Freedom Writer

Ziegenbein 1
Elana Ziegenbein
Professor Milner
EDUC 210
26 April 2011
Freedom Writers The movie “Freedom Writers” is an inspiring story about one teacher’s dedication and commitment to her students. Remarkably, she manages to overcome the many struggles and hardships and significantly change the lives of her students. The film is based on an inspiring true story that encourages teachers to be passionate about their work. Many individuals do not understand the complex work teachers contribute to society or the challenges that teachers must face throughout their career. “Freedom Writers” and all that I have acquired this semester has exposed me to the realities of teaching and challenged me to consider whether teaching was right for me. Teachers, Schools, and Society introduced me to the realities of teaching that most people don’t realize until they experience it themselves. Many concepts covered in the readings correlated with the educational concepts and theme in the film. One major educational concept mentioned in both the text and the film is different ways of learning. “Freedom Writers” demonstrates the different ways of learning from the beginning of the movie. Mrs. Gruwell is assigned to a classroom of “at-risk” students. Many of the students are failing, have no desire to perform well in school, and have no respect for their teacher or their peers. Instead of simply giving up on these students, Mrs. Gruwell sacrifices her lifestyle, challenges the board of education, and shows these students that she truly wants them to succeed. As mentioned in the film, a teacher must care about their students to effectively teach them. Individuals have different ways of learning, perceiving information, and retaining classroom material. A teacher must be patient for some students learn and respond more slowly than others. Mrs. Gruwell also helped her students alter their locus of control. An external locus of control involves the individual attributing their success or failure to external factors. In the film, Mrs. Gruwell’s students blamed society for their failures. When the students claimed no one cared if they succeeded or not, Mrs. Gruwell showed them that she cared and inspired them to apply themselves. “Stereotypes are absolute statements applied to all members of a group, suggesting that members of a group have a fixed, often inherited set of characteristics” (Sadker & Zittleman 34). The students in the film fit the stereotype that exist in society today of low socioeconomic children. The other teachers in the film believed in these stereotypes, having no hope for these students because they truly believed they could not be helped. Stereotypes are a very unfortunate part of education that teachers should fight to change.
Observing a classroom really allows one to see the role of teaching first hand. I saw many educational concepts in the classroom that I had learned about in the text and saw in the film. The classroom I have been observing is full of diverse students of all ethnicities, learning styles, races, genders, and economic statuses. I found that it was interesting these same concepts were found in the elementary school I observe and in the high school in the film. Mrs. Gruwell’s diverse students were majorly being affected by racism and diversity separation. In the beginning, cliques of race, gangs, separated the students. The Asians sat with other Asians, African American’s with other African American’s, Hispanics with other Hispanics and etc. A clear racial divide was evident among the classroom. Mrs. Gruwell put an end to this by giving the student’s something to relate to. Learning about the Holocaust made the student’s realize the negative effects racism and stereotypes can have. As a result, the classroom united and no one saw the color of his or her classmates skin anymore. As inspiring as this was, these issues remain to be a problem in society. Mrs. Gruwell demonstrated the Cultural difference theory by mediating the cultural gap separating the cultural differences of the students and the school. I have realized the power and influence of a teacher’s attitude on their classroom. Mrs. Gruwell followed the expectation theory, holding high standards and expectations for her students despite their racial and ethnic groups, and therefore had a profound impact on the students. The other teachers in the film held little expectations for these students and therefore, as Mrs. Gruwell stated, “could not teach them if they didn’t even like them.” Believing in your students and holding high expectations for them will help them believe in themselves and want to improve their academic achievement.
Almost ten percent of students enrolled in public schools across America are English language learners. Learning how to teach these learners effectively can be very difficult. In the film, Mrs. Gruwell’s diary assignment helps one of her bilingual students work on his English. In the classroom that I am observing, the student from Haiti, who speaks little English, is also helped in many ways in the classroom. I admired the other students who worked with him trying to help him understand directions through hand signals and gestures. The teacher also happens to know enough Spanish to help him with instructions and learning material. I realize how hard it is for him to keep up with the other students, but despite the difficulty he really shows a desire to understand. The teacher also informed me that the school offers him an after school program assisting him additional instruction in reading and writing in English.
The text refers to multicultural education as “expanding the curriculum to reflect America’s diversity, using teaching strategies that are responsive to different learning styles, ensuring and supporting multicultural competence of teachers, comfortable and knowledgeable working with students and families of different cultures; and a commitment to social justice.” Mrs. Gruwell displayed all of these dimensions and serves as a role model for multicultural education. We have discussed this issue many times in class and I have come to realize how important this concept is. Culturally responsive teaching encourages students to be comfortable in their classroom and treat one another equally.
Lastly, classroom management is one of the key concepts I have acquired through my experiences this semester. Everyday, my professor starts class exactly on time. He does not waste time preparing his lesson plan but already has it done. Having his students immediately engage in classroom discussions or lectures allows no time for students to get distracted. Allocated time, engaged time, and academic learning time are all beneficial when it comes to increasing academic learning time and student achievement. Creating fair and reasonable rules and handling misbehavior contribute to creating a well-managed classroom. In the film, Mrs. Gruwell allows her students to express their opinion as long as they are respectful. Having the students feel as though their voices are actually being heard makes them want to participate, achieve, and work cooperatively. They gain a great deal of respect for Mrs. Gruwell because of the way she has managed her classroom. I asked the teacher I observe, since she is fairly young, how she learned to manage her classroom efficiently. She informed me that it comes with experience, and that when she first started teaching she struggled with behavioral issues and academic learning time. I understood that observing a classroom and teaching a classroom are not the same. I may think I know how to well-manage my classroom, but it will be much different when I am actually managing a classroom. In class, we went over how to effectively handle behavioral issues. We did an activity where we had to show how we would handle a student’s misbehavior without disrupting the rest of the classroom. Having each one of us give a stern look actually helped me acquire a future technique I will use in my classroom.
Teachers are extremely important today. They are responsible for educating the future leaders of our country, serving as role models and influencing student’s behavior, preparing students for the real world. A teacher’s dedication and passion about his or her work is illustrated through their teaching methods and student’s achievement. If a teacher strives to do whatever needs to be done in order for a student to achieve, they have an increasingly better chance of reaching the student. Using active engagement, interesting teaching methods, holding high expectations, providing equal treatment to the students, having patience, managing the classroom efficiently, and keeping the classroom attentive through questioning and discussions are all factors I believe contribute to teacher effectiveness. As mentioned before, teaching is not easy. Many people underestimate the work that goes into this profession. People say not to make one’s job their life, but sometime’s ones job is their life. Mrs. Gruwell gave up her marriage, worked multiple jobs, and sacrificed so much for her students because she loved helping others and truly cared about her students. The reality of every teacher having this same influence on their students is highly unlikely, however it is examples such as “Freedom Writers” that show us it is possible. Through everything that I have acquired, I hope to always be passionate about teaching. This course and the experiences I have endured throughout the semester have challenged me to question whether teaching is right for me. Through it all, I know that teaching is what I am passionate about. Mrs. Gruwell was a powerful educator that was able to change the lives of each and every one of her students in her classroom. Believing in her students, accepting their uniqueness, and refusing to let them fail encouraged them to succeed. Being there for a student who may not have anyone else can have a powerful impact on the student. For me to be able to have a positive effect on even just one student would be enough for me to know I am making a difference. Ultimately, I have become destined to be an effective teacher and help every possible student that I can to reach his or her highest academic and personal achievement.