This calamity was not receiving awareness and the officers in question were not reproved. Relating to fellow peers, as well as June Jordan, the students decide to take action. They begin to connect Black English with racism.…
September 2009. It’s his first day in his new school with his new classmates. After a rough last year due to an unsupportive group of people around him, he is unsure of what is going to happen this year. However, when he looks into his teacher’s eyes and engages into a conversation with her, he knows that this year was going to be the exact opposite rough, and he was immediately happy. Moments like these show how much a teacher can impact a student’s life in a positive way. Everyday, thousands of kids who are neglected by their parents like author Lynda Barry go to school which is more of a home to them due to the amazing teachers and classmates creating a stable and safe environment for them to thrive in. Whether it be comforting a child or…
After a Fieldtrip reunion with other 5 east LA schools, Paula realizes and recognizes the intense difference between the Hispanic and white schools. After that encounter, Paula becomes involved with a student activism group that demanded equality of all LA schools.…
Its stresses how privileged groups hold more power and have more advantages. It expressed that the social conditions of each group causes a struggle for power. The students in room 203 all hate each other because their gangs are rivals. The gangs are constantly fighting for the most power, that is why many of them kill one another. In the class, constant fights would break out between the students and when Erin changed up the seating plan, the whole class was disgruntled about being integrated with one another. The racism displayed towards The Freedom Writers can also be explained with the conflict theory. The students of class 203 are subjected to discrimination as the white teachers and students are strongly against the integration program. Ava and the other students hate white people because they are privileged in the aspects of money, power, and opportunities. The class disliked Erin and Ben in the beginning because of their skin color. The students feel as if the white students and teachers have more power because white students get a better education, and the white teachers do not want to give the multiracial students books or resources, and are not allowed field trips. There is a constant struggle for power between the white teachers and the students of class 203, which is why they constantly act out. They want to be treated fairly. In addition, the conflict theory explains income inequality. The movie shows that people with more money are of a higher class and they have more power and opportunities. All of the students comes from poor backgrounds and are treated unfairly. They do not have the opportunity to attend university or start new, different lives. The students financial situations lead them to bad behavior and crime, such as selling drugs. They perform illegal activities to obtain money to be able to live and gain more power. Furthermore, domestic abuse is displayed in the…
It is the tale of a young black man on death row who gains dignity and self-awareness from a rural teacher who visits him daily in prison. This book exemplifies education and learning in different ways. In one way, the prisoner learns how to express his feelings and write them down while in prison. Another way the theme of education is shown is that the prisoner also learns how to compose himself with courage and dignity. The most important way that this book shares the theme of education is how Ernest Gaines educates all of the readers that all humans ( no matter their race) are equal and should be treated that way. Being able to exemplify the many different ways there are to introduce the theme of knowledge into his novels was one of Gaines’s strengths. However, he was also known to have included some sub themes that would compliment his main theme of…
The story of “Freedom Writers” was set in Long Beach. Erin was a new teacher who believed the way to stop racial hatred is to change the young’s minds. The students in the school where she worked divided into four camps: whites, Latinos, Cambodians, and blacks. Every group hated each other. Erin wanted to change this condition and wanted everyone to change. In fact, she did it. Now here is question. Why Erin could do something that others did not finish? I think her sense of responsibility made her and her class successful.…
This story is surrounded by conflict since the beginning, when we learn about the class ration of white kids to black kids and our main character is having a really bad experience because he is not getting anything positive out of going to school, his teachers and classmates are not nice to him, they make inappropriate comments which are for the black kids and also bullying from another student towards Clint, and as a result, he get into trouble in school.…
The author's main motives in writing this book were to educate the audience on how truly diverse South Central really is. He showed that the neighborhood isn't just a place full of gang activity, rather a place with hidden successes. Corwin says, “In this book, the student’s value education, sacrifice much to further their educations, and overcome many obstacles-including sometimes even their teachers-in order to obtain their educations” (Corwin 6). These students who avoid the temptations of the street, who strive for success, who, against all odds, in one of America most impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods, managed to endure, to prevail and to succeed are the stars of the story. “In this book the students are the heroes and heroines, the ones with the inspirational stories,” Corwin says (Corwin 6).…
Throughout the description and analysis of the horrific reality of violence in a Southern L.A. School, the author effectively used ethos and pathos to stress the importance of the story to readers. Beatty’s combined experience and closeness to the situation makes her testimonial trustworthy and authoritative. In addition to having a firm understanding of the shootings in South L.A., the Author utilizes pathos through her emotion to guide readers to arrive at a deeper level of understanding about the situation. In doing this she effectively introduces the truth of the lives of many kids that attend her school. Beatty’s effective use of ethos and pathos illustrates a clear and authoritative image of the South L.A. school shootings and their…
For this assignment I chose to watch Freedom Writers. This is a heartfelt movie about a teacher named Erin Gruwell who finds a way to unify her disadvantaged, racially divided students and to improve their grasp of academics, partly by having them keep journals about their violent, troubled lives. The main diversity issue in this movie is cultural, ethnic, and racial tensions. According to Storti (1999), “Culture is the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a group of people which result in characteristic behavior” (p. 5). In the United States, and other similar societies, smaller ‘subcultures’ co-exist alongside the large groups with which people identify themselves. There are, however, important differences. Subcultures …’exist within dominant cultures and are often based on economic or social class, ethnicity, race or…
Freedom Writers, a film directed by Richard LaGravenese (based on a true story) is about a young teacher named Erin Gruwell played by actress Hilary Swank who inspires her class of at risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school. Knowing that Woodrow Wilson High school was in integrated high school, she chose to work there hoping to be an instrument for change. The concept of belonging is represented through the use of racial groups and gangs. The students are clearly identified as belonging to an ethnic group based on their colour, race and ethnicity for example the Cambodians, the Latino’s, African American and the whites. They also identify themselves as being gang members and belonging to a gang, this includes having territory and protecting your own. Security, affection, friendship and support are all examples of the benefits in belonging to a gang…
This movie is about a girl wanting to make a difference in her community. Certain people in her community, known as Chicanos, don’t have the same rights as others. One of the main characters, Paula, gets tired of how fellow Chicanos are being treated and therefore joins a group to help improve the environment, particularly the East LA schools. These students get punished for the silliest things and their treatments are unjust. For example, talking in Spanish will lead to a beating. The bathrooms aren’t available to the students at all times. Also, Chicanos don’t receive encouragement from teachers to pursue in college, unlike others. As their punishment of “not following the rules,” they’re forced to do janitorial work while getting…
Change is a difficult process for several people in Freedom Writers because their decision to change could mean death. As they go on certain decisions are life threatening, but they decided to take the high road. Gangs aren’t in favor of high roads, but in the end the writers find that it doesn't matter what they think. The Freedom Writers are starting to become a group against violence and this is stirring problems up between gangs. In the end they only know what's right for them, so they make this time a time for a…
Every human being will face personal challenges and what makes it different is, how we accept those obstacles and how we make decision to overcome those challenges in our life. The absolutely true dairy of part time Indian by Sherman Alexie clearly shows how a typical Native American faces challenges in his life. In order to become a better version of ourselves, Arnold and myself had to overcome challenges like getting better education, adapting to new life style and believing ourselves and we both experienced racism. Arnold Sprit and I have to face obstacles to get a better education.…
The ‘Freedom writers’ is a movie which embodies the story of an English class in an urban long beach high school. Directed by Richard LaGravenese and produced by, Danny DeVito , Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, the ‘Freedom writers’ is based on the struggle of a new teacher, Mrs. Gruwell, to maintain an ambitious environment in her class room. Her tolerance, trust and respect is not taken for granted as she climbs success alongside her students in the hopes of taking them out of their misery and showing them a life to live and look forward to.…