a few hours or days. FINALLY, that's how her paralyzed chord came back. She could finally sing full range and her voice had clarity. She was so excited when her voice recovered. As a result from all of this, Robin NO LONGER takes her voice for granted. Robin's experience reminds me of the phrase :You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

After that experience, recognizing both of those gifts helped preserve Robin's confidence. Recognize your talents and BE GRATEFUL to have them. What that is something to be grateful for, there is the ability to recognize where your void becomes your value. Robin valued becoming a journalist, the void would be to speak in front of people. Your void, in other words, is the rockiness that is in your way, while your value is the road/steps to your goal/dream. It also carries a double meaning. Your void becomes your value being the way you make a living and the way you define yourself. (For example - a boss letting you decide what your pay should be.) Turning a negative into a positive. Your void is the very thing you overcome. Robin wanted to succeed so badly in television news because wasn't so sure she could master it. That was the void, therefore she put value to it.

Salute To Troops

Robin's boss at CNN chose between her, Anderson Cooper & Larry King. They were up for an EXCLUSIVE interview that every journalist wanted to tell this particular story. Robin was floored because she didn't plan for it, but she was really glad to be! It was a short time before Robin found out she was chosen, possibly thanks to the daily Salute To Troops segment on the show. She was also a sensitive interviewer. Whatever the reason, Robin was deeply honored. This story taught you that even though you're captured, you keep your mind free.That void of being captured also gave the value of using your mind and keeping it sharp. Conducting this interview was the opportunity of a lifetime. Robin covering this story really affected her more than she thought. Another example of a void becoming a value is being determined to beat the odds after a part of the human body stops works, you're going to prove them wrong. Think of the positivity Disney's Cinderella possess: Forced to be a maid & servant in her own house while dreaming of a wish your heart makes.

In 2008, Robin began taking pilot lessons to do something that scares her most. (If you're going to do it, go all the way.) She was never a fan of flying, especially after 9-11-2001. But the greatest tool is is to use the info if needed on the air and in life. It really benefits Robin both personally and professionally, as well as really piquing her interest. Her first lesson was scary, but exciting. The instructor wanted her to look around for fun, but she was ramrod straight. She had the opportunity to land after a takeoff, but Robin was beat! With her second lesson, she was a bit more secure. The value was the excitement within this new venture. The void is feeling uncomfortable on airliners. Think of where your void becomes your value. Even something painful can have its benefits. (Reading this, I instantly thought of myself, as well as others who are LGBT and the coming out process.)

Do It Yourself home decor was intriguing to Robin. But she had NO IDEA where to start. She learned a MASSIVE lesson doing it herself without taking a class or instruction. A few years later, Robin got the bug to do it again. This time, she took lessons and was the star of her class. She used what she learned in class at home and got rave reviews from others. After moving to Atlanta, Robin got another bug,  window dressing. Her mom came to visit and helped her daughter w/ the creation of Robin's design. Now, her home decor is featured in magazines and TV! Having a team in place, as Robin had w/ Tim and her mom w/ the MASSIVE wall painting disaster, is a good jump start to your own confidence. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP!!

Is there anyone who, I guess you could say, has an "alter ego". You're one way in public and another way in private? Robin & Tim first met during her senior year of college. She was a transfer student from Malone College. She was doing just fine in her education until she got her first internship. It was in Washington, D.C. and she was going to intern at C-SPAN. After the cutthroat experience, Robin seen she needed more. So that's when she transferred to Ashland University. Robin wanted to live in the dorm, which was 30 minutes away. She wanted to live the college experience, NOT drive it. After realizing the expenses, Robin switched schools over Christmas.

Robin's life was so bereft of social activity that she didn't realize that "Mr. Fraternity"/Tim had been watching his wife from afar. She first noticed his football injury. She didn't know. And thus a true love story began. Tim spotted Robin on campus the year she transferred and thought she was a professor because she dressed up so much. The dressing up was because of her evening job as a reporter. Tim kept trying to find out more about this girl. The next year they would cross paths a few times a week and he would say hello to her. She would also notice his nice smile. One reason Robin fell in love with Tim was that he was so supportive of her career aspirations. They dated for 3 years and were married in 1993 when she was working in Columbus. They had a HUMONGOUS wedding.

Tim is the ying to her yang. The patient to the impatient. For a time, Tim stayed home and was a househusband given the demands of his wife's career. He would cook, clean, keep house and pay the bills. Tim did it ALL! Humor has been the key to their marriage. Entertain each other! Show gratitude to and for each other. Praise goes a long way. Robin stated your spouse is the same person you stood with before the alter. It's hard to see the hurt when the person you're with is NO LONGER that same person. Tim has treated Robin like a lady from day one. They are both confident in their relationship, and confident in themselves as individuals. (The last chapter of this book speaks on 'How To Be A Good Spouse'.) Robin has found her confidence w/ her and hopes you CAN find yours.



                               This book has ended and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE of it!
                       

Morning Sunshine

                 Positivity  - These lyrics can show the exact same example as what I got/get from Robin.