AllMovie

In an era when the public-school system has come under increased scrutiny, filmmakers Terry DeBono and Steve Rosen profile one inner-city schoolteacher who is determined not to let his students become statistics. As a child growing up in a lower-class Oakland neighborhood, Tommy Lindsey was taken to a local department store by his teacher and outfitted with a pair of jeans and some shirts -- and it was at that moment that the young student knew he had found his calling in life. These days Lindsey teaches his multi-racial students how to channel their anger and energy into a productive tool by coaching them in an academic sport known as "forensics." By highlighting precisely how proper support in the classroom can transform troublesome students into productive public speakers with a strong skill for oral interpretation, DeBono and Rosen attempt to offer a positive counterbalance to the endless stream of negative news stories addressing the sorry state of public education in America.