#michael lee

although i hadn’t seen him in more than ten years, i know i’ll miss him forever.

SIMON: Ed, what were the fundamental themes of this season you wanted to try to convey? BURNS: The first one, like you said, is education. We established through the first three seasons who the guys are on the corner, and this season was to look where they came from. We took four kids—every classroom has a unique mix of kids, but they sort of all define themselves in the end. We picked four of those stereotypical-type characters, and brought them together in this little team. And then we watched them in this first episode as children, and then we’ll watch their journey as it goes on from childhood. […] SIMON: Did the kids that you sort of conceived of, did they represent anyone in particular in your teaching experience? BURNS: Not really, because the classroom always has these same characters. They’re ubiquitous. […] But there’s always the kid who’s the dirty child. There’s always the kid who’s the hustler. There’s always the kid who’s the wannabe gangster. And there’s always that kind of quiet, cool kid—that you would really like to get to, but you really can’t—who’s much older than his thirteen or fourteen years.