How is Teaching Portrayed to the Public?

 

Let's pretend we had to pick our careers off of selected movie portrayals, and our selected movie was Freedom Writers. What would you think about the teaching profession? My thoughts would be that this profession is not only life-changing for the teacher, but also for the students. Some may not get the same message because of how the movie shows the often hidden and harsh lives of students outside the classroom of low-income schools.

The purpose of the movie is to show us (teachers and students) to defy the odds of stereotypes placed on us that low income schools in dangerous cities and neighborhoods do not produce successful students and that good teachers should not settle or have high hopes for working here because it is pointless. The movie is giving off the message that these low-income students that are not willing to learn because the only way they know to survive is through drugs and violence, and they do not see a way out of the life they live. The significance of the teacher, Erin Gruwell, being eager to come to such school shows that this is where change starts, it starts with someone who is willing to be understanding, caring, and has the determination to not give up on these kids who have only been taught to survive. 

This film teaches us a handful of how class has to do with the level of education students receive. The students in the film live in the projects, which is labeled as a poverty and danger stricken community. The teachers refer to them as "these" students, isolating them from other students who attend different schools in higher class areas. The students also receive damaged and limited material because they do not have the funding to purchase better materials and they also do not want to "waste" the money they do have on "these" students. When Mrs. Gruwell uses her own income to purchase them new personal copies of a book they can relate to, the students immediately notice the condition of their materials and are intrigued to participate.

This film also speaks volumes on how race impacts the classroom. We see that the classroom seating is structured by race. All of the students of the same race sit together and they are very opposed to breaking up or even sitting next to other races. They also allow us to see the different cultures among these races by their language, home-life, clothing, and the stories they tell. Each student faces different challenges and beliefs due to the race they belong to. They feel so divided because they do not look the same but as the film progresses, the teacher helps them realize that they are not so different at all. Although there are not that many females in the film for gender to be a main topic, our teacher is not taken very seriously by those at her school because of her experience, class, and her gender.

I think Freedom Writers realistically portrays teaching because it not only shows the challenging aspects of teaching, but also how they can be overcame. It gives us both sides of teaching and shows us what teaching can be like for less fortunate students, but it does not push us away from these schools, it shows us how caring teachers can make a difference and are needed in all schools. It also displays how teachers are often not supported by the school districts and are sometimes pushed to take matters into their own hands and purchase their own materials or even conduct lessons and work outside of the classroom to further help their students. This film also realistically shows how one teacher can change the lives of many by just simply seeing her students as more than just bodies in their classroom.