Freedom Writers Review

I don't know how I missed Freedom Writers. I guess I've just been too busy with life. There are times, however, to take a break. And, I'm glad I did. This movie really touched me.

Freedom Writers is a true story. It's about a teacher who landed in a tough area with a tough class. Tough doesn't really begin to describe it. These were kids who had given up. The "system" wasn't helping. This teacher did.

It wasn't easy. Most things worth doing aren't.

Erin (Hillary Swank) had big dreams for her first class. The kids didn't dare to dream. Life had been too hard. Life was a battle zone. Erin quickly found that the standard methods didn't work. She adjusted. But, always, she believed. And, gradually the kids came to believe too.

Others in the stystem thought she was crazy. When she began to make progress, they just felt threatened. Erin had to take extra jobs to pay for books for the kids and to make it possible for them to take trips. Her efforts weren't celebrated. She was rocking the boat. But, she kept doing what she considered the right thing to do - her very best for the kids.

Putting her heart into her job and into giving the lost kids a chance cost Erin her marriage. Actually, the marriage was probably doomed, but her job teaching brought things to a head faster. She was a dreamer. Her husband was not. That's not going to work.

Since I teach, I really related to this movie. After I watched it, I wanted to go back to work even if it was the weekend. I wanted to make sure I'd done everything possible to reach every kid in every class I teach.

This is a movie, and I'm sure that it just hits the high spots. Teaching involves a lot of hard and not-so-fun work not covered in the film. There are kids who will slip through the cracks regardless of the efforts made. Even Erin admitted that she did not know if she could create the same magic year after year. She moved on to the college level after she got her first class through all four high school grades. Mabye she could have made the same difference year after year. Maybe not. The important thing is that she did - even if just for one group of students.

I don't teach on the high school level. I don't teach kids with the same challenges. But, I feel the spirit of this film. As I start this semester (first classes today), I will hope that I can bring some of the magic to some of my students. If (when) I feel discouraged, I'll will watch this movie again. It will make me dig just a little deeper even when I think I'm tapped out.

I also want to read the book that includes the journal (or diary) entries of the kids from Erin's classes. There were portions of those writings included in the film. I'd really like to see the full entries. I've had students do journals as well, and I know that some kids will open up in private (on paper) when they won't verbally. It makes a huge difference in teaching when you know what the students are dealing with day-to-day and emotionally.

All teachers would benefit from watching this film, and students would also get a boost from seeing that education can be much more than multiple choice. The folks who drafted "No Child Left Behind" ought to watch this too. That's sure not working. Who gets pumped up about end-of-grade tests? Education ought to be about learning - not about testing.