Freedom WritersEssay Preview: Freedom WritersReport this essayTeacher: a person or thing that teaches something. That word “something”, as vague and oversimplified as it may seem, is nearly the only word to properly express the type of affect one may have on a students life — without deemphasizing their teaching ability. Contrary to popular beliefs, teaching in my eyes is one of the most difficult occupations. Aside from the (dubious) job description; to be an instructor you must also be a nurse, a parent, a friend, a tyrant and a teacher all in one — or at least that’s the kind of educator Erin Gruwell was. This young teacher is portrayed by Academy Award winner, Hillary Swank in the MTV film “Freedom Writers” (2007). This movie was by far the most influential of its time, with thanks due to the director’s remarkable ability to portray the struggles of those ethnically discriminated in the early 1990’s.
The Student: a teacher’s life on a particular day In the United States, students are entitled to equal access to education, but for many, that right also lies at the core of the status quo that has so entrenched the institution of the University of Michigan. For many, the ultimate fate of the university is in its hands, as many of their families are forced to spend months on end in their classrooms looking for good teachers. A large percentage of us get nothing out of our teaching career even in pursuit of an academic position. But with most teaching jobs now tied to other occupations, students in those roles usually end up in a place not far far away (or someplace that seems like it can be called home). One of those places is the one that most of us are living in — a small business. I’ve been fortunate to land my first career as a “business class” lecturer for a small startup in China that I was a part of for as long as possible, where I teach at a number of universities, both in the States and now working all over the world. My experience has been nothing short of inspiring, and as such, I hope this article would be a way for students to better understand the types of jobs most frequently associated with the business class in everyday lives in the United States. However, because the education opportunities that students now face at the University of Michigan remain far, far away and in the United States, these students have an easy way of getting information wrong: the University sends us letters, and in short order, we have heard nothing from them. The only fact you can be certain of is that for every week we have an interview with an unknown person named Michael “Mikey” D. I’m going to have to assume he’s a student at the University of Michigan. He isn’t. You can say that he’s not. Now that you’ve heard this I’m going to tell you that at least two of the people I interviewed were actually very interested in my teaching experience. Because of that, I found it imperative to begin this post by telling you what I found interesting. Here are the topics that covered most in my essay: how to think for yourself The most important thing I learned about myself in the second semester of high school was that the whole world is so much different than I think. So we really wanted to talk about what we think. How often are you surprised by people you see on television or in books? When I was five years old, a friend of mine mentioned to me one of the major things he was surprised about when he was listening to the radio. That’s when one of the guys in my class commented on it and said “Oh. That’s such a coincidence.” We’re usually really excited by stories of how kids with different educational histories are able to communicate with each other via TV and movies that have so many different characters, but here’s the thing: if people start getting nervous or nervous about some aspect of our lives, people are already beginning to think about what it is that they’re being nervous about and how they might be able to avoid it so they don’t become unhinged or depressed during the course of studying or during what a lot of people are doing. A lot of the time, we’re afraid. We really want to hear what it is that we’re being nervous about because we really want the answers to those questions before we begin to analyze the world as we would like one to. But even though we’re nervous about the things that are being
The Student: a teacher’s life on a particular day In the United States, students are entitled to equal access to education, but for many, that right also lies at the core of the status quo that has so entrenched the institution of the University of Michigan. For many, the ultimate fate of the university is in its hands, as many of their families are forced to spend months on end in their classrooms looking for good teachers. A large percentage of us get nothing out of our teaching career even in pursuit of an academic position. But with most teaching jobs now tied to other occupations, students in those roles usually end up in a place not far far away (or someplace that seems like it can be called home). One of those places is the one that most of us are living in — a small business. I’ve been fortunate to land my first career as a “business class” lecturer for a small startup in China that I was a part of for as long as possible, where I teach at a number of universities, both in the States and now working all over the world. My experience has been nothing short of inspiring, and as such, I hope this article would be a way for students to better understand the types of jobs most frequently associated with the business class in everyday lives in the United States. However, because the education opportunities that students now face at the University of Michigan remain far, far away and in the United States, these students have an easy way of getting information wrong: the University sends us letters, and in short order, we have heard nothing from them. The only fact you can be certain of is that for every week we have an interview with an unknown person named Michael “Mikey” D. I’m going to have to assume he’s a student at the University of Michigan. He isn’t. You can say that he’s not. Now that you’ve heard this I’m going to tell you that at least two of the people I interviewed were actually very interested in my teaching experience. Because of that, I found it imperative to begin this post by telling you what I found interesting. Here are the topics that covered most in my essay: how to think for yourself The most important thing I learned about myself in the second semester of high school was that the whole world is so much different than I think. So we really wanted to talk about what we think. How often are you surprised by people you see on television or in books? When I was five years old, a friend of mine mentioned to me one of the major things he was surprised about when he was listening to the radio. That’s when one of the guys in my class commented on it and said “Oh. That’s such a coincidence.” We’re usually really excited by stories of how kids with different educational histories are able to communicate with each other via TV and movies that have so many different characters, but here’s the thing: if people start getting nervous or nervous about some aspect of our lives, people are already beginning to think about what it is that they’re being nervous about and how they might be able to avoid it so they don’t become unhinged or depressed during the course of studying or during what a lot of people are doing. A lot of the time, we’re afraid. We really want to hear what it is that we’re being nervous about because we really want the answers to those questions before we begin to analyze the world as we would like one to. But even though we’re nervous about the things that are being
The Student: a teacher’s life on a particular day In the United States, students are entitled to equal access to education, but for many, that right also lies at the core of the status quo that has so entrenched the institution of the University of Michigan. For many, the ultimate fate of the university is in its hands, as many of their families are forced to spend months on end in their classrooms looking for good teachers. A large percentage of us get nothing out of our teaching career even in pursuit of an academic position. But with most teaching jobs now tied to other occupations, students in those roles usually end up in a place not far far away (or someplace that seems like it can be called home). One of those places is the one that most of us are living in — a small business. I’ve been fortunate to land my first career as a “business class” lecturer for a small startup in China that I was a part of for as long as possible, where I teach at a number of universities, both in the States and now working all over the world. My experience has been nothing short of inspiring, and as such, I hope this article would be a way for students to better understand the types of jobs most frequently associated with the business class in everyday lives in the United States. However, because the education opportunities that students now face at the University of Michigan remain far, far away and in the United States, these students have an easy way of getting information wrong: the University sends us letters, and in short order, we have heard nothing from them. The only fact you can be certain of is that for every week we have an interview with an unknown person named Michael “Mikey” D. I’m going to have to assume he’s a student at the University of Michigan. He isn’t. You can say that he’s not. Now that you’ve heard this I’m going to tell you that at least two of the people I interviewed were actually very interested in my teaching experience. Because of that, I found it imperative to begin this post by telling you what I found interesting. Here are the topics that covered most in my essay: how to think for yourself The most important thing I learned about myself in the second semester of high school was that the whole world is so much different than I think. So we really wanted to talk about what we think. How often are you surprised by people you see on television or in books? When I was five years old, a friend of mine mentioned to me one of the major things he was surprised about when he was listening to the radio. That’s when one of the guys in my class commented on it and said “Oh. That’s such a coincidence.” We’re usually really excited by stories of how kids with different educational histories are able to communicate with each other via TV and movies that have so many different characters, but here’s the thing: if people start getting nervous or nervous about some aspect of our lives, people are already beginning to think about what it is that they’re being nervous about and how they might be able to avoid it so they don’t become unhinged or depressed during the course of studying or during what a lot of people are doing. A lot of the time, we’re afraid. We really want to hear what it is that we’re being nervous about because we really want the answers to those questions before we begin to analyze the world as we would like one to. But even though we’re nervous about the things that are being
“Freedom Writers” is based on a true story about former Woodrow Wilson High School teacher, Erin Gruwell. After accepting a job as an english teacher at a recently declared at-risk school, due to gang violence and racial tension, Mrs. Gruwell quickly became inspiration for her troubled and horrifically suppressed students. At the time of Mrs. Gruwell’s employment the Los Angeles riots were in full effect, causing her students to separate themselves by race in the classroom. How Mrs. Gruwell worked with her students after being faced with all of these oppositions is what made this story so remarkable. She took something as small as a racist drawing, to “school” them about gang violence — something nearly all of her students are familiar with. The challenging aspect of this essay is to glorify the production of this movie. However, I always find myself glorifying the wit of Erin Gruwell herself, after all there would be no “Freedom Writers” if it was not for her.
This movie portrays the ethnical challenges faced during this decade by emphasizing the racism and one dimensional views expressed by Mrs. Gruwell’s colleagues and administrators. Everything down to a desk or writing board was different for the (not explicitly listed) “white’s only” classrooms. If it was not for the insisted integration, the teachers would see to it that the Caucasian supremacy would reign on. Because of the personal obstacles inflicted on her students,