Last night I re-watched one of my favorite movies – “Freedom
Writers” and it got me to thinking about George Dei’s idea that schooling must
be community and also about the Afrocentric school debate we had in class. If
you’ve never seen
“Freedom Writers” it is about a white female teacher named
Mrs. Gruwell who takes on a job teaching English to students at a high school in
Long Beach, California in 1994. Her class is mostly students who are Black,
Cambodian or Latino, with only one white student. The movie is about the
struggles she faces while trying to get the students to care about their
education when they face so many problems including gang violence, racism,
abuse and homelessness outside of school. It is based on a true story and it so
powerful and well worth watching.In his article "Schooling as Community" George Dei writes that in the early 90’s,
the biggest issues concerning students were the low teacher expectations, lack
of curricular sophistication and the absence of black faculty. These issues and
more are addressed in the film, with the principle and other teachers at the
school having no faith in the students and telling Mrs. Gruwell not to worry
about actually teaching them because most just stop coming to class anyways.
A quote from the movie as spoken by one of the staff who
thinks the students are a hopeless cause is “..you can’t make them want an education,
the best you can do is to to get them obey, to learn discipline.” Dei says that
we need to teach discipline, no
simply enforce it (pg. 351). Enforcing discipline is never going to make the
students truly realize what they are doing is wrong; they need to be taught why it is wrong so that they can stop
doing it in the future.
The biggest connection I made between the film and Dei’s
writing is that Dei’s idea of schooling as community is possible, if people have faith in the students and set them up
for success instead of expecting failure. From day 1, Mrs. Gruwell had faith in
her students and tried and tried to reach out to them, and after she did, there
was no turning back. Dei says we need to see schooling as community as a “shared
responsibility,” which I interpret as we all need to be responsible for our
actions and understand that we all can contribute to the bigger picture.
Another important idea Dei makes is that the concept of community is central to
the approach of an antiracist and anti-oppressive school system. If we can come
together to make a safe community for all students, the racism and oppression
will end, as evidenced in the film when the students state they are only truly
able to be themselves when they are in Mrs. Gruwell’s classroom and they are
able to all get along, regardless of race. Also, they begin to care about
school and begin to take an interest in the topics she teaches, which frees
them from the grasp of the oppressive nature of their high school.
I also thought about the Afrocentric school debate we had in
class. At first I was on the pro side, thinking that an Afrocentric school is a
good idea but now, I am re-thinking my stance. I am realizing that it is so
important for all people to get along and that the only way to do that is for
everyone to come together and recognize and appreciate all races and
ethnicities. Perhaps there doesn’t need to be any new schools created, just try
and find more teachers that care enough to change the curriculum so that it
doesn’t patronize the students, but rather interests them.
I wanted to include to YouTube video clips from the movie.The first is when Mrs. Gruwell notices how the students segregate themselves by race and she wants them to realize that there is more to a person than their skin color and that they have things in common with people of other races. This activity reminded me of the bus
activity we did on our own class. The second clip is when a student recites how
nervous he will be to return to school for his sophomore year because of the hard
summer he had, but how great the first day back actually was because his
classmates welcomed him with open arms. This shows the influence Mrs. Gruwell
had on these students and how change is possible and schooling can become
a community, if everyone involved is willing to make a change to see it happen.
Image obtained from:
I completely forgot about this movie! It was one of my favourites. I really appreciate the comments you have made on the film and how you related it to Dei.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to comment on part of the film that stuck with me. There is a section where Mrs. Gruwell is looking through the books that the students use in the classroom and notice that they are all torn apart and written all over. She suggests to the principal that they get new books for the students and the principal dismisses the idea because she believes that these students do not deserve new books.
This highlights a big issue within schools. If faculty does not trust student with something as simple (but important) as new books the students are going to notice and feel as if they are unworthy and dumb. How teachers treat students perpetuates how student perform in the classroom.
-Rebecca Thompson
I also reviewed this film as when I was thinking of media that exemplified topics from the course, it immediately came to mind. I enjoyed your perspective of the film exemplifying Dei's concepts of schooling as community. I also thought that Afrocentric schools were a good idea but this film gives the perspective from the opposite side of the debate where inclusion should be encouraged in order to promote equality among races and understanding of different viewpoints. Mrs. Gruell really makes the students come together as a sort of family and it is powerful that the students want to stay together for their whole high school career. The line game is a powerful activity in the film, as Mrs. Gruell shows the students that even though they are different races and are unique, there are many experiences they have had that unite them and she points out many similarities among them.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the film was a great example of a critical pedagogical approach to education. Mrs. Gruell encourages her students to contribute their own experiences to their work and insists that their voices are valuable and they should share their own stories in their journals and then to the world when they have it published. She does not treat her students as having no contribution or no right to education like the principal does when she says they don't want to learn and just need discipline.
I definitely agree that this film should be an example to teachers in that they can make a difference in less-than-ideal situations and places where violence and hatred is present. If one person can make a difference against all that resistance, than a whole community rising up against the oppression can change everything.
I really appreciate the comments! The points you both have made are great and it goes to show that one person can make a difference. Thanks for taking the time to read.
ReplyDelete