A review on "Freedom Writers" (2007)

In a class of MEd in ELT, KUSOED, professor Dr Laxman Gnawali suggested us few movies to watch. While I was checking the names after watching "Dead Poets' Society" I got a new thought to search for more movies related to school education. After searching for a while, I decided to watch another great movie for teachers "Freedom Writers (2007)" by Richard LaGravenese. This is a movie based on the true story of Erin Gruwell and her 150 teen students who used writing diaries to change the world around them.

The starting seemed fairy to me after watching some biggest riots ongoing in the USA. I could not match it with the experience and violence I have seen in my life. However, the next scene gave me a lead about the movie that a new and excited teacher, Mrs Ering Gruwell joined her first teaching job as a freshman and sophomore English teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School, which had an integration program education system for the last two years. Most of the existing senior teachers were not happy with the program and blamed the changed system ruined the reputation of the school, as well as the disciplined, which had been collapsed for that. Mrs Gruwell tried her best to put interest among the students for study but she failed due to no interest of the administrative body and the gang culture in the school. However, Mrs Gruwell did not give up and continuously tried her best but it affected her married life. She started to do part-time jobs just to buy the materials and resources she needed for her students.

There was a turning point when the students started writing daily journal diaries what was the intermission of this movie and changed the total scenario. Taking help from her father, saving money by doing part-time jobs she put her students to know about the holocaust. They met the victims of the holocaust for the first time and came to know about the jew genocide during the second world war. Comparing the life of those children in the holocaust they found the meaning of their life. Students started regretting after reading the story of "Diary of Anne Frank" and Mrs Gruwell got the success to bring changes among the students' life not only academically but also personally. Students sent their opinions about the book to the writer. Moreover, they raised funds to bring the writer, Miep Gies as a guest speaker and they made it. Miep Gies inspired the students as the real hero who changed their lives with a continuous hard effort which also brought changes to their families and friends. 

Mrs Gruwell had a plan to publish the stories of students' diaries in a book. She was on a continuous process to bring the changes to the students' lives but faced consequences from her colleagues who did not want her to do that. Meanwhile, she got divorced from her beloved husband. However, the higher authority of the administration got pleased with the works of Mrs Gruwell and allowed her to conduct classes for juniors and seniors for the following semesters. Students were happy and Mrs Gruwell found a new meaning in her teaching career.

I think, this is a great movie for every teacher, especially for the novice. In most of the cases, the schools are very new to the teachers and they faced lots of matters they even never thought about them. I hardly know about the holocaust but it made me think of losing very close always hearts. At a stage, I was thinking of the genocide gencide around the world what western media undercover them.  I found the similarity among the stories of the holocaust and the thousand of unknown Muslims' killing stories.