Freedom Writers Research Paper
Krupal Hari
Mr. Pete
English 1101
October 30, 2008
Freedom Writers “We fight each other for territory; we kill each other over race, pride, and respect. We fight for what is ours. They think they’re winning by jumping me now, but soon they’re all going down, war has been declared.” Freedom Writers depicts students from different gangs facing problems from school life at day to gang violence at night. A new teacher at Wilson High School by the name of Myer Gies connects education with her troubled students’ daily lives to bring them together past the boundaries drawn by gangs. Myer Gies teaches at Wilson High School, located in Long Beach. She is the teacher of her 23, “below school average,” students in room 203 where she teaches …show more content…
Mrs. Gies learning objective was to graduate her students from high school with a high enough reading level to get into college. She conflicted with her department head because of insufficient support and funding for her class. Throughout the film, Mrs. Gies is forced to overstep her department heads authority and convince the Board of Education to give her permission to teach “normal level reading for her below average” students. Furthermore, Mrs. Gies assigns each student a journal to write in everyday as a homework assignment. She even goes on to say, “You can write songs, poems, anything, but you have to write every day. Keep a pen nearby and whenever you feel the inspiration…” Mrs. Gies unconsciously follows William Stafford’s method of writing. “That is, he does not draw on a reservoir; instead, he engages in an activity that brings to him a whole succession of unforeseen stores, poems, essays, plays, laws, philosophies, religions, or—but wait!” (Stafford 126). This assignment’s hidden curriculum teaches her students how to cope with situations and realize that others around suffer the same problems. By opening a common ground between all gangs, overtly, she is teaching her students how to break racial boundaries and except all those around them without violence and
Mr. Pete
English 1101
October 30, 2008
Freedom Writers “We fight each other for territory; we kill each other over race, pride, and respect. We fight for what is ours. They think they’re winning by jumping me now, but soon they’re all going down, war has been declared.” Freedom Writers depicts students from different gangs facing problems from school life at day to gang violence at night. A new teacher at Wilson High School by the name of Myer Gies connects education with her troubled students’ daily lives to bring them together past the boundaries drawn by gangs. Myer Gies teaches at Wilson High School, located in Long Beach. She is the teacher of her 23, “below school average,” students in room 203 where she teaches …show more content…
Mrs. Gies learning objective was to graduate her students from high school with a high enough reading level to get into college. She conflicted with her department head because of insufficient support and funding for her class. Throughout the film, Mrs. Gies is forced to overstep her department heads authority and convince the Board of Education to give her permission to teach “normal level reading for her below average” students. Furthermore, Mrs. Gies assigns each student a journal to write in everyday as a homework assignment. She even goes on to say, “You can write songs, poems, anything, but you have to write every day. Keep a pen nearby and whenever you feel the inspiration…” Mrs. Gies unconsciously follows William Stafford’s method of writing. “That is, he does not draw on a reservoir; instead, he engages in an activity that brings to him a whole succession of unforeseen stores, poems, essays, plays, laws, philosophies, religions, or—but wait!” (Stafford 126). This assignment’s hidden curriculum teaches her students how to cope with situations and realize that others around suffer the same problems. By opening a common ground between all gangs, overtly, she is teaching her students how to break racial boundaries and except all those around them without violence and