Ziegenbein 1

Elana Ziegenbein
Professor Milner
EDUC 210
26 April 2011
Freedom Writers
The movie Freedom Writers is an inspiring story about one teachers dedication
and commitment to her students. Remarkably, she manages to overcome the many
struggles and hardships and significantly change the lives of her students. The film is
based on an inspiring true story that encourages teachers to be passionate about their
work. Many individuals do not understand the complex work teachers contribute to
society or the challenges that teachers must face throughout their career. Freedom
Writers and all that I have acquired this semester has exposed me to the realities of
teaching and challenged me to consider whether teaching was right for me.
Teachers, Schools, and Society introduced me to the realities of teaching that most
people dont realize until they experience it themselves. Many concepts covered in the
readings correlated with the educational concepts and theme in the film. One major
educational concept mentioned in both the text and the film is different ways of learning.
Freedom Writers demonstrates the different ways of learning from the beginning of the
movie. Mrs. Gruwell is assigned to a classroom of at-risk students. Many of the
students are failing, have no desire to perform well in school, and have no respect for
their teacher or their peers. Instead of simply giving up on these students, Mrs. Gruwell
sacrifices her lifestyle, challenges the board of education, and shows these students that

she truly wants them to succeed. As mentioned in the film, a teacher must care about their
students to effectively teach them. Individuals have different ways of learning, perceiving
information, and retaining classroom material. A teacher must be patient for some
students learn and respond more slowly than others. Mrs. Gruwell also helped her
students alter their locus of control. An external locus of control involves the individual
attributing their success or failure to external factors. In the film, Mrs. Gruwells students
blamed society for their failures. When the students claimed no one cared if they
succeeded or not, Mrs. Gruwell showed them that she cared and inspired them to apply
themselves. Stereotypes are absolute statements applied to all members of a group,
suggesting that members of a group have a fixed, often inherited set of characteristics
(Sadker & Zittleman 34). The students in the film fit the stereotype that exist in society
today of low socioeconomic children. The other teachers in the film believed in these
stereotypes, having no hope for these students because they truly believed they could not
be helped. Stereotypes are a very unfortunate part of education that teachers should fight
to change.
Observing a classroom really allows one to see the role of teaching first hand. I
saw many educational concepts in the classroom that I had learned about in the text and
saw in the film. The classroom I have been observing is full of diverse students of all
ethnicities, learning styles, races, genders, and economic statuses. I found that it was
interesting these same concepts were found in the elementary school I observe and in the
high school in the film. Mrs. Gruwells diverse students were majorly being affected by
racism and diversity separation. In the beginning, cliques of race, gangs, separated the
students. The Asians sat with other Asians, African Americans with other African

Americans, Hispanics with other Hispanics and etc. A clear racial divide was evident
among the classroom. Mrs. Gruwell put an end to this by giving the students something
to relate to. Learning about the Holocaust made the students realize the negative effects
racism and stereotypes can have. As a result, the classroom united and no one saw the
color of his or her classmates skin anymore. As inspiring as this was, these issues remain
to be a problem in society. Mrs. Gruwell demonstrated the Cultural difference theory by
mediating the cultural gap separating the cultural differences of the students and the
school. I have realized the power and influence of a teachers attitude on their classroom.
Mrs. Gruwell followed the expectation theory, holding high standards and expectations
for her students despite their racial and ethnic groups, and therefore had a profound
impact on the students. The other teachers in the film held little expectations for these
students and therefore, as Mrs. Gruwell stated, could not teach them if they didnt even
like them. Believing in your students and holding high expectations for them will help
them believe in themselves and want to improve their academic achievement.
Almost ten percent of students enrolled in public schools across America are
English language learners. Learning how to teach these learners effectively can be very
difficult. In the film, Mrs. Gruwells diary assignment helps one of her bilingual students
work on his English. In the classroom that I am observing, the student from Haiti, who
speaks little English, is also helped in many ways in the classroom. I admired the other
students who worked with him trying to help him understand directions through hand
signals and gestures. The teacher also happens to know enough Spanish to help him with
instructions and learning material. I realize how hard it is for him to keep up with the
other students, but despite the difficulty he really shows a desire to understand. The

teacher also informed me that the school offers him an after school program assisting him
additional instruction in reading and writing in English.
The text refers to multicultural education as expanding the curriculum to reflect
Americas diversity, using teaching strategies that are responsive to different learning
styles, ensuring and supporting multicultural competence of teachers, comfortable and
knowledgeable working with students and families of different cultures; and a
commitment to social justice. Mrs. Gruwell displayed all of these dimensions and serves
as a role model for multicultural education. We have discussed this issue many times in
class and I have come to realize how important this concept is. Culturally responsive
teaching encourages students to be comfortable in their classroom and treat one another
equally.
Lastly, classroom management is one of the key concepts I have acquired through
my experiences this semester. Everyday, my professor starts class exactly on time. He
does not waste time preparing his lesson plan but already has it done. Having his students
immediately engage in classroom discussions or lectures allows no time for students to
get distracted. Allocated time, engaged time, and academic learning time are all
beneficial when it comes to increasing academic learning time and student achievement.
Creating fair and reasonable rules and handling misbehavior contribute to creating a wellmanaged classroom. In the film, Mrs. Gruwell allows her students to express their
opinion as long as they are respectful. Having the students feel as though their voices are
actually being heard makes them want to participate, achieve, and work cooperatively.
They gain a great deal of respect for Mrs. Gruwell because of the way she has managed
her classroom. I asked the teacher I observe, since she is fairly young, how she learned to

manage her classroom efficiently. She informed me that it comes with experience, and
that when she first started teaching she struggled with behavioral issues and academic
learning time. I understood that observing a classroom and teaching a classroom are not
the same. I may think I know how to well-manage my classroom, but it will be much
different when I am actually managing a classroom. In class, we went over how to
effectively handle behavioral issues. We did an activity where we had to show how we
would handle a students misbehavior without disrupting the rest of the classroom.
Having each one of us give a stern look actually helped me acquire a future technique I
will use in my classroom.
Teachers are extremely important today. They are responsible for educating the
future leaders of our country, serving as role models and influencing students behavior,
preparing students for the real world. A teachers dedication and passion about his or her
work is illustrated through their teaching methods and students achievement. If a teacher
strives to do whatever needs to be done in order for a student to achieve, they have an
increasingly better chance of reaching the student. Using active engagement, interesting
teaching methods, holding high expectations, providing equal treatment to the students,
having patience, managing the classroom efficiently, and keeping the classroom attentive
through questioning and discussions are all factors I believe contribute to teacher
effectiveness. As mentioned before, teaching is not easy. Many people underestimate the
work that goes into this profession. People say not to make ones job their life, but
sometimes ones job is their life. Mrs. Gruwell gave up her marriage, worked multiple
jobs, and sacrificed so much for her students because she loved helping others and truly
cared about her students. The reality of every teacher having this same influence on their

students is highly unlikely, however it is examples such as Freedom Writers that show
us it is possible. Through everything that I have acquired, I hope to always be passionate
about teaching. This course and the experiences I have endured throughout the semester
have challenged me to question whether teaching is right for me. Through it all, I know
that teaching is what I am passionate about. Mrs. Gruwell was a powerful educator that
was able to change the lives of each and every one of her students in her classroom.
Believing in her students, accepting their uniqueness, and refusing to let them fail
encouraged them to succeed. Being there for a student who may not have anyone else can
have a powerful impact on the student. For me to be able to have a positive effect on even
just one student would be enough for me to know I am making a difference. Ultimately, I
have become destined to be an effective teacher and help every possible student that I can
to reach his or her highest academic and personal achievement.