How is Teaching Portrayed in the Public?
In movies, teachers can be portrayed in many ways. There can be a bad teacher, good teacher, over the top teacher, and many more. The movie Freedom Writers incorporated the personal life of Ms. Gruwell as well as her educational life. I believe the movie showed a lot of behind the scenes of the actions of teachers and students. The movie showed how Ms. Gruwell went out of her way to fund her own lessons, take her students to a weekend field trip, and drive her students’ home after school. Some aspects of the movie are some things a teacher might do in real life such as providing students with the resources they need. However the film made it seem like the tasks they went through happened in the easiest possible way when in fact, getting a field trip approved is a really difficult task even when it is a weekend trip instead of a single day. The actions of Ms. G fighting for her position and planning lessons happened at the drop of a dime. This is negatively portrayed because new educators may think that everything Ms. Gruwell did is something they can do when they snap their fingers. They may even think that they must be held up to these standards when in reality, not all students turn out the way Ms. G’s students did. The idea of being a super teacher, changing the actions and morals of every student is not 100%. Granted, you may have a good handful of students being successful, but it is a hard goal to achieve. Overall, the movie has such a good story line, however new educators can be discouraged when they experience that their school year did not turn out as successful as the teachers portrayed in the films. Educators will have to learn what their teaching reality will be and how they can make a difference in their students’ lives.
Reanna, I love how you discussed that super teachers are not realistic. My husband and I watched Stand and Deliver. Afterwards he was like “That’s all you have to do? Work none stop for many years. That’s what makes a good teacher?” I replied to him “Yeah, you’re not a real teacher unless you get a minor heart attack.” He said, “Well it is only minor I don’t see the problem in that.” Obviously, we had sarcastic tones in this whole conversation. The teacher in Stand and Deliver gave himself a heart attack from working so hard. His teaching style was not realistic or healthy. These teacher stereotypes make it seem like that is the only way to be an effective teacher. This article by Edutopia fights against several of the stereotypes we have learned in this module, https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/11-habits-effective-teacher . It gives several tips on how to be an effective teacher. Nowhere does it say to make teaching your entire life. However, it also shows you must care to be an effective teacher. It is a balance. All the stereotypes are extreme personalities. We must be mindful that there is a balance.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley, I love that you said that it is not stated that we have to make teaching our entire life. I think that was a very strong statement. I realize that some teachers are inspired to go the extra mile, but being healthy and reducing the amount of stress in our lives is just as important. A lot of the education movies I see have shown teachers that either go way above and beyond or ones that do the bare minimum. That is what's portrayed to the public which makes people believe that teaching is the toughest job or that we sit behind a desk and hand out worksheets. The truth is, yes teaching is a tough job to build connections and educate new generations while also maintaining our personal lives. We may feel the need to do anything and everything for our students, but we need to be aware of our own health.
DeleteHello Reanna! I also watched "Freedom Writers" and I think you analysis of how the movie represented teachers was very well written and thought out! I noticed that economic status was not only depicted in the students' lives, but also in Ms. G's personal life which makes her more relatable. However, it is not very realistic because teachers already have a small salary and spending any extra money on students is not something that every teacher can do. This does not in anyway make them less of a good teacher, but the film may put this idea into viewers' minds. I like how you mentioned the fact that everything was so easy for the teacher to accomplish, like planning the field trip. You are absolutely right, these things are not easy at all. Just like the superteacher formula discussed in the Hollywood article, these teachers don't often face any backlash or help from administration in movies, it is almost like they do not even exist sometimes. Great Work!
ReplyDeleteHey Reanna, this was a really great post. I definitely understand the concerns you have about what happened in the movie. Movies always seem to make any realistic thing.. unrealistic, to put it simply. I truly think one of the most difficult jobs anymore is being a teacher. It's very demanding and complicated, and nothing is easy, nor does it happen so perfectly like movies sometimes portray. One thing I do think we should all take from movies like this is that, no matter what, we should work hard and strive to give our students the best experiences we can. And of course it does not always have to be perfect. Sometimes we do have to take matters into our own hands to provide what we need for our students. It shouldn't be that ay, but I know if needed to, I would go the extra mile to provide what my students needed and be there for them when I can.
ReplyDeleteHey Renna! Thank you for sharing what you thought about the movie. I watched this movie as well and I think that it did portray teachers in a good way but also in a very unrealistic way in some aspects as well. It is true that teachers are underpaid and can sometimes struggle financially but it is very unrealistic to think that a teacher can work a full-time job where they stay late and take students home while also working two part time jobs. While this is based off a true story and may have been possible for the real Mrs. Gruwell to do but not every teacher can do this, especially since a lot of teachers have children of their own. But in the aspect of her doing all she can to learn about her students and trying her best to get the sources they need; I think this part is pretty true. There are so many teachers who spend time trying to get to know their students and are successful at incorporating what they go through outside of school in the lessons. Another true teacher depiction that occurred in the movie that did not involve Mrs. Gruwell was the male teacher who taught AP students. There was only one Black student who was in the class and when talking about a subject that involved Black people, the teacher asked the only Black person in the class what the Black perspective was on the subject like she was the spokesperson for all Black people. Teacher sometimes think that just because a person is a part of a certain community that they can act as the spokesperson for an entire community.This is called spotlighting which many teachers do.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely apologize that I spelled your name wrong in my original response Reanna.
DeleteHi Sydney, I love that you brought up different key points in the movie that I had not thought of. The depiction of Ms. G working a full time job as well as 2 part time jobs is not something we see a lot of today. A lot of the teachers I have come to know have busy schedules with conferences, staying after school for tutoring, and barely having enough time to spend quality time with their family. Working 3 jobs including a full time teacher while having kids would be tiring and become overwhelming. This would result in a decline in a persons health. Someone else that commented mentioned the movie Stand and Deliver where the teacher overworked himself and had a heart attack. We definitely should create a balanced schedule to prevent a decrease in our health.
DeleteHey Reanna! I too watched Freedom Writers! I thought it was an excellent film! I love how it highlighted what many people can overlook and that is when a a teacher goes to a school and some might think that it can be over their heads. Mrs. Gruwell worked so hard to have every student be successful. However, I'm very glad you mentioned this, because I didn't really begin to think about this, and that is how it applies to the real world with teaching. I do agree that we can watch movies like this and dream of a scene like this, but sometimes it might not end how we want it to end. I think we must remain hopeful with the constant drive to want better for the students. I think in the end, that is what matters. We have to seek out what we can continually do to make the classroom a place where the students can learn!
ReplyDelete-Kenzie Jones
Hi Reanna, I like how you incorporated there can be good teachers, bad teachers, over the top teachers, and many more. Which that is very true I've had all of the above when it comes to teachers. However, I didn't watch Freedom Writers but from your post I can tell that how people can seen as being overlooked. As you mentioned how Mrs. Gruwell went out of her way to fund her her lessons, taker her students to a weekend field trip, and also drive her students home after school. I believe that these types of teachers are so unappreciated, I had a teacher that would also go above and beyond for her students and that's what made me want to be a teacher.
ReplyDeleteHey Reanna,
ReplyDeleteI like that you took a more realistic look at the outcome of Mrs. Gruwell’s methods. This is something I wrote about in my quiz as well, that movies like this with the “superteacher model” may make teaching look much easier to society. While I know she put in a lot of time, effort, and money to help her students’ success, like you said, these success stories don’t always happen in reality. So I think that new teachers should take these movies with a grain of salt. Yes, you may end up changing these kids' lives, but you might not, and that’s okay as long as you did your best. I think one of the good things about being a teacher is that you get so many chances to improve and learn how to be a better teacher. So even while you may not think you’re making a difference at first, don’t get discouraged because at least you learned from it, and who knows, maybe you made a bigger difference than you initially thought.
Hi Sarah, thank you for your response. I like that you mentioned the opportunity for improvement. Since you mentioned this, Ms. Gruwell was also a first year teacher with no experience. The movie was centered around her first teaching job and that can also intimidate people. First year educators may see the film and expect themselves to deliver their methods as successful as Ms. Gruwell but that is far from realistic. Some may be just like her, but for a first year teacher, there is a lot of trial and error. As we gain more experience, we learn what works for us and what doesn't. Like you said, it is important to refrain from getting discouraged, it is all a learning experience.
DeleteHi Elena, don't get me wrong, I agree they portrayed Ms. G in a great way and showed how a teachers passion should be as it is based on a true story. I actually loved the film and I loved the message, but whenever I think about the essential question I noticed that the film may have simplified the teachers role in being able to take students out whenever she could and driving them home. Nowadays, those actions could be taken out of context within the new generations. I also like that you mentioned the actions of the principal and assistant, it shows the altering opinions that we may face in the work field that we have to overcome and challenge.
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