In the beginning of the film,
The Freedom Writers, you saw Ms. Gruwell's department head suggest that she not to wear her pearls to class. We noticed later that she wore them anyway. Why do you think she ignored the advice? Also, you heard the teacher ask her students if they were aware of the Holocaust after she saw an ugly picture being passed around the class. Why do you think she asked her students if they had ever discussed the Holocaust? Did you think it was important for her to have asked her students that question - if so why?You will make a reflective comment to these questions and then make a comment on at least one other student's comment. Remember to use your First Name and your Last Name!
34 comments:
In the film "Freedom Writers" I think Mrs. Gruwell continued to wear her pearl necklace to class even when her department head hinted she shouldn't because I think she didn't see any threat to herself or to her possessions and had trust in the people around her. I also think that the pearls made her feel sophisticated and I think that she thought if he necklace didn't get stolen, then maybe that would soon indicate that her students respect her and would never take something belonging to her. I think she asked her class if they ever heard of the Holocaust because there was discrimination taking place in her classroom and also the picture drawn by one of the students looked very similar to the images associated with people of Jewish decent during the Holocaust. I think it was important for her to ask her students that question because the Holocaust was a major event in history that revolved around prejudice. By askin her class this, she opened up their minds to something greater than they knew and to something bigger than their own problems they faced everyday.
I think the movie "Freedom Writers" was very inspirational. Not only did Mrs. Gruwell have faith in herself to teach and her students to learn; her students in time gained this sense of confidence and willingness to go to school when many other teachers dismissed them as unable to be taught. By bringing in someone from the Holocaust, someone that can relate to the students because of the tragedy in their life, the students were able to truly connect and form a family within the classroom. Likewise, both the students and the Holocaust surviver were subject to descrimination and violence. I believe that if you give anyone a chance and show you believe in them, they can do wonderful things, regardless of their status in greater society.
I agree with Clark in the sense that the teacher had faith in herself to teach and her motivation to teach them and not give up inspired her students to do the same with their school work as well as in other aspects of their life. I also agree that the Holocaust allowed the students to be able to relate to the lives of other people who were a minority just like themselves but in another country.
I the film, The Freedom Writers, Ms. Gruwell kept wearing her pearls even though her department head advised her not to. I think she ignored the advice because she knew she had to trust the kids if she was going to get their trust back. She understood that trust brought respect which is a two way street. I think seeing the picture being passed around reminded her of the Holocaust. I think she wanted her students to be able to relate with something that she could teach them. It was important for her to ask the students whether or not they discussed the Holocaust because she didn’t want to assume they knew more than they did.
I agree with Clark that Ms. Gruwell was trying to find her students something to relate to. They all had their own struggles which they compared to a war. When the kids learned about the Holocaust they realized what the hatred could turn into. They helped each other because they were all going through the same thing.
In the film "Freedom Writers", Mrs. G decided to wear her pearl necklace because she knew that her students weren't going to trust her when she first started, but by wearing the necklace, it is showing the students that she trusts them not to take it from her. By showing trust in the students, it is more likely that the students will show trust back. I think that the reason why she asked her class if they have ever heard of the holocaust is because the students in the class were discriminating against a black student, and she wanted to know if they knew how serious discrimination can be. I think it was very important for her to ask that question because only one of them had actually heard about the holocaust, so now that she knows that they don't know about it, she can teach them about it and how terrible it was.
Mrs. Gruwell chose to continue to wear her pearls because she could see that her students were better than they were being made out to be. She refused to let herself be sucked into fearing her students which would have not allowed her to create the classroom environment she wanted. She asked them if they had heard about the Holocaust because she saw a connection between the way that the Nazis treated the Jewish people and the way that those students were treating each other. It was important for her to ask that question because it's what made her realize that her students were not aware of the world outside where they live and that that's why they behaved the way that they did.
I agree with Steph in that Mrs. G knew that if she wanted to get any sort of trust from her students, then she needed to trust them.
I agree with Nicky's comment saying that Mrs. Gruwell continuing to wear her pearl necklace was a sign of respect towards her students. I thought it was nice to see in the end that they returned that respect to her when they called her "ma".
I think that Ms. Gruwell ignored the advice and continued to wear the pearls any way because she did not believe that anyone in her class would steal from her. She had not seen the extent of the crime in the neighborhood, and she did not know what was possible. I think that she asked her students about the Holocaust because the picture reminded her of pictures drawn of Jewish people being prosecuted in in the Holocaust. Pictures just like that are the reason that so many Jewish people were discriminated against, because it was funny to some people. I think that it was very important that she asked them that question. This lead to many lessons about the Holocaust and it opened up every single person's mind inside her classroom. They thought it was a harmless picture, when really it can do much worse. I loved how she carried the lessons of the Holocaust out so much, even as far as bringing the European woman who helped hide Anne Frank to their school. Learning life lessons like these, help everyone be the best person they can be.
I agree with Ellen. She stated that she would not be sucked into the belief that all of her student were bad kids. Ms. Gruwell is not as closed minded as some of the other teachers in the school and she could see through to who they really were, and developed a trusting relationship with each and every one.
The movie was indeed quite powerful and compelling. I am intrigued by the fact that the movie was based on a true story. Nonetheless, it was an interesting movie with some powerful underlying themes to it. Some included: Never give in to the pressures of non-believers, stand up for what is right; etc. I am glad that all of the students were able to go to college after graduation from high school.
The comment by "Anonymous" was me. My apologies.
I agree with Clark how effective it was to use education of the Holocaust to teach the LA students. Even though the Holocaust and Rodney King riots were completely different situations both in cause and scope, there are similar themes through each of them. Almost every conflict in human history has at its core the ultimatum of "it's us or them." By educating tolerance and learning that the other side most likely feels the exact same sense of threat, these conflicts can be ended and avoided. I think this is the method Mrs. Gruwell uses to teach in the film. I think she wears her pearls to class because she decides she will not change who she is based on outside pressure, but instead convince others to accept her as is.
Freedom writers was such a great movie! I really appreciated seeing it again with a different perspective. I think that she continued to wear her pearls because she had faith in the kids and knew they were just getting a bad rap because they were all "black" and "Hispanic" and many other cultures. She had a feeling that no kid would be capable of stealing. After she saw the picture being passed around, Ms. G was really angry because of the connection to the holocaust That is how the holocaust got started. It all started with someone drawing a picture of a Jew and labeling it with anti Semitic remarks and passing it around with a label that was inappropriate. That picture circled around bi standards and got out of control. Ms G was appalled by the picture of the student because she knew what can happen when people start labeling and stereotyping certain cultures and she saw the correlation with history and wanted to stop it at once. Ms G wanted to teach to the students how they are not alone and so many people in history have gone through similar situations and under even worst circumstances. Her lessons were very effective because we saw how after much opposition she was able to get the students to look beyond color and race and realize that everyone is the same and should be treated with respect.
I think that Mrs. Gruwell wore her pearls instead of taking them off like the department head advised her to do because she didnt know what she was up against, she didnt think wearing the pearls would draw attention to herself and she didnt feel threatened to take them off. And i think her wearing themwas a sign to her kids that she's not afraid of them and that she was going to wear the pearls nad it idnt matter who she was teaching. I think that she asked her classed if they knew about the holocaust because she could relate it to what the kids are doing now to each other. And i think she was taken back by one of her kids asking about it that she wanted to know if any of her other kids didnt know about it. The holocaust was such a huge part of history and I think Mrs. Gruewall saw it as an opportunity to teach the kids and make it relatable.
I agree with Jenny that learning about the holocaust really opened the minds of her kids and that it was an important question to ask because one of the kids drew a picture of another kids with big lips and that reminded Mrs. Gruwall about the pictures that were drawn to make fun of the Jews and their big noses. She wanted them to know that an innocent picture thought out to be funny and a joke can turn into something serious like the holocaust.
I think Mrs. Gruwell ignored the advice about her pearl necklace because she understood that her students weren't the most afluent and didn't have the best backgrounds, but she saw the best in anyone. She didn't want to judge and she also displayed herself as an individual. She wouldn't take no as an answer. I think she asked her students if they knew about the Holocaust because she wanted to make a point. She wanted to show them what kind of horrible things could come from racism and prejudice. She could connect situations from the classroom earlier in the movie to what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust. She wanted to prove that racism and hate get people nowhere.
I agree with Andy's comment about the pearl necklace. I also think that wearing the necklace was partly to show her students trust as well as respect in the sense that she didn't see them as bad people.
The movie "freedom Writers" was a very motivational movie. Mrs G. displayed trust in her students even though she hadn't met them yet. She ignored the advice of her co-work and wore the pearls to school because she couldn't judge her students by what her co-workers says without even first meeting them. Its important that mrs. G asked her students if they have ever heard of the Holocaust and relates it to the picture because during the holocaust, if you didn't fit a certain description, you were killed and thats why she was also angry because her students were trying to demean each other through use of pictures.
I agree with alot of people who posted their comments that as time passed, the kids realized that they didn't have to act tough all the time and that there are people out there that actually do care about them. once hey discovered that, i do believe that they kids started to be more confident and expressed this through their dairies and also those that were enemies in the street were friends in her class.
Mrs. Gruwell didn't listen to the department heads advice because she wanted to gain the trust of the kids, and if she shows fear, and thinks less of them she would never be able to accomplish that. The pearl necklace in the movie means a lot in the movie, she wore it all through out, showing how much she trusts the kids, even though they weren't respectful at first. the movie "Freedom Writters" is inspiring, and opened my eyes to how some people may live, and how a simple opportunity that many may take for granted, can change someones life.
I agree with Ellen, by wearing the pearl necklace, Mrs. Gruwell demonstrated that she didn't have fear of her students. By doing that, she showed how strong she was, and how she is willing to do anything to help the kids she teaches.
I think that Ms. Gruwell ignored the advice and wore the pearl necklace anyway because she wasn’t exactly aware of how crazy and wild the school was. This was one of her first days and she didn’t really know what the kids were like at this point. Also I think she just wanted to wear what she intended on wearing. I think she asked the students if they ever discussed the Holocaust because there was obvious discrimination and racism in the class. I do think it was important for her to ask the students that question because she raised awareness on the Holocaust and a lot of the kids were shocked when they found out what it actually was.
I agree with Steph that Ms. Gruwell had to ask her class first if they ever discussed the Holocaust to see if they had any knowledge on it. She wouldn’t want to talk about something that they knew nothing about and by talking about discrimination and racism, the Holocaust relates to that.
In the film "Freedom Writers" Ms.Gruewell's department head advised Ms. G to not wear her pearl necklace to her new class because it was full of kids who were categorized as bad. I think that Ms. G continued to wear her necklace because she knew that if she was to gain any of her students’ trust that she had to show that she trusted them. By continuing to wear the necklace and showing she wasn’t afraid and was actually trying to establish a student teacher relationship she was able to gain a few of the students’ trust. I think she asked her new students if any of them had heard about the Holocaust because seeing the racist drawing reminded her of the drawings from the discrimination during the Holocaust. She wanted them to know what real discrimination could lead to and that it is never funny to call someone out for being a different race or just well, different. She was definitely taken back when she saw that only one student had ever heard of the Holocaust, and the student being the only white student in the class. I think it was important for her to ask because then she could educate her students on one of the most devastating events in history and maybe then they could understand discrimination better.
I very much agree with Natalie’s comment on how Ms. G sees the best in everyone, no matter what their background or story is. “She wanted to prove that racism and hate get people nowhere.” That is true and by showing her students that she probably hoped that it would get thought to her students.
The flim "Freedom Writers" was inspirational to me. I admire Mrs. Gruwell. I admire her determination and her dedication; if she recieved an answer tat didn't please her she still didn't let that stop her. When she wore the pearl necklace even though the department head told her not to I think it was because she didn't want the kids to think that she viewed them the same way as all the other teachers, she saw them as students and as human beings that deserved respect. Seeing the picture that was passed around horrified her. I think that she wanted the kids to be able to relate it to something bigger than just a joking picture and she used the Holocaust to do that but she was shocked to find out that they didn't know what it was but was excited to teach them.
I agree with Steph that she knew she had to trust the kids in order to earn their trust in return, and even though it took a while, she ulimately did.
First off, I want to say, I really enjoyed watching "Freedom Writers". It was a very inspiring movie and it shows what one person can do if they stand up for what they believe. Mrs. Gruwell was an amazing women and was able to unite a group of people and give them hope. Most of those kids would have dropped out, or could care less about their future in education if Mrs. G. didn't come teach and help them. She was able to find a way to connect with them and inspire them. I agree with Ellen and Nicky and a couple other classmates in regards to why she continued to wear he pearl necklace. The students respected her and they built a strong trust in one another. Similar to what Jenny said, she probably had not seen the extent of the crime in the neighborhood, and she did not know what could happen. I also think that she asked her students about the Holocaust because the picture reminded her of pictures drawn of Jews, being killed.
in the film "Freedom Writers" I think the fact that Mrs. Gruwell continued to wear her pearl necklace showed a sense of confidence. I think she wanted to see the good in the students and really trusted that the students would not steal from her. Mrs. Gruwell asked her class if they had ever learned about the holocaust because of the mean drawing that was passed around the class. This drawing was the same kind of discrimination as the jews were faced with in the holocaust. The drawing was making fun of somebody based on their background, appearance and skin color. I think by relating the picture to the holocaust it put it into perspective to the students.
I agree with Jenny and others that Mrs. Gruwell might have been a little oblivious to the extent of the violence that goes on in the neighborhoods of their town. This is why she didn't think twice about wearing her pearl necklace. I also think that the picture was thought of as funny to other students, but to Jamal it was very hurtful. The students didn't think twice about hurting his feelings, which is just like the holocaust in the sense that people didn't care about hurting the jews. They saw it as funny and made fun of their looks and religion.
In the beginning of "Freedom Writers", Mrs. Gruwell decided to wear her pearl necklace because of her desire to create an atmosphere of respect. By putting herself on the line continuously throughout the film, she helps the students discover a new aspect of life. She treated them with dignity and encouraged them and acted as an outlet for many of them to gain counsel on their problems. I believe she asked her students about the Holocaust because of the same reason that Nicky said. The discrimination within the school was not as extreme as with the Nazis, but there was obvious racism occurring. She helped her students to overcome the stereotypes and develop their potentials and futures. She helped the students discover their true identities.
In the film "Freedom Writers", Mrs. Gruwell continued to wear her pearls even after the department head suggested not to. Why she continued.... She had faith in her kids to do the right thing. She believed that if she could win them over, make them believe in themselves, then there would be no need to not where the pearls. But when she was discussing the issue of the photo, she first tried to make a statement about how the drawing was similar to those of Holocaust posters, the class laughed, because even if the didn't know what it was, they wouldn't believe that there had been an event worse in history, a people in a worse situation then theirs. But once they learned of the holocaust, the brutality and destruction, and the survival stories, they discovered that it is possible to move on from where they where, to make something of the stories and experiences.
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