Ron Strickland (played by Ice Cube) is a crazy history teacher who has his own style of teaching in which is shouting at the students getting an axe and chopping up the students tables... everyone has their own story about why Strickland is so angry: He was an ex cop and he would beat up his suspects till they say what he needs, He was the person whom you answered to in a gang when you either snitch or you don't pay your debt to the gang in which he was in.