A Class of Leaders

It's 1969. Joshua Sampson, a teacher in a predominantly black high school in South Central Los Angeles, discovers the only way to break through a wall of apathy with his students is to let them teach. Sampson's students, with his guidance, lead discussions on Black Power, drugs, the war in Vietnam, capital punishment, premarital sex, the grading system, police harassment and even if Sampson is teaching them or not. The students hold trials, sign petitions, write essays on their own and have weekly debates. The apathetic wall is shattered and there is a new liveliness in Sampson's classes because the students are thinking instead of memorizing. Due to his unconventional teaching method, the principal vows to end Sampson's teaching career.