‘Freedom Writers’ is a movie directed by Richard LaGravenese, which was released on January 5, 2007 in the USA.
Mrs. Erin Gruwell whom belong to the upper class of people in social stratification went to teach these high schoolers who ranged between the lowest level to the working class of people in the social Stratification pyramid. None of the students in room 203 of the said high school respected her when she first met them. They misjudged her abilities. They didn't care for her. They turned their backs on her and ignored her orders. Their rejection of her was a reflection of the broader hatred they had for white people and the negative impression they had towards them. They despised Mrs. Gruwell because she was a white Caucasian woman. Furthermore, the interaction among the students was so terrible. They were divided into groups based on race and ethnicity where they divided the class into the whites, the blacks, the Cambodians, the Chinese, and the Latinos. Daily, they had awful encounters in the classroom and on the schoolyard on a minor issue. It was more than evident that even the pupils despised each other. It astounded Mrs. Gruwell and made her feel insignificant which made her implement successful strategies to impact the lives of those students she had in her care.
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Some of the strategies that Mrs. Erin Gruwell implemented and caused a great impact in the lives of her students where she arranged the classroom differently and they were not able to sit in their little groups, they wrote a journal every day which she read, they read books that she provided for them which related to the problems they were facing. She also took the class on a trip to the museum and explored real-life scenarios displayed at the museum. Conferencing with white victims of the past to share experiences with the students of how they overcame their issues and social conflicts of the past.
In this movie, it was evident that Mrs. Erin Gruwell being a young teacher encourages her at-risk students to develop tolerance, apply themselves, and continue their studies after high school. Overall, the 'Freedom Writers' films demonstrate how strong moral ideals such as learning the truth, doing the right thing, and treating others with kindness and respect can help us motivate ourselves and strengthen our communities. At the end of the movie, it is seen that Gruwell earned her students' respect and trust.
Mrs. Gruwell is such an example of an exceptional teacher. As educators, we need to impact the lives of our students in a positive manner. We need to do all that is at hand to assist our students in whatever they are going through. Here, in Belize, we do have students that have no regard and respect for teachers. Students that have no interaction with other students due to their ethnicity or race or even do things such as bullying. Many times, as educators we overlook these situations because we want to complete our task for the day not realizing that for learning to take place in our classrooms, we need to reach the need of the students first. As educators, we need to influence the lives of our students not just in terms of teaching specific academic abilities, but also in terms of promoting student self-esteem. It is proven that if we boost our students’ self-esteem it will improve motivation and learning will take place effectively.
Overall, viewing the movie ‘Freedom Writers’ with an analytical perspective, demonstrates how important it is to be an effective teacher in the classroom. If it was not for Mrs. Gruwell those students in the movie would have become a threat to their community and could have placed many people at risk of gun violence, theft, and victimization of racial conflict. Yet she revolutionized their negative perspective, lifestyle, and their attitudes. She gave them better decision-making skills which in the end assisted them to become honorable youths of their society with vision, positive ideals, and better lifestyles. As Belizean teachers, we need to adopt Mrs. Gruwell's effectiveness as a teacher not only in academic but also being able to impact our Belizean students to become better citizens with opportunities for the future. If this would occur at our schools, we would have less gun violence, minimum conflicts among youths, and empowered youths with a brighter future.
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