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The English term ‘dignity’ comes from the Latin word ‘dignitas’, meaning ‘worthiness’. It implies that each person is worthy of honor, respect and to be treated ethically for who they are, and not just for what they can do. Human dignity cannot be earned and cannot be taken away. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. Conscience, meaning a person's inner moral sense of right and wrong, viewed as acting as a guide to one's behavior or impelling one towards a right action, is of course impacted by dignity. The possession of human dignity is of great importance for the development of consciousness.
Eva Benitez, a year 9 student at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School was one of the main characters in the film which had a poorly developed conscience, that was in need of growth. Throughout the film, she slowly, but gradually grew into a much better person overall, with many different decisions made along the way to get her to have a fully developed conscience by the end of the film.
Eva finds that because of her race, everything has to be hard. Going into school, she notices that school is similar to a city, and a city for her is just like prison. So, in her eyes, every day is hell. Her father was a respected gang leader, and as a result she became a third-generation gang member, which affected her as a person on the inside a lot. Because of this, she was an aggressive and tough woman, and was often keen to lie rather than actually tell the truth in order for a fellow gang member of hers to avoid going to jail. She often skipped school, got into fights regularly, made many other poor choices, and frequently participated in illegal activities.
One main thing that she had witnessed and gone through which began to show that her conscience was developing was when she saw her boyfriend shoot Sindy’s boyfriend. She then later risked her life, testifying against her boyfriend in court, after being inspired by the books, ideas and people introduced to her by Ms. Gruwell. As a result, she soon realized that some of the difficult things in life are the right things to do.
As Ms. Gruwell transferred into her new job as a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, she was assigned the low-performing and disrespectful students, and soon recognized that she had something to focus on in her path of their development. And so, she did what she had hoped to do, which was to prove that school and respect is really worth their time.
In the path of their development, she helped all of the students, but mainly Eva by first assigning her a journal which was a safe space for self-expression, self-exploration, as well as a healthy release of problematic emotions that previously lacked an outlet. Through this process, she learned about others as well as herself. Ms. Gruwell had also assigned Eva Anne Frank’s diary to read, which made her, and her classmates immediately have a connection to Anne’s story. As Eva learnt about the intense racial hatred and brutal war this young girl experienced, she ultimately began to like her, realizing that violence is never a solution to one’s problems. Instead, she began to believe in the importance of loving and respecting people regardless of their racial or ethnic identity, and to trust in the power of the written word to effect personal and social change. This made her asses situations in a different way, helping her in making better decisions more often. One other way that Ms. Gruwell helped Eva in developing as a person was by giving her the opportunity to meet people that were a part of the Holocaust and had overcome adversity of their own.
“The story of what Erin was able to accomplish with her students connects to what we do at the museum”, Snyder said. “She inspired her students to change their lives and then change the world”. Gruwell talked about the importance of making history relevant to younger generations, helping students connect with the past and be inspired to act.
Overall, Ms. Gruwell had an extremely positive influence on Eva by mainly inspiring her to value herself. She did so by mainly encouraging her students to believe in themselves. By trusting her students and inciting their own appreciation for themselves, it influenced them the most, with Eva showing the best development.
In conclusion, the film ‘Freedom Writers’ was based on true story about a dedicated teacher in a racially divided Los Angeles school, full of a class of at-risk teenagers deemed incapable of learning. Instead of giving up, she inspires her students, but mainly Eva to take an interest in their education and helped in planning their futures, and so she did what she could. Over four years, Eva gradually became united through interpersonal growth, empathy, and the realization that all people are simply human, often suffering in similar ways. And, through the sharing of experiences amongst one another, Eva was able to understand the various ways she was more similar to her peers than different. Gradually, her preconceived notions and learned behaviors were stripped away, helping her to develop into much better version of herself. Many of her students went from being viewed as ‘problematic students’ to a ‘star pupil’. Ms. Gruwell also revealed, “My once apathetic students seemed to transform themselves into scholars with a conscience”. The film ended with a note that she had successfully prepared many high school students to graduate and attend college, which was for many the first in their families to do so.
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