MRS. GRUWELL: A PEDAGOGUE OF FREEDOM WRITERS

Here are the 9 Guide Questions and my answers for the Movie Review:

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• Describe Mrs. Gruwell as a teacher. How did she handle her class? What are her qualities that made her a teacher of yesteryear? 21^st century teacher? 

-                                   Mrs. Erin Gruwell is a teacher of character and idealism. So approachable, resourceful with a strong- willed personality. As a teacher, she faces adversity and self-reflection. She teaches in a way she believes she could transform lives by starting a unified voice though. As a teacher she gains her student’s attention. Through a teachers effort, student’s slowly begin to make a positive changes in their lives. With her positive support and family’s expectations, changes and everyday struggles to help her students survive on the streets. In a daring move, Mrs. Gruwell sacrifices her own time, offered her own money in order to inspire her students. As a teacher, Mrs. Gruwell is met with many surprises. She learns of the traditions of the institution by looking and just receiving instructions from it. She handles her class whose students are criminals and do not care about learning by her personal characters. She has a great deal of patience manifested by the manner which she takes her time and as a class she turns around the lives of her students. Even though she faces a tough class that’s hard to teach she still handles her class with patience. She handles them with learning the conditions and takes time to help them. The qualities that made her the teacher of yesteryear is through the following policies prescribe to her and the policies prescribed by the school even if she doesn`t to follow she needs to do that because that`s the policy and she`s just new to the school. While the qualities that’s make her as a 21^st century teacher is through extending role as a second mother to her students. She uses  a variety of teaching method in the learning process. She really spent of her time, money and effort to search for the solution to the problems faced at the moment. Through, allowing  her students to solve the real world problem I think is a potent key.

• Describe the composition of Mrs. Gruwell’s class? How is racism manifested in the movie?

              Most of the students in Mrs. Gruwell’s class has their own culture. They’re diverse in several ways. Racism isn’t an exception. Racism is highly manifested in the movie during Mrs. Gruwell’s class wherein one of her students named Tito sketched a discriminating black man with big lips which is passed around the class which then landed to Jamal who get offended by it. They hate races other than theirs. It shows how each gangs hates the other gangs and leads into their misunderstanding inside the classroom. Students are fighting against each others rights. They believe that their races tend to be superior than other races. Blacks were under estimated by the societal view than white people. In a different gangs I can see that races has been manifested. They believe that they’re all different and thought that there were no solutions for it. Racism here is added by the societal view which view the students as criminals, and that, the criminals that can do nothing into the society and have nothing good to offer to it. But, in real way they are good and talented people who have not found a means in spreading their talents. Finally, in the classroom the students there are composed of African American, Latinos and Cambodian races. For that racism such that of a Latinos hating Cambodian students are manifested.

• ·  Describe the principal and Mrs. Gruwell’s coordinator. How would relate their characters and views in real life?

                As compared to Ma’am Margaret- the principal, Mrs. Gruwell is ideal enough to ensure that her students in the both sides of racial orientation will agree and will soon find their commonalities. Indeed, an open minded relationship of Mrs. Gruwell not just with their principal Margaret but to her students as well. She really ensures that students understand the rationale behind learning. Through communicating farther and enhancing the sense of belongingness, she let them feel appreciated. She makes the entire classroom, 203 an important place where information and knowledge sharing and determination which is impossible to takes place, now becomes possible. She builds real personality upon constructing collaboration which makes learning becomes interesting. On the other hand, the principal of the Woodrow Wilson High School named Margaret was just aiming to streamline the behavior of the students at school, eventually, deals with initiating to offer a little support to the students through the integration programs. She as the head of the school has initiate to lessen the racism in the school. The school she’s handling is different to the other schools because of the programs. It provides students just with options not solutions to that problems. The learning system there is not complete and the students there are surely at risk of becoming worse. Moreover, the principal and Mrs. Gruwell during their conversation at the storage room is a great highlight of their different views. She doesn’t want Erin to get any books on the shelf because they will just ruin them. It is an important scene in the movie as it enable Erin to have a 2 extra jobs so that she could buy books for them.

• What are the strategies and activities she used to her class? How did it help in making her class successful? 

               I think the strategies that Mrs. Gruwell used to her class was her determination dealing them with great patience and understanding. This is manifested by the manner by which she takes her time, money and effort to turn around the lives of her students. Under normal circumstances Mrs. Gruwell undoubtedly faces a tough class, very difficult to teach and uneasy to handle. But, through her patience she really learns about this condition of the students. She tracks time to really help them. The second step she did I think is understanding them. She tried to understand the social patterns and diversities of the students. As a result, Mrs. Gruwell went into a great length of asking the students to record their daily experiences in writing. The strategy she employed really helped the students who became criminals or law breaker to change their path. Moreover, these strategies once lifted the academic credentials of Woodrow Wilson high school. It is really from the hardworking teacher where the students realize something worth living . Another activity used or employed by Mrs. Gruwell in the class is the line game. Through that game, the students who hated each other, who belongs to the different gangs and discriminated tend to realize that they are not all that different. They have one goal and one future as they are the hope of tomorrow so they should “Toast for a change”

• ·       Is there uses of technology I n the class? Elaborate.

          Nowadays, the use of technology in education is very vital for an easier learning and meaningful teaching in the 21^st Century setting. Indeed, yet it is somehow thought that technology was just through the use of visually projected media but, for Erin Gruwell’s class its different. During her lecture discussion, technology has been manifested already from the day where she uses a radio as a tool to let her students appreciate the literary piece of writings through the musical tool. Not just that but as a strategy also to let her students attention be brought into the lesson. To shift it from being busy doing unimportant things such that of hating others inside their classroom. The technology also introduced outside the school campus where the students appreciated learning through their field trips and workshops. The use of technological material is vitally portrayed as it leads to the situation where the students could relate the things they learnt in the class, eventually absorbing their lessons. 

• ·         If you’ll be assigned with a class or students in conflict, how will you handle it?

             Every person has its own given talents. These talents relate to the things they learnt in the class. This makes a classroom entirely- informational. If I’ll be assigned in a class of students in conflict, I will appreciate them even just in a little way. Also, making the movie “Freedom Writers” as my inspiration, with Erin’s unique strategies in her class, it might be effective for me. But when I would be in that situation, I don’t really know what I would feel. I might have faith in myself to devise a new way of handling such chaotic learning environment but I think as for now, I don’t have the courage to think for that but may be someday I would be in that situation as I dream to render my teaching without a pay. I enjoy thinking what really the world of teaching has instore for me. I might be more of experimentalist. Conflict is such a difficult imaginative scenario. But, through experimenting their behaviors, I could point out where to focus my attention first. In shifting the students attention, I can ensure that my students interact with idealistic personality. This is also manifested by Mrs. Gruwell by her ability to bring the reality in learning. In addition, the new integration has lead to a situation where the students could relate their learning in the class with the real- world. For that, it could make them appreciate that they are learning in the class. Lastly, it ensures that learning is an active process taking place in a 21^st Century setting.                                      

• What did Erin’s father mean when he asked Erin, Is the job finished? What is the job he is referring?

                  In the movie, Erin’s father I think is the potent person who’s very supportive to Erin. But, when he asked Erin about the job, it’s teaching. Quite sad to think of a father asking his daughter to quit on her teaching job. Is the job finished? In the first place, his father’s concern was being highlighted in the movie, believing a mis respectful and unfavorable teaching environment. He just doesn’t want Erin to suffer from many difficulties and to get involved in a trouble of the gangs in the school. Along his daughter’s advent in the school, Erin’s father really see what it meant to be a teacher. He saw his daughter’s patience and love for teaching. He points out that the school is different from others as it doesn’t provide solution to the problem but just an option. Moreover, it’s not complete as the other which is already manifested by the students. Erin’s father had already read the news about the manner of the students, gangs and others crimes until the killings and murder cases to whom concerning one of her daughter’s students in the class. It was evident that she’s perplexed by the state of things but, she doesn’t show that to her father. Despite, the reason behind her reaction is the awful order of diverse things in school even if the school is evident that it doesn’t look like a normal learning institution because of the disorganization and poor values integration. In the end, his father is the only one who helped her in realizing her dreams for her students. Until she really finished her job- the job of changing her students life.

  

• ·         What are the symbolism of room 203? How did it helped the students?

               For me room 2013 is a sign of “inspiration”. Inspiration is not all about something that provides insurance to meet real sense, good and talented people in just a single room 203. Somehow, it’s too scary. But, Erin instead brings inspiration to the room where it doesn’t exist before. She accept the challenge. The first time she met her students she evidently inspired to teach her students. For her, the challenge is all about the perception held by the society because of its view about criminals. Scary! But criminals are the people who have nothing good to offer to the society. Mrs. Gruwell brings inspiration spirit of motivation and confidence among the students. She also serves as the students inspiration as she infuse to them. Also she didn’t forgot to give second chances to her students. The fact that the administrators had embarked on cuts on spending programs should compromised the manner in which students could be nurtured. The inspiration really helped Mrs. Gruwell a lesson and learning that the administration does not provide learning resources, so she herself find means to provide solutions which she think is effective for a change. She teaches her students with a heart and ought to respond them in order to give help. 

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•     What are your insights and learning after watching the movie?

                      Mrs. Gruwell, a pedagogue of Freedom Writers. This was the theme I think best suited for the movie itself after I watch it. I was also inspired by the moving. The professionalism exhibited by Mrs. Gruwell went along the way in terms of understanding the manner in which teachers could use professionalism in terms of guiding students. In the case of the students and Mrs. Gruwell, it is really an evident that professionalism is the important aspect required by the teacher. I have learnt that professionalism ensures that teachers and students work along the same line not different path. The only problems I saw was the teachers lack of professionalism who tend to end up misunderstood. As a future teacher, the movie really wake me up, with all those tears and with all those experiences they have. During and after watching the movie, my first impression really lasts. I was really impressed that being a teacher, you have to go to such great lengths in terms of showing the students why they are beautiful, how they are appreciated in the society and how they are loved by a teacher. In this way, the students ought to respond In this way they are learning understanding not disagreement, peace not chaos and love not hate. In such ways, teachers can make a difference.

 NOW, I WANNA ASK YOU. . . yes you-

                                      HOW WOULD YOU TOAST FOR A CHANGE? 

                                      HOW WOLD YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME AND PATIENCE IN READING MY BLOGS! 

GOD BLESS!