Erin Gruwell Research Paper

According to Traina (1999), “effective teachers impact our learning, our development, and may even make a difference in what we become.” (Discussion section, para. 1). Mrs. Erin Gruwell, teacher from “The Freedom Writers”, is an effective teacher. Moreover, an effective teacher is a teacher who is well organized, teaches with clarity, is positive, models respect and most importantly “is a leader who can inspire and influences his or her students.” (Sandy, 2004, para. 3.). The qualities that made Mrs. Gruwell superior are those characteristics found in an effective teacher.
Certainly, Mrs. Gruwell students did not make it easy for her at first but never the less Mrs. Gruwell never gave up on her students. From the beginning of the movie Mrs. Gruwell clearly showed her commitment to her students and their learning. Moreover, she provided an assignment of writing a daily journal in which she assured them that she was not going to grade nor read unless they wished to have her do so. Little by little the students began to open up to her and that is when she learned the horrific truth behind each of her students. Despite of her limitations on supplies she tried her best to provide her students with the material they needed in order to help them obtain a
Teachers who give the highest respect, get the highest respect and in this occasion a teacher can show respect by “Showing sensitivity to feelings and consistently avoid situations that unnecessarily embarrass students” (Walker 2008.). Mrs. Gruwell definitely matched this quality to those of an effective teacher because after learning what her student’s would go through she approached them differently and showed them that she really did cared about them and created a trusting bonding between her and her students. To conclude, Mrs., Gruwell does show the EPY qualities that makes teachers effective in which makes her superior from other