This movie seemed to focus more on the bureaucracy governing the American school administration, the students, and on social activism than on the curriculum alone—which is the central focus of The Dead Poets’ Society. True Mrs. G did have to buy school materials for her students, but she did so because her students were denied new, engaging materials by her superior, Mrs. Margaret Campbell. Repeatedly Mrs. G has to struggle against defeatist teachers like Margaret who do not expect much from their students and are incapable of seeing their potential. Instead they openly express racist, judgmental sentiments while interacting with students and fellow teachers, mock, undermine, and condescend to Mrs. G, and try to sabotage her efforts because they felt in some way underappreciated or that their traditional methods were less successful. Throughout the work continual references were made towards the students’ social, emotional, and academic success. One of the most poignant scenes for me was when Mrs. Campbell says, “You can’t make someone want to learn.” But you can inspire them. Mrs. G’s involvement with her students, her unorthodox teaching methods that included references to current cultural and social events taking place around them (Tupac’s music and the new books about gang life) gave the students a frame of reference from which they could venture into a larger world of civil rights. Her astute “line” exercise was a physical representation of the emotional devastation taking place within these students lives; it acknowledged their suffering, anger, and confusion while helping them realize they were all human regardless of ethnicity and allowed her to take stock of her students’ psychological needs. She could then plan her lessons accordingly to tackle the issues that kept them from realizing their own potential. By giving them diaries she gave them a means of expressing themselves, an emotional release, and a way to hone their creative literary expression so they could ultimately come to a greater understanding of human life. Education is not only about academic achievement but about life skills—empathy and humanism are effective both in individual and communal (workplace) social interaction. Her constant appeal to their own sense of responsibility gave her students a benchmark and a goal. Over time they had stopped striving because they were not expected to try, nor were they encouraged to succeed. Once someone believed in them, fostered their potential while also addressing their psychological and emotional needs, they began to achieve not only academically but hopefully. If I created a school of my own I would encourage students to keep small “free-thought” notebooks chronicling any thoughts or creative expressions they may have. (I do this). Writers thrive off of random associations, strange thoughts, quotes, everyday experiences, and emotional catharsis—many of my own stories have been inspired by scenes from daily life. But creativity is more than just a good-imagination or even literature, creativity is also about self-expression: an individual’s need to address the socio-cultural events that surround them. Good creative writers are psychologists, sociologists, protesters, activists, and researchers—by combining individual feelings with the events they witness, much like Mrs. G’s students, the students at my school would be better equipped to achieve emotional catharsis, hone their writing skills, and see their placement within a larger (interconnected) human community.
As a teacher I would hope to be able to use current cultural events applicable to my students’ daily lives to bolster creative expression and a deeper understanding of literature. Many creative writing students in my own classes as a student had trouble writing creatively because they did not know how to express themselves on current events. Their emotional articulation had not been fostered and as a result they had more trouble writing a story inspired by a scene from The Crucible because they could not apply the same themes to their own lives. Once the vocabulary and the themes were explained to them in terms of a more modern context they were fully capable of expressing their own opinions. By using newspaper articles and current events as a cultural touchstone from which to launch into greater social and literary themes I think students could experience a more personal literary tradition based on human history and expression. Because Mrs. G understood the negative effect the community had on her students (racism, fear, injury, prison, death) she was able to create a safe, stable environment in the classroom. Her students could depend on her word and her dedication to their intellectual growth. They knew they could trust her and each other—something they did not have in the outside world. She created a haven where current events, discipline, mutual respect, responsibility, civic history, literature, and emotional catharsis combined in creative expressions that bolstered individual pride and achievement. Her students were capable, some for the first time, to believe in something greater than the immediate chaos of their lives; because she expected more from them they expected more from themselves.
My #2: Some ideas I might use from this video range from minute to rather significant. I always stay in that one seat I sit in the first day of class and while I don’t agree with assigned seating in all cases, I do like making kids move around so they are comfortable with change and meeting new people. I think this builds good character for outside the classroom experiences. I also like the idea of journals. I know that it would be hard to grade them or use them for grammatical purposes because I wouldn’t want to invade their privacy, but writing exercises that involve their own experiences and are up to their choice seem more appealing. Bigger-picture wise, I think that the idea of uniting students in a class or an entire school through similarities is a great idea. Showing what people have in common, like “The Line Game,” rather than what divides them improves morale by looking for the good and not the bad.
I continue to be amazed at how much resistance teachers are met with who are only trying to make a difference in their students lives. Mr. Escalante, Ms. Gruell, Mr. Keating, and Marva Collins are just some of the examples we have read about and already that is more than I would expect. How can teachers believe so little in their students and object to other teachers when they do believe? Mind boggling.
I really enjoyed watching this movie. It kept my attention the entire time. Hillary Swank did an excellent job of capturing her character. It made me feel better to see than she struggled in the beginning – not always knowing exactly what to do. But she cared enough to get involved and completely immersed in what she was doing in order to help these kids that probably wouldn’t have had much more of a chance had she not sacrificed as she did. Some of the ideas that I especially liked that she used were the journal idea and inviting the guest speaker to come. I think that other ideas she had were great but I question them actually being able to be carried out in most school systems; the field trips are what come to my mind. They brought to life literature and history that the kids never knew, but are taking class weekend fieldtrips an option in most school systems? Still a great idea though and if nothing else inspirational so far as “going the extra mile” is concerned.
What is truly different form how education is usually done in this movie is the care Mrs. G takes to help her students. She buys them new materials, helps them get issues off of their chests, and tries to help their home lives. Like one student said to her when she tried to actually teach a lesson, "just do you job and babysit us and then we'll move on" or something to that extent, demonstrates the careless attitude held by other teachers in the school. Students are just used to doing whatever work or sliding by (I can tell that many teachers might be afraid of their students) on to the next grade. There is obvious opposition coming form the advanced placement teachers concerning the 'regular' kids. They do not want to have anything to do with them, nor do the teachers think that the masses are intelligent. Mrs. G shows that the students can do whatever they attempt if they are pushed, and if some sort of trust is established between both students and between student and teacher.
Freedom Writers portrays true devotion. It is unreasonable to expect every teacher to work three jobs in order to support her students. However, if every educator had just a percentage of the determination of Erin Gruwell, our schools would be exponentially more successful. If I could design my own school, I would instill Erin Gruwell’s compassion and determination in every educator. I would also offer them the resources that Mrs. G only had access to because of her two extra jobs. It is unfortunate that students are limited by the resources of their respective districts. All students deserve a fair chance; they should have equal access to the tools of education. I want to be devoted and determined. I want to encourage students to expand their knowledge through any means that sparks their interest. I also want to teach them not to take no for an answer. I loved the idea of “Taste for Change.” If you do not have the resources for a specific project use what you do have to get them. I learned about the tragic state of lack of resources that many schools face. I also realized that the fatalistic attitude of Margaret Campbell is a common perception. She believed that gangs and pressures would weed out the unruly students and that those who managed to graduate would be worthy of their degree. Mrs. G however believed that everyone was capable of achieving that diploma and that no student should be abandoned to be consumed by the city streets. Mrs. G again tests the boundaries of student/teacher relationships. There is no question of her appropriateness however and her outside-of-the-classroom approach is effective and intriguing to otherwise uninterested students. Similar to Stand and Deliver, Freedom Writers expresses that in order for a student to believe in himself, an authority figure must prove that they believe in the student. It is Mrs. G’s holistic approach that makes her teaching so successful. She makes absolutely no progress with her students until she makes an effort to understand their backgrounds and personal situations. As she learns more about them they begin to respect her. Her knowledge of their home lives also improves her ability to understand how to best reach them. Is Mrs. G’s relationship with her students practical? Is it feasible to hope to interact with students in a similar manner? Or would her involvement be considered inappropriate?
Freedom Writers
ReplyDeleteThis movie seemed to focus more on the bureaucracy governing the American school administration, the students, and on social activism than on the curriculum alone—which is the central focus of The Dead Poets’ Society. True Mrs. G did have to buy school materials for her students, but she did so because her students were denied new, engaging materials by her superior, Mrs. Margaret Campbell. Repeatedly Mrs. G has to struggle against defeatist teachers like Margaret who do not expect much from their students and are incapable of seeing their potential. Instead they openly express racist, judgmental sentiments while interacting with students and fellow teachers, mock, undermine, and condescend to Mrs. G, and try to sabotage her efforts because they felt in some way underappreciated or that their traditional methods were less successful.
Throughout the work continual references were made towards the students’ social, emotional, and academic success. One of the most poignant scenes for me was when Mrs. Campbell says, “You can’t make someone want to learn.” But you can inspire them. Mrs. G’s involvement with her students, her unorthodox teaching methods that included references to current cultural and social events taking place around them (Tupac’s music and the new books about gang life) gave the students a frame of reference from which they could venture into a larger world of civil rights.
Her astute “line” exercise was a physical representation of the emotional devastation taking place within these students lives; it acknowledged their suffering, anger, and confusion while helping them realize they were all human regardless of ethnicity and allowed her to take stock of her students’ psychological needs. She could then plan her lessons accordingly to tackle the issues that kept them from realizing their own potential. By giving them diaries she gave them a means of expressing themselves, an emotional release, and a way to hone their creative literary expression so they could ultimately come to a greater understanding of human life. Education is not only about academic achievement but about life skills—empathy and humanism are effective both in individual and communal (workplace) social interaction.
Her constant appeal to their own sense of responsibility gave her students a benchmark and a goal. Over time they had stopped striving because they were not expected to try, nor were they encouraged to succeed. Once someone believed in them, fostered their potential while also addressing their psychological and emotional needs, they began to achieve not only academically but hopefully.
If I created a school of my own I would encourage students to keep small “free-thought” notebooks chronicling any thoughts or creative expressions they may have. (I do this). Writers thrive off of random associations, strange thoughts, quotes, everyday experiences, and emotional catharsis—many of my own stories have been inspired by scenes from daily life. But creativity is more than just a good-imagination or even literature, creativity is also about self-expression: an individual’s need to address the socio-cultural events that surround them. Good creative writers are psychologists, sociologists, protesters, activists, and researchers—by combining individual feelings with the events they witness, much like Mrs. G’s students, the students at my school would be better equipped to achieve emotional catharsis, hone their writing skills, and see their placement within a larger (interconnected) human community.
As a teacher I would hope to be able to use current cultural events applicable to my students’ daily lives to bolster creative expression and a deeper understanding of literature. Many creative writing students in my own classes as a student had trouble writing creatively because they did not know how to express themselves on current events. Their emotional articulation had not been fostered and as a result they had more trouble writing a story inspired by a scene from The Crucible because they could not apply the same themes to their own lives. Once the vocabulary and the themes were explained to them in terms of a more modern context they were fully capable of expressing their own opinions. By using newspaper articles and current events as a cultural touchstone from which to launch into greater social and literary themes I think students could experience a more personal literary tradition based on human history and expression.
ReplyDeleteBecause Mrs. G understood the negative effect the community had on her students (racism, fear, injury, prison, death) she was able to create a safe, stable environment in the classroom. Her students could depend on her word and her dedication to their intellectual growth. They knew they could trust her and each other—something they did not have in the outside world. She created a haven where current events, discipline, mutual respect, responsibility, civic history, literature, and emotional catharsis combined in creative expressions that bolstered individual pride and achievement. Her students were capable, some for the first time, to believe in something greater than the immediate chaos of their lives; because she expected more from them they expected more from themselves.
My #2: Some ideas I might use from this video range from minute to rather significant. I always stay in that one seat I sit in the first day of class and while I don’t agree with assigned seating in all cases, I do like making kids move around so they are comfortable with change and meeting new people. I think this builds good character for outside the classroom experiences. I also like the idea of journals. I know that it would be hard to grade them or use them for grammatical purposes because I wouldn’t want to invade their privacy, but writing exercises that involve their own experiences and are up to their choice seem more appealing. Bigger-picture wise, I think that the idea of uniting students in a class or an entire school through similarities is a great idea. Showing what people have in common, like “The Line Game,” rather than what divides them improves morale by looking for the good and not the bad.
ReplyDeleteI continue to be amazed at how much resistance teachers are met with who are only trying to make a difference in their students lives. Mr. Escalante, Ms. Gruell, Mr. Keating, and Marva Collins are just some of the examples we have read about and already that is more than I would expect. How can teachers believe so little in their students and object to other teachers when they do believe? Mind boggling.
I really enjoyed watching this movie. It kept my attention the entire time. Hillary Swank did an excellent job of capturing her character. It made me feel better to see than she struggled in the beginning – not always knowing exactly what to do. But she cared enough to get involved and completely immersed in what she was doing in order to help these kids that probably wouldn’t have had much more of a chance had she not sacrificed as she did.
ReplyDeleteSome of the ideas that I especially liked that she used were the journal idea and inviting the guest speaker to come. I think that other ideas she had were great but I question them actually being able to be carried out in most school systems; the field trips are what come to my mind. They brought to life literature and history that the kids never knew, but are taking class weekend fieldtrips an option in most school systems? Still a great idea though and if nothing else inspirational so far as “going the extra mile” is concerned.
What is truly different form how education is usually done in this movie is the care Mrs. G takes to help her students. She buys them new materials, helps them get issues off of their chests, and tries to help their home lives. Like one student said to her when she tried to actually teach a lesson, "just do you job and babysit us and then we'll move on" or something to that extent, demonstrates the careless attitude held by other teachers in the school. Students are just used to doing whatever work or sliding by (I can tell that many teachers might be afraid of their students) on to the next grade. There is obvious opposition coming form the advanced placement teachers concerning the 'regular' kids. They do not want to have anything to do with them, nor do the teachers think that the masses are intelligent. Mrs. G shows that the students can do whatever they attempt if they are pushed, and if some sort of trust is established between both students and between student and teacher.
ReplyDeleteFreedom Writers portrays true devotion. It is unreasonable to expect every teacher to work three jobs in order to support her students. However, if every educator had just a percentage of the determination of Erin Gruwell, our schools would be exponentially more successful.
ReplyDeleteIf I could design my own school, I would instill Erin Gruwell’s compassion and determination in every educator. I would also offer them the resources that Mrs. G only had access to because of her two extra jobs. It is unfortunate that students are limited by the resources of their respective districts. All students deserve a fair chance; they should have equal access to the tools of education.
I want to be devoted and determined. I want to encourage students to expand their knowledge through any means that sparks their interest. I also want to teach them not to take no for an answer. I loved the idea of “Taste for Change.” If you do not have the resources for a specific project use what you do have to get them.
I learned about the tragic state of lack of resources that many schools face. I also realized that the fatalistic attitude of Margaret Campbell is a common perception. She believed that gangs and pressures would weed out the unruly students and that those who managed to graduate would be worthy of their degree. Mrs. G however believed that everyone was capable of achieving that diploma and that no student should be abandoned to be consumed by the city streets.
Mrs. G again tests the boundaries of student/teacher relationships. There is no question of her appropriateness however and her outside-of-the-classroom approach is effective and intriguing to otherwise uninterested students. Similar to Stand and Deliver, Freedom Writers expresses that in order for a student to believe in himself, an authority figure must prove that they believe in the student.
It is Mrs. G’s holistic approach that makes her teaching so successful. She makes absolutely no progress with her students until she makes an effort to understand their backgrounds and personal situations. As she learns more about them they begin to respect her. Her knowledge of their home lives also improves her ability to understand how to best reach them. Is Mrs. G’s relationship with her students practical? Is it feasible to hope to interact with students in a similar manner? Or would her involvement be considered inappropriate?