Freedom Writer's

I enjoyed the movie Freedom Writer's. I thought that Erin was different than most first year teachers. She was so passionate and would not give up; whether she was working with students or the other staff. I liked that she always stood up for herself and realized very early on that she would need to be her own advocate, as many other teachers in the building weren't a very strong support system. Watching the way she took on anything was very inspiring. You could tell that she wasn't completely sure that it would all work out but she certainly had to give it a chance. Watching this movie also reminded me of the struggles I may face when I become a first year teacher. Although I may not with the inner city students that Erin worked with, my issues may be similar. Overall this was a great movie and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to watch it because I may not have done so on my own.

1)    What are some of the hopes and expectations Erin has prior to starting her first job?

Erin has hopes of teaching high school English and is very motivated and excited. She seems to come off as a little naive of the issues surrounding her at the high school.

2)    What realities and challenges confronted her in the beginning of the year?

In the beginning of the year Erin was faced with several challenges. For example, she has never had any experience in teaching since it is her first year teaching. In addition to that, the school that she is hired at is very diverse and the kids face many issues regarding poverty and gangs. She soon realized that this wouldn’t be an ordinary teaching job and that she would have to address their issues and change things in the curriculum to understand how they learn.

3)    What were some of the case scenarios of the lived experiences of the students she had in class?

The students in her class had many issues surrounding their lives. Specifically, one of the student’s fathers was taken from the home when she was very little, for the color of his skin and assumptions that he had issues regarding a gang. Some of the student’s parents had issues with drugs. One of the student’s fathers couldn’t pay rent and they were kicked out of their house. Many, if not all of the student’s parents have issues holding jobs.

4)    How did the student’s attitudes towards learning impact their academic performance?

The student’s attitude towards learning really impacted their academic performance in a negative way.

5)    What strategies did Erin incorporate to break down the barriers between the students and the teacher?

Erin used a variety of methods to reach her students. She first made them separate from their “cliques” when they sat in the classroom. She always made the room a safe place to talk and open up about anything. She made connections with students in many ways, such as giving rides home and allowing them to stay late in the room to finish homework. All of these strategies created trust.

6)    What kinds of teaching methods worked with the students?

The journals that she gave to the students really helped them express themselves. She gave them the option to write anything they wanted in the journal and she would leave a cabinet unlocked for them to put their journals in there. She said that they didn’t have to put them in there but if they did she would read them. All of the students chose to write in their journals in put them in the cabinet. She really learned a lot about them from reading in their journals because they spoke a lot about their families and home lives.

7)    How did Erin develop curriculum that connected with the students?

Erin decided to use books and journals with the students. She gave each student a journal to write in and they could write anything that they chose. She also chose books for them to read such as Diary of Anne Frank, a book she thought they could somewhat relate to. She planned field trips for the students and they had the opportunity to meet authors and important people in history.

8)    What were the attitudes and challenges from other teachers and administrators in the school?

The attitudes from the other teachers in the school were very negative. They commented that the students would not be able to read the books that Erin provided and that they would just ruin them. They wouldn’t support any of the field trips that she wanted to pursue. Overall, they were very unsupportive and skeptical.

9)    What role did Erin’s expectations for the students have on their learning?

Erin held strong expectations for her students. Although she had a lot of struggles in the beginning to even get their attention, they soon warmed up to her and realized how much she wanted to do for them. She held them accountable and it wasn’t long before they were learning, reading, and staying engaged in school.

     What lessons did you learn from this in regards to your first year of teaching?

After watching Erin work with her students, I learned that I need to be very open minded and remind myself how hard the beginning can be. But after time and patience it will get better.