In the beginning of the film you saw Ms. Gruwell's department head comment on the pearls she was wearing and then suggest that she not to wear the pearls to class. Later we see that she ignored the advice and wore them to class on the first day of school anyway. Why do you think she was given the advice and why do you think she ignored it? At one point Ms. Gruwell is having a conversation with her department chair about giving her students the new books that are sitting on the shelves collecting dust. What was the importance of that discussion? Finally, what do you think is the most important message(s) of the film?
22 comments:
I really enjoyed the movie the Freedom Writers, although I was appalled at the behavior of Ms. Gruwell's department head. The way that she judged the students at her own school was disgusting, but it was the normal feeling of the time. She was simply acting off of predetermined stereotypes that blacks and latinos were thieves and liars. Ms. Gruwell didn't listen to her very "helpful" suggestions because she believed that not all students the terrible beasts that everyone else thought they were and that she could actually change them. From what I could tell, Ms. Gruwell was used to people like her father telling her she couldn't do things and therefore wore the pearls anyway despite the risks. The discussion between Ms. Gruwell and her department head over the books is important because it underscores the way that in Long Beach, no one trusted any other races and even teachers treated high schoolers like unintelligent little 4th graders. I think the most important message of the film is to be true to yourself and do what is right. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but I really hated Ms. Gruwell's husband.
I have watched this movie several times and each and every time I am more and more intrigued by it. It is a very well put together film and I think it will always be used in classrooms to demonstrate the deeper meaning of it. I think it is a great example to show how much prejudice there is in the world, even the places we should feel particularly safe in.
I really liked this movie because it showed such a different kind of classroom experience that we are not used to as students. I thought what Mrs. G was doing was so inspirational and incredibly brave. Even though the board of education wasn't supporting her, she knew what she had to do, and she really enjoyed making a difference in the lives of others. The fact that she ended up choosing her work over her husband showed just how dedicated she was, along with all of the other jobs she had. She put aside any personal struggles she may have had, all to make sure that her class knew who they were and knew that she was there for them. I think a constant message seen throughout this movie is the importance of doing what is right. That was something she had learned in her life, and it was something she passed down and taught to her students.
I have seen Freedom Writers on multiple occasions, and it's just as enthralling each time. Watching this movie, I can feel the tension in the beginning, the sense of pure accomplishment at the end, and everything in between. I was genuinely surprised that Mrs. Gruwell's department head was never able to see how much of a difference Mrs. Gruwell made in the kids' lives. I think that if Mrs. Gruwell never taught those children, their current misfortunes could've taken a turn for the worse. Also, each time I see this I always have a glimmer of hope that Scott will return home to Erin and realize that what she's doing makes her an amazing person that's definitely worth spending the rest of his life with, but he never does. Although, I do believe that Erin's dad softened up a bit by the end; he originally instilled in Erin that her job was just a job, and he did stay true to his word, but with the conclusion of the movie, he added that maybe the job wasn't done yet. Overall, Erin's accomplishments are extremely admirable, and the movie portrayal is very captivating and inspiring.
I thought that “The Freedom Writers” was an inspiring film. I was moved by how much Ms. Gruwell cared about her students and how much they needed her. As much as I liked Ms. Gruwell and her students, I couldn’t stand her department head. When she told Ms. Gruwell she shouldn’t wear the pearls to class, I was disgusted because she just assumed the students were thieves because they weren’t white and weren’t in the honors class. I think Ms. Gruwell ignored the department head’s advice is because she wanted to give the students a chance, and she saw it was ridiculous to accuse people of being thieves without ever knowing them. It was also important to see how Ms. Gruwell was perseverant when she asked the department head to let her students read the books sitting on the shelves. She went to the people who had real power and got their support in order to affect change. I think that’s the message of the film; that no matter how good of a person you are you need the support of someone with power to cause change.
I think that Ms. Gruwell was given the advice to not wear the pearl necklace because the department head just assumed that her future students might try to steal them, just because they weren’t in the honor courses. She presumed they were thieves, something Ms. G ignored. I think that Ms. G wore them anyways because she has no reason not to, she hasn’t met these kids and she isn’t someone to judge just off of what someone else says. The importance of the conversation with the department head and Ms. G regarding the books was that the students in Ms. G’s class weren’t given the same opportunity to read what everyone else in the honor classes were reading. The importance was that the kids were not given them because it was assumed they would either damage them or lose them. I think the most important messages of the film were to never judge someone before you meet them, and everyone deserves a chance to succeed.
I found The Freedom Writers a very powerful movie. I found it amazing how into the education the kids got when they could relate to the material. I love the speeches that are in the movie too. An example of what i mean is like when the teaches talks about how the kids made it on their own and it wasn't her, and how they could actually do it all along. How she went on that speech about that. Those type of speeches in the movie i really liked. This movie really shows anythings possible. It also helps back up that point because it is based on a true story. Overall, i found this movie really touching.
Freedom Writers is a very inspirational movie. I found myself very intrigued by it and there wasn't a dull moment in it. I think this movie focuses on capturing the idea of how prejudice we can all be. It teaches the lesson not to judge someone by their background because anyone is capable of achieving anything if they set their mind to it. Freedom Writers is a very inspirational movie full of admirable characters.
When this scene occurred in the Freedom Writers, I was absolutely appalled by the department head’s ignorance toward the “gang kids” that Mrs. Gurwell was going to be teaching. The head had basically written off those kids as if she already knew they were no good without putting in the effort and time to get to know them. She used racial stereotypes to classify what people’s grades, effort levels, etc. were going to be. She had no interest in trying to educate them because she felt it wasn’t worth her time. The department head implied that the kids were already bad without even knowing them or wanting to know them. She based her judgment on what she thought the kids would generally be like. I believe that Mrs. Gurwell decided to ignore this advice because she felt it was wrong to judge others without giving them a chance to prove themselves first. I think that Mrs. Gurwell thought that if she could connect to her class enough that it wouldn’t be necessary to avoid wearing expensive clothing and jewelry because the students would respect her enough not to try to steal it, disrespect her, ect. I think that Mrs. G had faith in her ability to connect to the students she would be teaching and the drive to continue trying. I believe that importance of the conversation with the department head in the closet with the books collecting dust was to really emphasize how unaware and intolerant people could be. Even after Mrs. G had gotten to know the kids a little bit better and could find something that would relate to them, she was put down by the department head because she had will to understand these people and only was willing to see their flaws to make herself and others like her look more respectable. It was demeaning and very cruel. I truly believe that this film conveys so many different themes and messages, but I think that the most important message is to always keep an open mind about others and not let preconceived misconceptions blind you.
Freedom Writers was a powerful and inspirational motion picture. I thought that Mrs. G's teaching style and way about interacting and connecting with her under privileged students was very special because she was the one to give them some hope for this world and make them realize that they were all amazing people that they had not know existed. The department head told Mrs. G to not wear the pearls to her class because the department head looks at all the students as trouble making hooligans who would probably steal them. I think Mrs. G chose to ignore this because she saw through her prejudice and gave the kids the benefit of the doubt. This was the first step in connecting with her class because it conveyed that she trusted the kids and that she was not going to be easily persuaded by her authoritative figure. When they are discussing the material for the students to use, the department head suggests that they use the old condensed versions of books when they have perfectly good books ready to use. The department head does not trust the kid and therefore doesn't want to waste the good books on them if all they are going to do is destroy them however, what she does not understand is that the kids only destroy those books because they know that they give them the shitty ones. Mrs. G believes that if the kids are treated like they are delinquents then they will act like delinquents. The importance of this discussion was that it showed what the department head really thought of the students. The most important message of the film was that it does not matter where you are coming from and where you have been, it matters wher you are heading and where you will go, the individual is the only person who can make a change happen.
The movie we saw in class was highly inspirational and is something that all teachers should watch. I have great respect for teachers who you can be able to trust and talk to and I think we need more of these types of teachers in the school system. It was hard to wrap your mind around how bad some people have it compared to people that live in a community like westborough. People should think twice before saying that they have it hard because they have no clue what it's like to be in the shoes of people like the student in freedom writers movie.
I was absent today.
The department head told Mrs. Grruwell not to wear her pearls because she believed that the students couldn’t be trusted around pearls because they might try to steal them and because she sees these students as dirt and she doesn’t believe it is worth it to actually try and look nice for them. She doesn’t think they deserve any special treatments that would make them feel as though they are being treated with respect. The importance of this discussion was to show how the people with power make all the big, important decisions. But, it also shows that even if you don’t have power at first, you can fight your case and get support in order to get what you want. I think that the most important message of this film is that it doesn’t matter where you came from or what you start off with, you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it.
Freedom Writers is a movie that has left an impression on me. It leaves a message that everyone should be aware of. The message of this film is to try your hardest to achieve what you want, even if it seems impossible. These kids kept trying to get Ms. Gruwell to be their teacher all through high school, and after several failures, they finally succeeded. This is because they kept trying even after they got no for an answer.
I think that Mrs. Gruwell was given the advice not to wear the pearls because the school at which she is teaching is a dangerous inner-city school; I think that she ignores the advice because doing so would have acknowledged that she did not trust her students. I think that the discussion not to give the students the books was important because it showed that the department head does not trust the students. Mrs. Gruwell wants to give the students a better opportunity to learn but that is shut down if the students cant receive the books that they need to learn. I think that the most important message of the film is that nobody should be defined by their physical traits or characteristics. It is not right to define each individual in a group by the behavior of some members of the group.
I've seen this movie a million times before an each time it changes me more and more. Ms. Gruwell taught her kids that they will always have a chance and oppurtunity as long as they're willing to fight for it. It shows that there are people in this world who will judge you and not care at all about your cause or what you want, and Ms. G showed us that we need to stand up to those. Also, she made me realize that authority is everything in the world and if want something you need to go to those with power, and forget about those who only want to knock you down. All in all I loved this movie and it lessons and happy to know that it is a true story.
The department head advised Ms. Gruwell not to wear the pearl necklace because she didn't trust the students. She knew the background of where these kids were coming from and assumed that they would try to steal Ms. G's jewelry. Ms. Gruwell chose to wear the pearls out of faith. She believed that all the students were innately good, and wouldn't try to steal the pearls from her. The discussion about books shows the true lack of trust that the department head has for the students. She doesn't believe in their reading capabilities, and doesn't trust that they will return the books unharmed, or even at all. Mrs. G showed her faith in the students again in this discussion, believing that they would be able to read about something they were interested in and also that they would return the books. Overall, I think the moral of the film is that no matter what the obstacles are and who tells you "no", any goal is achievable with enough work.
I really loved this movie! I usually have a shot attention span for movies but every moment of this movie was amazing. It sent so many amazing messages and really makes me love teachers like Ms. G. It also taught me to always challenge authority and do whats right. I loved this movie and really enjoyed the filk
By wearing the pearls to school, not only did it show the school that they didn't need to treat her students like they are criminals and that they are going to steal everything. But she also showed that she was going to do what she wanted whether the school board like it or not. Mrs. Gruwell looked over her bosses and went straight to the source of power, where she knew she could be heard, and when she was told that she needed to listen to her own school's advisors all she said was "no." Mrs. G set her mind on helping these kids and when she was through with them she made a difference that would last them their entire lives. If we choose to live by the lesson "You can do anything you set your mind to" you can achieve great accomplishments and goals. If you choose to sit back and let people boss you around then you're not going to get anywhere in life you're going to live knowing that you didn't do all that you could to have a better life.
She was given the advice because the head of the dept. was racist and suspected it'd be stolen by the end of the school day. However, Ms. Gruwell wore them anyway because she refused to be deterred from such a comment. She chose to believe the best in her kids. The books scene is just a condensed version of these kids' lives. They're never given a chance because they're stereotyped to be delinquents and ruthless gangsters. So, they grow up this way, they have no other choice, in their minds. It's branded into their persona to be what society makes them to be. The most important message was to keep an open mind. Ms. Gruwell, walked in with an open mind and was able to teach these kids. Their, situation truly held her interest and allowed her to see the world through their eyes.
This is the first time I have seen the movie freedom writers.I didn't expect it to be this good of a movie and how great the characters were. I hated the husband because of how selfish and supportive he was of her. All of the students had an amazing transformation and most likely won't forget mrs. Gruwell for the rest of their lives or the lessons she taught them.
I loved his movie because it shows us different kinds of situations and how to deal with it. This movie was very inspirational and somewhat made me want to be a teacher to change kids lives on a daily basis. The Freemdon Writers was a great example f showing that no matter where youre from or what you look like, you can always acheive the dreams youve once had and make it ino reality. The passion ms.G had for teaching was incredible. Not knowing what she was getting herself in she stuck to it and loved those kids like theyve never been loved. No matter what she had to do even if it was spend all her money on these kids she would do it. This changes my views on people and really makes me want to change.
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