Thinking About The Freedom Writers Movie and My Teaching Experiences

Hi, Scott, good thoughts. I've wondered how a teacher could continue as the teacher did in the film. Of course it hurt her in several areas, beside her pocketbook, her relationship suffered (ended, as I remember). She created a wonderful model, but as your experience shows, it's very hard for idealistic new teachers to find their ways in the system.

I really like what you say here:

Second, this mentor teacher - and the teacher in the movie - subscribed to the same idea I do (and that I still rely on with the special needs adults I work with- namely set the goal above them and they will reach for it and impress you and, more importantly, themselves. Set low expectations and they will easily reach them and dislike you and themselves for the bar being set so low. If you think they don't notice this you are kidding yourself.

That's a topic in itself!

use of educational media is growing in importance.let's not forget this.use of arts is also needed.

Hi Scott,

I'm glad you were able to separate what was real from what was fake. My thoughts on the movie and its accuracy can be found here and here. There is a documentary in the works and from the screenings I've seen, it is going to be awesome. I'll keep you posted on those details as I get more.

To answer some of the questions many people usually ask:
Erin is no longer a school teacher. She runs the Freedom Writers Foundation, travels doing inspirational speaking and trains other teachers to use the same model she used in there class rooms. So far there have been about 200 teachers trained through out the continental US and a few in Canada as well. I'm trying to encourage Tamh to apply (she's an awesome teacher) so we can have a Freedom Writer teacher down under too. If there are other teachers on Newsvine who think they might be interested, please go apply to the Freedom Writers Teacher Institute. I always help with the FW Institute workshops.

There is also a Freedom Writers Teacher Diary in the works, to be written by Erin and the first 150 teachers who completed the no release date yet.

I've never heard of the Freedom Writers.
Interesting thoughts, Scott.
I found it interesting to get a look inside the challenges of a paid educator.

Scott,

I've never had any such remarkable experience as what occurred in Freedom Writers, but I have had teachers, and no question: reward almost always works better than punishment.

From my experience, more than a few teachers have advanced their beliefs in the classroom with a narrow, inflexible passion. One teacher, I recall, was called a "cult leader" by the department head because of the zeal for a school of philosophy he implanted in us, his students. That school of thought was "Bauhaus."

In writing classes, I have encountered teachers who so strongly favor their own style that they will not only openly discourage and critique writing to the opposite, but they will also grade it down. This style I refer to is sometimes reduced down to a choice of adverb. These teachers were terrifyingly narrow.

I was fortunate to have a few wonderful, nurturing teachers, too. All they asked was that we worked hard. Whatever we created--a handbook for computer use, an essay on sleeping upwind of Alaskan grizzlies--they wanted our best. They were great in this respect.

((set the goal above them and they will reach for it and impress you and, more importantly, themselves))

This is an interesting insight.

When I was revising my just-released novel The Night I Freed John Brown for Patti Gauch at Philomel Books, she was remarkably constructive. Her compliments empowered me with enthusiasm and drive. In the first few pages especially, she wrote in the margins,"Wow! Wonderful. I can really see this. Tactile. Well-staged." In fact, there were no negative comments anywhere. Beaming with pride, I'd look at these sentences she was referring to. I'd re-read them and remember how I constructed them--see the words I chose, feel the oomph I put into them. That let me know what worked for her. Then, without her telling me, I read on and, by contrast, saw for myself in the many blank pages which passages didn't work so well for her. On my own I changed them, wanting to bring the entire manuscript up the same standard as indicated by her margin notes in the first few pages. For days and even months, I reached and reached beyond myself, through hundreds of pages. Now when I look back, I am impressed by what I did--and all the more impressed by her for cleverly inspiring me.

She challenged me to be self-reliant with my own abilities, but with a kind hand. It was not unlike when my mother would pat me on the back for stacking pretty stones around her flowers. I was so happy that I stacked pretty stones around all her flowers, then around the neighbor's flowers.

John Michael Cummings
author of The Night I Freed John Brown

Scott,
This was a really wonderful article you wrote. I have not seen the movie yet and I will do so. I love watching the various documentaries or movies about teachers and the maze they go through.

High school pretty much passed me by. It wasn't until, really my Jr. year in college, that I was even challenged to do more. I read lots, the English teachers were the only ones to notice me, and would have me read various books.

But in college, wondering why I was there and what to do, The head of the dept began to challenge me and wouldn't let up. Nothing was ever good enough. It got my ire up and then all of a sudden everything began falling into place. I love my college teachers, it was a wonderful experience.

Thanks for the memories. :)

Hi, Scott,

Thanks for welcoming me and interviewing me.

"Criticism-free zone" sounds like a wonderful place! (I've located it, too! Take I-7 west to Exit 27, Beachline Expressway...) Seriously, I don't think faults or shortcomings, expressed as such, can ever exist in creative writing; there are only degrees of effectiveness. By virtue of the attrition caused by improving one's writing, weaker writing is always sloughed off. So whatever it might be, as long as the writer is working hard, it's likely gone before there's any need to worry about it, certainly before anyone should point a finger at it.

This, I suppose, is a positive, supportive outlook. But writing through the front of the heart is too tender for anything else, isn't it?

In the case of my novel, it was never a question of would I find the weaker passages. I simply would. It was that kind of experience. It had to happen, like destiny.

Plus, weaker phrases were never numerable. That is, there were never, say, five or seven to a page, camouflaged in plain sight, waiting for me to spot them. It was more a matter of a thousand little tweaks in the oddest places. Then, it was the effect of three or four unbound galleys filled with these pinches to the writing, with copyeditor's remarks added in. What was seen to improve on the third galley could never have been seen on the first or even second galley--there was a powerful gestalt to these layers of perspective. It reminded me of my first day in this apartment, where I live. Not until my wife and I had hauled the banana plant up three flights did we see and appreciate how gloriously high our ceilings were.

Above all, Patti kept everyone on the high road of the project--pride was put to work for the team. From the start I felt I was one wedge of the pie. Sometimes, in amusement, I tried to quantify my importance. I could never place it over 60 percent.

John

You've touched a bunch of subjects Scott--I don't even know where to start. I will say some of the best teachers I know have burned out. They only thing that kept them going as long as they hung on was the love of the kids they taught.

Do we really value an education? Or do we value test scores? They are not the same thing.

I'll have to write an article what its like to be a teacher in one of those failing districts, where only 35% (if that) of the kids can read at grade level. In retrospect, I do not fault the kids, not at all, the adults are to blame. Still--its a hard job.

Hello Scott,

Like you, I spent this movie remembering my years as a teacher and thinking about what a gift it is to continue in that most humble profession.

I taught high school history and government for two years before retuning to graduate school (and probably would have continued for a few more years had I not despised my administrators and colleagues--I adored my students, many of whom have become good friends as they've grown up). I loved teaching, particularly because I had the privilege of teaching students the "why's" and "how's" of the modern world.

Now I teach in an infinitely different setting--this semester I work with two undergraduate classes---one of 300 students and one of 7 students. But teaching continues to be a great privilege and I continue to be inspired by the stories of those who have taken their commitment to education to the next level.

I truly believe that you begin to learn when you begin to teach and I've been constantly impressed by my students' capacity to teach me more than I ever thought possible. It's a joy.

Thanks, Scott, for reminding me, at the end of this, the second week of classes, why I love my job.

kymlee,

You are going to make a great teacher!!! Teacher power! :)

In light of all these wonderful comments about teaching, I feel I owe it to myself to ask to post this tribute to the late Mark Craver. If it is inappropriate, I apologize. Mark was a remarkable teacher who died too young. He was loved by his students for his big brotherly manner. Personally, I adored him. He was instrumental in inspiring me to write. And always he was a friend.

(published in The Mason Spirit, Spring 2004)

In Memoriam

Adjunct English Faculty and Alumnus Mark Craver Dies
By Tara Laskowski

Mark Craver, MA English '83, MFA Creative Writing '84, and adjunct English faculty member at George Mason since 1985, died of an apparent heart attack in February. He was 47.

Craver was the author of several books of poetry, including The Problem of Grace, Seven Crowns for the White Lady of the Other World and Blood Poems, and They Come for What You Love. He also taught for many years at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia, and Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. In the 1990s, he served as president of the Creative Writing Alumni Chapter.

"He liked to laugh. You could laugh grac iously, whole-heartedly with him," says Roger Lathbury, professor of English and owner of Orchises Press, which published two of Craver's books. "He was very talented, and this showed in the books he wrote."

Scott- thanks again. enjoyed the read. Education suffers from the factory mentality. Teachers have a huge responsibility to individualize all their interactions with students. This takes time and practice. Expediency, sometimes, kills the teachable moment. Your reflections bring good memories of the movie and teaching. Like great art, great teaching can not be cloned. Each teacher, like artist, must do their own heavy lifting. And as in life, time does not stop for the teacher, the clock presses us into modes of mania, that disrupt the organic relationship building that is so necessary for effective communication, love of people and learning, and healthy growth.

Scott,
This was a powerful movie, not your average "disadvantage teenagers start to dance, and all the world is good" movie.

I may be too close to the content to comment non emotionally. I will tell you that I am interested in finding more information on the "freedom writers" project. I want to read the original book, to see how the students lives differ from the movie (such as, did all but the white guy really know someone who was shot). I am not saying it isn't true to fact, but I would like to know more. I am interested in the documentary that is supposed to be being made.

This made me think, so much that I could do an article on it. I just don't know if I want to go in that direction with my column. It may seem odd, but I am watching it again later, with my three teenagers. I may be back to write more.

Hey Scott,

Since you know I'm an English teacher (college, not high school as in the film), I figured you might want my perspective. I was struck by one comment you made in particular: "set the goal above them and they will reach for it and impress you and, more importantly, themselves. Set low expectations and they will easily reach them and dislike you and themselves for the bar being set so low." That's absolutely true, but I think that "goal" and how it is achieved is very different in college than it is in high school.

In higher education, we focus on maintaining standards and adhering to them. So a student who passes a basic English composition class must be able to write a clear essay with few (if any) grammar errors. That's a standard skill that is useful in all walks of life beyond college. However, the vast majority of my students (at a community college) are unable to reach that standard without spending several years in developmental English classes. Why? Because the goal of most high schools is to graduate students whether or not they actually learned anything.

High schools have huge problems. For one, the classrooms are overcrowded, so every teacher automatically has too many students, thus negating any possibility of one-on-one work (one of the best ways for students to learn). Second, too much time is spent disciplining a small number of students at the expense of the learning environment. Third, as you noted in your article the districts only care about testing (required of No Child Left Behind) and so only care about the numbers from that test, since those numbers translate directly into funding. Finally, failing a student is a no-no in way too many districts because of pressure from the government and from parents, so students pass whether or not they even did any work that semester (teachers using "extra credit" to make up for any missed assignments from the semester).

The government is complicit in this, of course. In the California community college system (where I work), they created a program called the Basic Skills Initiative, which gives state funds to community colleges to help students improve their basic skills (like reading, writing, and math). In other words, the government admitted that high schools in California suck, so they need to give money to the colleges to help fix the problems caused by the high schools.

Colleges aren't perfect, but colleges have a few advantages over high schools. One, the students are adults; two, there's no PTA and hence no whining parents to criticize a school that fails their son/daughter; three, there are no discipline problems--you act up in college, and you're gone; and four, I can maintain standards in my classes without anyone in the administration looking over my shoulder and questioning my grading decisions (it does happen, but I always have support from my department and from the person in charge of instruction). The classes in my English composition classes are too crowded, to be sure, but my classes only meet twice a week, so I'm available at other times to work with students, and there is a lot of tutoring available on campus as well.

What's the point of this? Well, the point is that teachers like the freedom writer woman in that movie are a real rarity, and they are a rarity because they don't merely have to fight to get their students an education; they have to fight a system set up to pass students who don't deserve to pass and reward students for simply showing up. No teacher should have to do that. We should commend those that fight such a system, but a system that forces teachers to go to that extreme to help their students succeed is a failed system indeed.

The best thing that can happen to some students is to let them fail, so they can learn from their errors and work hard to improve. I see students all the time in college who fail my class one semester, and then knuckle-down and work hard the next semester and pass with flying colors. They come up to me at the end of the second semester in tears, thanking me for helping them to learn and to grow as individuals. So I would tell all aspiring "freedom writer" teachers out there to keep forcing their students to aim high--but don't be afraid to give an F to a student who tried really hard but did not meet the standard. That "F" might be the best thing you ever did for them.

Thanks for reading,
Michael (aka Riverrun)

I was actually looking for a poem I had commented on and found this article. I have not seen the movie. Your comment reminded me of the counselors and the school I went to, they were not very helpful and some of the things they said actually made things worse and gave students less hope. I hear that the counselors are a lot different today. I do understand how you feel:

whether I think of it as a personal failure or rationalize it out as a circumstances beyond my control - it still hurts.

I had been through something very difficult with a job a long time ago. Even when you are not to blame you tend to try to find a way to correct something that isn't broken. When you get older you realize the fallacy behind this thinking