Freedom Writers

Revised Post. (Answering the questions from D2L)

Starting off going into this teaching job Erin hopes that she will be able to inspire the students with literature that they will have a passion for it as much as she does. Her eyes are opened when her class of students doesn’t respond as quickly as she had hoped.  She realizes that their skill level is not up to what she thought it would be and that it will be harder than she thought. When Erin realizes that this class is not what she expected she takes a new approach on reaching them. She learns about them and their life. Most of these students have had family/friends that have died due to gang violence. One of her students shared his journal entry and expresses his appreciation for what she has done and the class. He shares that he has no longer has a place to call home, to feel like he belongs because his family was evicted from their home. He shares that when he is in class with these people he feels like that is where he feels at home. As a teacher that would be so encouraging to here. At first the attitudes of the students about learning was very negative, they did not understand how learning about music, math, writing would ever help them in the “real world.” This affected them because they had no interest. It is hard to want to learn about something you feel is useless to you. Once Erin realizes this she come up with ways to connect their learning to them personally. She changes the traditional teaching methods she has to first prove to them, show them, that what they learn in school can help them have a better future.  One of the strategies that Erin uses to break down the barriers was the line game. Doing the line game I feel so beneficial to the class for them to realize that just because they are from different parts of town and different ethnic groups that they still have things in common. Also, I feel like when Erin begins to spend her own money on the students they realize that this teacher really cares about them. I feel as a teacher it is important to have other teachers to look up to and connect with. Erin struggled with this she has little to none support from the teachers around her. Having high expectations for the students made them want to reach them they wanted to prove to people that they can learn, that they can graduate and make it to college. Although Erin’s expectations were high, she used that in an encouraging way. A lesson that I learned would be to strong. As a teacher you need to be a person that your students can rely on, you cannot give up on them.  Stand up for your students and show them how much you care.

(original post)
Freedom Writers is a very inspiring movie. The scene when Mrs. G sits down with her dad because she is flustered about how to help these students. I feel like her struggle with how to help them (with things outside of school work) is something that many teachers will face at some point in their career.  I like when the teacher realizes that this class full of students was not what she expected, she steps back and thinks outside of the box and comes up with ways to help her students in a nontraditional way. It is so sad to hear the stories of these children, they are in high school they shouldn’t have these problems. Although this is a movie, these issues are real. It is not easy to be in high school, students are faced with difficult obstacles throughout the four years. To have a teacher like this, which the students are able to come to makes a huge difference. That is one of the reasons I want to become a teacher. I want to make a difference in the lives of children. The difference that Mrs. G makes in the lives of her students, I feel that every teacher would strive to have that kind of impact. She kept pushing them and encouraging them to do their best. That is a good teacher.