...“We are all ordinary people but even an ordinary person can within their own small ways turn on a small light in a dark room.” Miep Gies A Brief Summary of the movie Freedom Writers Freedom Writers is a 1990s film which tells the story of Erin Gruwell, a novice teacher and her interaction with a group of students at Wilson High School, located in Long Beach Los Angeles. Through shared experiences and writing she helps the students to become writers themselves. In the beginning of the film, Ms. G, as she was called by her students, had difficulty establishing a connection with her students and turns to her father and husband for support. Her offers guidance, but not the support she seeks. Her husband distances himself from her work and eventually their relationship. Ms. G in turn, dedicates herself to teaching her students, leaving little time for nothing else. She takes on part-time jobs to buy books for the students and spends late nights working in the classroom. The Head of Department and the faculty at large contributes little to helping Erin in the classroom. They offer advice based on institutional standards and past performance of the students, some staff suggesting that the students simply “don’t want to learn.” At the center of the film, lie the stories of the students. The students are skeptical of Ms. G and her interest in their lives. Initially, they resist her attempts and refuse to cross the self-inflicted boundaries they have designated...
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...conform or submit and the associated threat of separation and alienation from ‘the group.’ While some who suffer such alienation get lost in a dark world of low self-esteem, anti-social behaviour and intergroup conflict - others choose a path of reconciliation. They choose to see the positive possibilities of an us-oriented life and refuse to play the them-dominated role of the victim. Much modern literature explores variations of this theme in different ways. I have chosen four works that illustrate the phenomenon: Freedom Writers - a movie directed by Richard LaGravenese based on teacher Erin Gruwell’s book The Freedom Writer’s Diary; The Sneetches - a classic children’s book by Dr Seuss; The Power of One - a movie directed by John Avildsen based on Bryce Courtenay’s popular novel of the same name; and The Wave - a young adult novel written by Todd Strasser who is also known by his pen name - Morton Rhue. At the beginning of the film Freedom Writers, Ms Gruwell is attempting to teach her first English class, Room 203, which is full of gang and racial tension. She knows that they need to learn tolerance so that they can reclaim their shattered lives and gain a voice of their own. She tries many different teaching approaches to connect with and engage her class. This shows that she was trying to establish equality in the classroom and make enemies friends in order to help them see each other as people, not as problems or enemies. This is illustrated when she introduces...
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...Freedom Writers Self-concept is the entirety of one's beliefs and attitudes towards their personal existence. Many people, depending on life experience, feel they have superiority or are at a disadvantage because of the group they fall into. This is seen in the movie Freedom Writers, each and every student has their own perspective on their own self-concept. These students end up finding similarities between each other because they have some sort of connection but only find it once they learn and open up about their struggles. There are many concepts of the self that can be found throughout the entire film. Empathy is one of the major concepts of The Freedom Writers. Empathy is the ability to put yourself into another person’s experience and to completely understand the other’s thoughts, feelings and way of being. (P.78) An example of empathy is when Mrs. G reads the journals and can really put herself into their shoes and really understand their individual experiences. If Mrs. G didn’t have a strong sense of empathy for the students, she never would have been able to help them conquer their personal demons. Mrs. G used a strategy called identity management to connect with the students. Identity management is when communicators use certain strategies to influence the way others view them. (P.81) An example of this is when Mrs. G plays Tupac in an effort to relate to the kids in the class. She hopes to have them see that they may have something in common...
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...Elisha Jane D. Serrano A55 TREDONE Reaction Paper on FREEDOM WRITERS We all have our own story to tell, the only question is…is it worth telling? The students in Woodrow Wilson Highschool under the class of Mrs. Gruwell were delinquents. They were part of gangs of every kind black, Latin and Cambodians. They were racist. They beat up people who aren’t in their gangs and they protect their own even if it isn’t worth protecting. My first conception of delinquents were that they will never change, they were born to be like that and nothing and no one can change them, but after watching the movie my whole idea of these people changed. The thing is, this people aren’t as useless and worthless as I thought, they can give and be so much more than what they were before. They are actually willing to learn but they didn’t know that at first. They only need a person that can show them they aren’t trash and they deserve what other people are receiving. They deserve to be treated equally. The line that caught my attention the most is “ Everyday I worry when will I be free.” We are all in prisoned in one way or another. Trap in our own world full of cruelty and despair, wondering when will we be set free. But what we don’t see is that we aren’t alone, all of the people in the world are experiencing what we are experiencing. All people no matter what race have something in common. The teens didn’t get that at first, they thought their world and the life they’re trying so...
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... For my attended speech critique, I attended Tearing Hatred from the Sky. On February 23,2017, a speaker by the name of Bree Newsome came to speak at the College of Charleston at Sotille theater. Bree Newsome or Brittany Ann Newsome is an American filmmaker, musician, speaker, and activist from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is best known for her act of civil disobedience on June 27, 2015, when she was arrested for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house grounds. The young woman arrested in 2015 for taking down the Statehouse's Confederate battle flag has been invited to speak at the college about activism and social justice, but opposition to the event was the South Carolina Secessionist Party. They emphasized the controversy that lingered for almost two years after the state Legislature voted to furl the flag for good. It created a stir at the campus and a member of the party wrote a letter to the college stating that her visit to the college was "a direct insult" to "millions of proud Southerners" and that her presence would encourage others to deface Confederate monuments.. As she delivered her speech, her format was well organized and flowed smoothly. Her transitions were easy to follow in which she used a story to transition to the next topic. Her thesis statement was transparent, “quit being a bystander and create a new image, a new symbol and a new consciousness of the power inherent in direct action “. For her introduction, she formally...
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...Ella Baker: Freedom Bound is an insightful portrait of a valuable ambassador in the twentieth century’s struggle for African American equality. Author Joanna Grant captures the many aspects of Ella Baker’s astonishing life, from her upbringing and education, to the accomplishments and influence she had on blacks of the twentieth century. Ella Baker: Freedom Bound explores the identity of Ella Baker, who carried on the family tradition of rebellion and turned the struggles of her ancestors into lessons that encourage the reader to make efforts toward equality in aspects of your own life. Ella Baker played an instrumental role in the major events of the civil rights movement, working behind the scenes while portraying true strength and courage...
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...In the movie “ Freedom Writers “, Ms Erin Gruwell explains, with the right discipline & dedication anyone can change, but one has to want to change. How does she get them to want to change? “Freedom Writers”, was made in 2007, and set in Long Beach California at Woodrow Wilson High School. It is about a class of students and the challenges they are facing. We get to know the teacher, Mrs Gruwell, an English teacher, first time as voluntary integration Programme teacher; she is one of the characters that are facing a challenge. She gets a class full of children that don’t care about life or education. She faces a challenge to come to class and teach these students and to make it worthwhile for them to come to school. The students hang out with others of their own kind (Black people with black people, white people with white people, Asian with Asian people, Hispanic with Hispanic, etc.) and fight the ones that are not of their race. In the classrooms, students are always fighting, most of them in gangs, and they don’t really care about school, they only go to school because they are forced to, it was either school or boot camp. The teachers also don’t care much for the students. But Mrs Gruwell makes them change their perspective and they actually start to change. An inspiring scene in the movie, is when Mrs Gruwell plays a really mind opening game with the class. After making a line with sticky tape and explaining to step on the line if the question is true to you, she asks...
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...Psychoanalysis of characters When people think of psychoanalysis, usually one name comes to mind. This would be Sigmund Freud. Freud, along with Carl G. Jung and Alfred Adler, has impacted the history of psychoanalysis. Further, he has influenced the lives of the men and women during the early 1900s. In critical theory today: a user friendly guide, Tyson explains the critical theories of psychoanalysis and Marxism. It’s all about the studies of human behaviors for example, human mind, especially inner experiences, thoughts, feelings, emotions, fantasies, and dreams. I have chosen one book and a movie. In a book, it talks about James, who is a main character of the story. He was really confused about his identity because he was a black and his mother was a white. In a movies, they showed the racism and differences create between students in their childhood. Both of these based on true stories. I would compare these character with Marxism and Freud’s theory. A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride. It is also a tribute to his mother. It starts of the narrator James’s mother Ruth, who describes her early life with her family. She was born in Polish Orthodox Jewish family that was immigrant to United States. She had a repressed childhood in Virginia. She was sexually abused as a child from her father. In critical theory today: a user friendly guide, Tyson defines Fear of abandonment—“the unshakable belief that our friends and loved ones...
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...Superman and Me." Http://www.qcounty.com/SCC/Spring10/Eng305_10035/Readings/ShermanAlexie--Superman.pdf. Web. Allen, James P. "Ethnic Geography Dynamics: Clues From Los Angeles." Yearbook Of The Association Of Pacific Coast Geographers 67. (2005): 97-116. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. Alpert, Emily. "Many Asian Americans Are as Segregated by Neighborhood as Latinos." Los Angeles Times 25 June. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Didion, Joan. "Why I Write." (1976): 4-8. Print. Dweck, Carol. "The Perils and Promises of Praises." Print. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct07/vol65/num02/The-Perils-and-Promises-of-Praise.aspx>. Elbow, Peter. "Freewriting." (1973): n. pag. Print. Gruwell, Erin. The Freedom Writers. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print. Gurnee, Kim. Success Strategies. California: Impact, 2013. Print. Hughes, Langston. “Theme for English B.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 484-485. Print. Rose, Mike. “Lives on the Boundary.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 90-102. Print. Hurston, Zora Neale. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 416-419. Print....
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...Woodrow Wilson is a formerly high-achieving school which has encountered some difficulties bearing its new racial integration plan. Gruwell's enthusiasm is challenged when she finds her class is composed of "at-risk" students, the "untouchables," and not the eager-for-college students she expected. Her students self-segregate into racial groups within the classroom. This is problematic, as gang fights break out and, consequently, most of her students stop attending class. Not only is Gruwell challenged with gaining her students' trust on personal and academic levels, but she must do so with very little support from her professional peers and district higher-ups. For example, her department head refuses to provide Gruwell with an adequate number of books for her class because she insists they will get damaged and lost. Instead, she suggests that Gruwell focuses on instilling concepts of discipline and obedience in her classroom. One night, two high school students, Eva (April Lee Hernández), a Latino-American girl and narrator for much of the film, and a Cambodian refugee, Sindy (Jaclyn Ngan), frequent the same convenience store. An additional student, Grant Rice (Armand Jones) is frustrated at losing an arcade game and demands a refund from the store owner. When he storms out, Eva's boyfriend Paco attempts a drive-by shooting, intending to kill Grant but misses, accidentally killing Sindy's boyfriend. As a witness, Eva must testify at court; she intends to guard "her own" in...
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...freedom.../... Free Essays on Reaction Paper On Freedom Writers for students. Use our papers to help you with yours 1 - 20. Reaction Paper On The Movie Freedom Writers Free Essays www.termpaperwarehouse.com/subcategory/reaction-paper...freedom.../... Free Essays on Reaction Paper On The Movie Freedom Writers for students. Use our papers to help you with yours 1 - 20. The Freedom Writers Diary -Reaction essays www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/100068.html The Freedom Writers Diary -Reaction essaysThe Freedom Writers Diary is a book that I truly enjoyed. It is a book broken down in diary form viewing the survival ... Freedom Writers: A Story of Success ENGL201: A Reaction ... movieenglish201.blogspot.com/2008/.../reaction-to-freedom-writers.htm... Sep 24, 2008 - A Reaction to Freedom Writers ... that arise with our students in its newspaper to live and that many times we result to be its fatherly figure. Reaction Paper Over The Movie Freedom Writers Free Essays www.studymode.com/.../reaction-paper-over-the-movie-freedom-writers... Free Essays on Reaction Paper Over The Movie Freedom Writers for students. Use our papers to help you with yours. Reaction Reflection Paper About Freedom Writers Movie ... www.studymode.com/.../reaction-reflection-paper-about-freedom-writers... Free Essays on Reaction Reflection Paper About Freedom Writers Movie for students. Use our papers to help you with yours. Freedom Essay - Learn English Online, Teach English https://www.englishforums...
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...Teacher Evaluation In the “Freedom Writers,” a teacher was needed to teach freshmen English at Woodrow Wilson High School and Erin Gruwell took on that challenge. As it turned out, it was nothing like what she imagined it to be. There was racial segregation in the classroom and all her students had problems outside and inside of school. That however, did not stop her from being passionate about her job. She used new techniques to help her students become interested in the class while learning and made many sacrifices for those kids which no other teacher was willing to do. Although everyone thought the kids in room 203 were the “unteachables”, Mrs. Gruwell used her own ways to educate them and made a huge impact to those students’ lives including her three of her most difficult students: Eva, Jamal, and Marcus. When the bell rang for class, Mrs. Gruwell’s expectations went down the drain as most of her students came in her class late and the ones that showed up displayed disrespect and no interest for school. Even though her students were not what she expected them to be, she found a way to interest them into learning using her own unique ways. She entertained them in many ways such as music, and using music lyrics to teach instead of poetry that bored the whole class. She made the class time fun by having many activities and gave each of the students their own journals to write in and share about their everyday lives. Since the school was not willing to give students books...
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...[Author’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Course title] [Date] Freedom Writers- Movie Review “Freedom Writers" has a great advantage over all those other idealistic and somewhat naïve teachers who come to inner city schools and initially face setbacks but persevere and eventually gain the students' interest and teach them to achieve far beyond the expectations of society movies. Hilary Swank who stars as Erin Gruwell is an idealistic and somewhat naive new teacher who wears pearls and too-short skirts and is convinced she can help her low-achieving inner-city students. These kids though "kids" is the wrong word considering the advanced age of most of the actors live the worst lives possible in America. Every single one in the class of high school freshmen had a friend who has been killed, and most know more than one. Every single one (except the white kid) has been shot at. None of them (except the white kid) has ever heard of the Holocaust. The popular movie, Freedom Writers, is based on the true story of a Long Beach (CA) teacher who mentors a group of students following the LA riots of 1990. The teacher, Erin Gruwell, finds herself hated by her ethnically diverse "gangbanging" students (LaGravenese). Through writing, both Gruwell and her students work through one of the most tumultuous times of racial tension in the United States since the 1960s (Gruwell). In other words, the movie is indulging in a little hard-knock overkill. Every one of these 14-year-olds has been shot...
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...Logan Schrier Midterm Movie Project The movie that I did my piece of work on is Freedom Writers, directed by Richard LaGravenese. Some of the main stars include Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell, Patrick Dempsey as Scott Casey, and Scott Glenn playing Steve Gruwell (Erin’s father). This movie is based on a true story about a teacher who puts an outstanding effort into her job, donating a hundred percent of her time and attention to the lives of her students. Erin Gruwell, who stars as the teacher, is a fresh graduate who recently acquired her teaching degree. Erin takes the challenge of educating a disorderly, chaotic class of unregenerate inner city youths. Erin’s interests and enthusiasm is quickly challenged when she realizes she is dealing with a class full of "at-risk" students. The students are so disruptive and uninterested to learn that the school and principle calls them the “unteachables." Erin is shocked and concerned about the students’ disregard for a good education, and a high school diploma. Becoming close with them, and developing a small relationship is nearly impossible at first. Every so often the students would even doubt Erin’s ability to teach them, and doubt her intentions and capability. However, Erin creates her own style of teaching, which gave her the edge to slowly start a small relationship with her students and encourage them to collect the knowledge. Erin supplies the class with The Diary of Anne Frank, and assigns them to think and write...
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