I. There are many important things that a teacher does for their students, many hats they wear so to speak. These teachers spend their free time planning lessons, and preparing themselves to make the best for their students. Their jobs are very multifaceted. Teachers are our guides through school, they help inspire our thoughts, and if they are doing their jobs well the information sticks with us forever. In school, from elementary through college the most important role played by our teachers is advocate for the student, Mrs Gruwell and Mrs Watson have represented this role throughout both movies.
Most important roles of teacher: ally, friend, disciplinarian, role model, idealist, advocate
Name of teacher #1 Mrs Gruwell - "Freedom Writers" Positive example
Name of teacher #2 Mrs Watson - "Mona Lisa Smile" gradually positive example
Both teachers are positive examples of the role of Advocate, although one teacher is given more of an opportunity to show this than the other. One teacher has limitations to advocacy but continues to push forward in her revolutionary ways. The other teacher has almost no limitations to her advocacy, she can go the distance for her students. Through hard work she proves to the school board that her visions are possible.
II. Body Paragraphs
A.Consistent dedication
1. Mrs Gruwell sees fights in her classroom on more than one occasion within her first semester at Woodrow Wilson High School. She remains dedicated to even those specific students.
2. Mrs Gruwell is told by the school secretary that she may not check out books because her students will destroy them. So she gets another job and buys them herself, which she then continues to do throughout the movie, "working three jobs to pay for her one job". Her own husband frowns on her because of that.
3. When Mrs. Gruwell is given advice from her father to move on to another school, change locations, don't bother with these students, she disregards the importance of her fathers opinion, something she strongly valued her entire life.Little did she know that in the end her father would support the decision she made to stay once he saw the effect she had on her students.
4. She spent hours and hours of her own time reading the stories of the students in her class, and she put special effort forth to understand each student individually. One student
B.Ally
1. Mrs Gruwell transforms herself into an ally with the introduction of her diary writing assignment. She tells them that they may keep the diary all to themselves and she would not read them if the student did not want her to. You see that they go for this idea right away and fill her closet with their diaries, knowing she would not share them with school officials.
2. The students begin to share more specific and private details to Mrs Gruwell, like being abused physically, watching family go to prison, seeing young friends shot, and the lifestyle involved with drugs that some kids had to live. She is there to listen to them and hear their stories simply for an outlet, and so she could come to teach them better knowing more about where they come from.
3. When Eva Mendez decided to tell the truth on the stand and the truth puts "one of her own" meaning another Hispanic friend, into jail she then needs help to get to and from school. She asks Mrs Gruwell to let her stay after school and do her homework because she gets home so late. Mrs Gruwell offers to go as far as drive Eva home on those nights.
4. Mrs Gruwell brings these students to become allys with one another as well. With all the cultural territory at this school she breaks down the wall within her class. She makes all the students move their chairs to redefine their "borders". Eventually forcing them to make friends, and allys with each other.
C. Inspirational Mentor
1. Mrs Gruwell brings a tape of Tupac Shakur into class, she tries to tie his lyrics into an English lesson. Her students initially respond negatively by saying "this white lady is gonna come in here and teach us about rap music?" The argument that erupts between students and teacher becomes passionate, and makes the students really see her point of view. She inspires them to learn about the Holocaust because she makes a direct correlation between the Nazis and a gang.
2. Mrs Gruwell sets up a "behavioral modification" type classroom. She offers rewards to her students only if they have earned it. When these students are given their first reward, they are taken to the Holocaust museum and brought out to dinner. From this experience the students draw much inspiration to continue studying Anne Frank and the Holocaust.
3. When Mrs Gruwell's students return for their sophomore year in her English class, she has for each of them a bag of books, and a glass of cider to make "a toast for change". One student toasts to change her ways and stop with all the boyfriend drama, to value herself more. Another student toasts to never let another person hurt her again. One student shares the sad story of becoming homeless over the summer, but also the hope that he felt coming back to Mrs. Gruwells class and knowing he would be safe there.
4. When the students are told they will not be allowed to be in Mrs. Gruwells classroom in years to come, they take what they have learned from watching Mrs Gruwell and recommend that she go to the school board, or superintendent and fight it. They have seen her fight and the benefit they have received from her fighting for their rights.
5. After Mrs. Gruwell had inspired Eva to do the right thing in her court case, she then began to look up to Mrs Gruwell. Something that the audience had not seen coming, since in the beginning Eva said she "hated white people"
TEACHER # 2
D. Disciplinarian
1. Joan came to see Mrs Watson about a grade she received on her paper. Mrs Watson allowed her to re-write the paper using her own words, she wanted know what Joan thought instead of what Joan had been taught to think. Joan had not been given a poor grade before. Her initial reaction was to be upset, but Mrs Watson talked it out with her.
2. When Betty stops attending school after marriage, Mrs. Watson is expected to pass her anyway. That is what the teachers did in those days. Instead she scolds Betty and tells her she needs to earn her grade.
3.Betty is very upset that Mrs Watson is requiring her to turn in her late work for an A. She writes an article in the school paper slamming Mrs. Watson for her teaching methods and exposes some of her personal life information. Mrs Watson reacts. She is very upset that her message was so disillusioned by the article.
4. On her first day she is embarrassed and frustrated by the students knowing the entire syllabus and having already read their textbook. So to show them up she returned the next day with a new syllabus and began teaching the girls to go outside of the assigned work to see what else is out there.
E. Activist
1. Arrives at Wellesley to make a difference. She is introduced by Betty in the first 30 seconds of the movie being called a bohemian who didn't stop until she got the job. She is a revolutionary of her time. She questions the norm of the traditions, rituals, and expectations of these college girls.
2. Stresses the importance of the girls thinking for themselves by changing the syllabus and taking them to see modern art. As it turns out, that was not allowed since it was not approved by the dean.
3. Mrs Watson tries in many scenarios to convince the girls to do more with their lives. She helps Joan apply to Law school, only one woman could get in per year at that time in history. She showed the girls slides of American advertisement depicting women as happy in their roles of servant and obedience with a smile.
4. She opens the eyes of these young girls to what other options there were besides "wife". The idea that a woman could be a wife and have a career was fiction to them, but Mrs Watson wanted to teach them otherwise.
F. Friend
1. The girls in Mrs Watson's class invite her to come to a secret ceremony. They use a password at the door and invite her in to ask her any questions they want. Both Mrs Watson and the girls share personal experience and have a moment of bonding.
2. In the end of the movie all the girls from her classes come to her office and present her with a gift. They have taken the DaVinci paint by numbers and completed them in their own colors and styles. This is the way they show her appreciation.
3. Mrs Watson is escorted by her class at graduation on her way out of Wellesley. She had decided not to return the following year. The girls ride their bikes, in caps and gowns, down the drive next to her car. There are tears, you can see theses women have bonded and become friends.
Mrs. Watson and Mrs. Gruwell were faced with a very different set of students who existed in very different times. They were on opposite sides of the country teaching students of the upper class versus students of lower class. They were discouraged in their missions due to different kinds of hurdles. These two teachers came into an entirely different school and set of students, and they both provided excellent examples of advocacy for their student. They both managed to successfully teach, respect each other, befriend one another, and make a difference in the lives of their students.
No comments:
Post a Comment