Freedom Writers and the American Education System - Term Paper Example

Number 25th March Freedom and the American Education System The portrayal of the American school system has been mixed throughout film history, although certain stereotypes are common to all examples. These films allow the outside world to experience (or re-live) the American classroom, to see how the naivety, anxiety, hopes and dreams of school play out on the big screen. More often not, these films feature an inspiring teacher, which may or may not be relevant to reality depending on which school you attended. Films that illustrate education also often combat issues of race and gender, which come into play in many schoolyards across the world, with problems of language and communication at the forefront of this fight. The film Freedom Writers, released in 2007, illustrates the American school system by being based on a true story, whilst employing a number of stereotypes and Hollywood norms to make the film appeal to the intended audience. Freedom Writers is a tale of a young teacher who comes to work at a school which has just recently brought in a integration plan on the back of the Los Angeles Riots in 1992. This teacher, Erin Gruwell, struggles initially to cope with the racial segregation at the school, as well as the violence between the groups. One day, Gruwell finds a racist drawing by one of the students and uses this to illustrate the problems of the Holocaust, which opens the eyes of the students and allows them to see that racism and other discrimination can lead to destructive acts. Gruwell continues on in this path, by inviting Holocaust survivors to the class, as well as encouraging her class to raise the funds to bring the woman that sheltered Anne Frank in the war to their school. Gruwell encourages the class to write their own diaries, like Anne Frank, and complies them into book form, eventually having the success that she desired by preparing a number of her students for attending college. Although some of the information here may be fictional or using Hollywood hyperbole, some interesting points about the American education system were raised. The purpose of this essay is to explore the stereotyping and struggles of the racial groups portrayed in Freedom Writers, and how the film highlights racial discrimination issues and how these affect schools across the United States. The American education system is portrayed as place that should inspire students in their learning, encouraging them to make the right decisions and go to college, despite the initial fears and anxieties of the classroom. The inspiration may not be accurate for many, but the difficulties are, which are what makes Freedom Writers such a useful learning tool for exploring both discrimination and American educational philosophies. Intended Audience It is difficult to identify a specific intended audience for this film, although it is useful for any analysis to do so. Using mainstream actors such as Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey, as well as the large Hollywood budget, show that the film was intended for mainstream audiences who may have been unfamiliar with Erin Gruwell and her work as a teacher. The idea came from a documentary about Gruwell (The Freedom Writers & Gruwell, 2006), which did not hit mainstream audiences and therefore the film aimed to illustrate her story but with a number of Hollywood-style attributes to further bolster the decision to release the story to mainstream audiences as a release. Freedom Writers promotional poster (LaGravenese, 2007) As with any education-based transformation Bildungsroman film, part of the intended audience includes young adults from the demographic of the film. This is particularly evident in Freedom Writers, as there are a number of slang terms used throughout the film that are used for comedic effect in one particularly memorable scene. Swank apologises for her “badness” (LaGravenese, 2007), which the students find hilarious because it has a completely different meaning in their language. Obviously, this scene (and other scenes with heavy use of slang) are aimed at the people that understand the nature of the words and their usage, which would include young people at schools like Woodrow Wilson High School. This does not exclude other audiences, but it does illustrate that Freedom Writers may be portraying a message specifically towards this audience. Freedom Writers may even be aiming itself towards students who do not have access to an inspirational teacher such as Gruwell, and trying to put the anti-discrimination message out to a general audience who may benefit, as it is evident that there are not enough of these teachers to go around from the lingering presence of gang violence in American schools (The Freedom Writers & Gruwell, 2006). It could also be suggested that the film is aimed in some way at educators, to highlight that sometimes unorthodox methodologies and teaching philosophies are the best way to connect with children, and connecting is the best way to educate. Gruwell was a real-life teacher, and in some way Freedom Writers is an expose of her life and style, so there is an element of trying to inspire America’s educators to reach out and experiment in the classroom in order to better serve their students. Evidently, a number of teachers will watch the film and disconnect it from their career, or maybe dismiss it as fanciful, but it is likely that Freedom Writers will challenge the teacher demographic and help them to question their methods of educating and help them to become the inspiration that so many Hollywood movies suggest they should be. Portrayal of the American Education System It is perhaps the portrayal of the American education system that is most important in Freedom Writers and its aim to highlight the anxieties and difficulties of the classroom particularly with respect to racial segregation and gang warfare. It has been noted that a number of American high schools and colleges as portrayed by Hollywood are often idealistic and over-inspiring (Bulman, 2005), and Woodrow Wilson High School fits into this niche. It should be noted that the story of Gruwell is real, but there are obviously some additions to the script and to the way that the school is portrayed in order to make it more successful, and these are interesting for their ability to portray the American education system as both a place of inspiration and a place of implicit danger. What Freedom Writers does tackle is the problems faced by a number of inner-city schools. Choi (2009) suggests that “Although urban problems largely stem from sociopolitical power relations rather than individuals, classroom teachers must shoulder the responsibility for making education empowering for urban youth” (p244). This suggests that the problems within inner city schools (which, as highlighted by Freedom Writers, can include serious criminal activity such as murder, rape and gun crime) are not due to the teachers’ ineptitude but the solution is expected to be a result of good teaching. Hollywood hero-teacher films have often been accused of making the children seem deficient in some crucial way without really exploring the underlying socio-political power relations, and Freedom Writers does in a way fit into this category. Perhaps what sets Freedom Writers above and beyond its peers is the fact that it is based on the educational philosophies of a real woman who is attempting to tackle the root of the problem by changing classroom manner and challenging the bureaucracy (Choi, 2009). The American public school system has to follow a strict curriculum, put in place to ensure that everyone is receiving adequate teaching and training to follow their future careers. Many criticisms have been made of this method, particularly as a number of features within the curriculum have been purported to be less beneficial to children of minorities (May, 2010). Curricula also do not account for the fact that children often have very different learning styles, as well as “a number of different interests” (May, 2010, p5). What Freedom Writers (and Gruwell herself) focuses on is the use of student-centered education and adapting the learning process to the needs of the students themselves (Choi, 2009). Whilst this would be difficult (although not impossible) to accomplish in the bureaucratic world of the American education system (The Freedom Writers & Gruwell, 2006), Freedom Writers highlights the fact that there is a degree of flexibility available to teachers with a “revolutionary pedagogy” (Choi, 2009, p245). Another aspect of Freedom Writers and Gruwell’s philosophies is that the students are seen as the “creators of knowledge” (Choi, 2009, p245). The central storyline and the namesake of the film centers around this ideal, with the students being encouraged by the system to write their own story as an assignment (The Freedom Writers & Gruwell, 2006). The student body are seen as their own creators, involved in their education as part of their learning process. Gruwell also suggests that each of them has a story to tell, which is maybe particularly accurate for the children at Woodrow Wilson High School who all seem to have lost a friend or family member to gang violence. This reinforces the fact that the American school system is being portrayed as a student-centered system with an emphasis on flexibility and compassion, all based around the teachings of the inspirational (Bulman, 2005). It should be noted again that this is probably the victim of Hollywood hyperbole, but Gruwell is a real character with a real focus on these educational philosophy movements, and thus the portrayal of the American school system can be suggested to be particularly accurate in this case. Gruwell also suggests that there should be an egalitarian relationship between the student and the teacher, evident from her characters’ words in Freedom Writers, “to get respect you have to give it” (LaGravenese, 2007). This may seem strange for those who are used to a teacher commanding a class, but is the philosophy that Gruwell takes. Again, it should be noted that this may not be the most accurate portrayal of the American education system as a whole, but it does highlight some interesting factors. It is this egalitarian view from Gruwell that is perhaps the secret to her success. The line game, a common motif throughout Freedom Writers, is her way of highlighting that all the students have something in common, and that there is a sense of community between everyone in the class. By proving that everyone is part of the same community, that they all have difficulties, Gruwell manages to highlight the fact that everyone in the classroom is the same. Choi (2009) suggests that this is missing from typical American education, in that children compete against each other over who knows the most and who receives the highest test scores, which may be a fatal flaw in the system and how schools like Woodrow Wilson came to be so dominated by gang violence and warfare. The egalitarian view from Gruwell suggests that there may be more commonalities between racial groups than assumed on first sight, which would be a good place to start tackling the inequalities in the system. Gruwell and student addressing difficulties in the schoolroom (LaGravenese, 2007) Freedom Fighters also focuses on culturally relevant education, something which it has been suggested is missing from the American education system. Gruwell uses techniques such as the line game in a culturally relevant manner. One particularly vivid example of this is asking the students who owned the new Snoop Dogg album, with almost all of the class responding in the affirmative. Although Snoop Dogg may be seen by some as not being particularly educational, there are ways to take such cultural icons and turn them into educational prophets. One particularly memorable example of this is from The Ron Clark Story, a film with a similar plot. Ron Clarke, the main protagonist hero-teacher, uses rap to teach the children in his class about the American presidents (Bulman, 2005). This immediately gains their respect, as well as helping them to understand history in a different light. Whilst this example is a little farfetched, it is always worth trying to engage students in this way, which is precisely why the curriculum-based teaching style may not work. Freedom Fighters is another excellent example of this style of teaching, using cultural sensitivities as a tool to educate rather than a boundary. The American education system is aimed at teaching a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds, so Freedom Fighters may highlight some interesting educational philosophies to those looking for inspiration, as well as being a cinematographic tool. The Function of Stereotyping The best illustration of stereotyping in Freedom Writers comes from Andre, one of the kids at Woodrow Wilson High School; “My brother taught me what the life is for a young black man. Pimp, deal, whatever. Learn what colors to wear. Gang banners. You can sell to one corner, but you can't sell another. Learn to be quiet. The wrong word can get you popped” (LaGravenese, 2007). Evidently, it is the stereotyping within the school that leads to the discrimination and violence between the students, as the “young black man” (LaGravenese, 2007) struggles to follow the rules set for him by society. The gang violence comes from a need to be accepted into a gang ad to make money by pimping and dealing, because those are the only career options which seem available to those at the school. This can be perceived as part of a vicious cycle, with students getting into this lifestyle young because they see no other option, then ending up in jail which finalises them into this lifestyle (Sanders, 1994). The main narrator, Eva, also fits into a stereotype. She is a feisty, intelligent girl who is not afraid to stand up for herself and her family in the “war” (LaGravenese, 2007), which is how she describes the violence. She says herself that “In America, a girl can be crowned a princess for her beauty, and her grace. But an Aztec princess is chosen for her blood. To fight for her people as Papi and his father fought, against those who say we are less than they are, against those who say that we are not equal in beauty or blessings” (LaGravenese, 2007). Eva obviously feels a lot of sympathy and respect for her Mexican heritage, whilst being proudly American. There have been suggestions in the literature that Mexican Americans are becoming increasingly involved in gang violence (Sanders, 1994), and Eva and her family story in Freedom Writers fits this perfectly. She speaks with a lot of the nuances and accents that are typically stereotyped as being part of the Mexican American subgroup, which makes her portrayal both familiar and slightly one-dimensional. The use of these stereotypes in Freedom Writers serves a very obvious purpose, which is to make the characters familiar to the audience without having to give huge amounts of back-story to the characters. This is not to say that the characters in the film were far removed from their real-life counterparts, as stereotypes exist for the reason that they do portray quite accurately some common characteristics of the group. In some cases, the characters that exist solely based on their stereotypes can be one-dimensional, as there are more elements to a person’s character than can be accurately portrayed by the ‘young black man’ seen in Andre or the Mexican American Eva. Gruwell and student, greeting in a culturally stereotyped manner (LaGravenese, 2007) This stereotyping is also evident from the director. The way that it portrays some of the students at this school is based on the very ideals that it is trying to reject. For example, the black, Latino and Asian students need the guidance of the white Gruwell to get out of their bad habits. It is a white teacher that teaches them moral guidance, and a number of the changes that the students go through are based on these morals. Gruwell herself is also a stereotype. She is young, enthusiastic and naive, playing games with her students to inspire them. Gruwell fits into a long history of inspiring teachers in film, including Roberta Guaspari in Music of the Heart, John Keating in Dead Poet’s Society, and even Dewey Finn in School of Rock. These teachers all use unconventional methods to get their message across to these students in need of guidance. Although this may be a lovely idea, this stereotype of teachers has been shown to be unrealistic, with the inspirational nature of Freedom Writers and the other films being a simple Hollywood technique, rather than an accurate portrayal of the American school system. Possibilities, Anxieties & Dangers of the Schoolroom Freedom Writers and Gruwell’s corresponding true-life tale do have a happy ending, representing the inspirational aspect associated with American classrooms. This helps to highlight the possibilities associated with education, with Gruwell managing to get the children in her class through school and into college despite their early ambivalence towards the system. Educationally, the aim of the system is to help students explore possibilities that they may not have otherwise considered, academically and in their career. The use of unorthodox teaching methods is Gruwell’s tool for helping students achieve this status. Freedom Writers is interesting because it shows that children of minorities often have certain expectations about their lives, which may not be positive, and the American education system needs to tackle this and inspire students to move outside their comfort zone, challenging stereotypes. There is evidence that there are challenges for racial minorities in schools and the workplace (Sanders, 2004), but education needs to highlight the possibilities rather than the limits. Freedom Writers also shows the anxieties that a number of students have, race-related and otherwise. There is an episode in the film which sees Gruwell ask the students to grade themselves on a piece of work, with Andre giving himself an F. When questioned why, he replies “It's what I feel I deserve, that's all” (LaGravenese, 2007). Despite the fact that Andre has been involved in gang warfare and puts up a facade of toughness throughout the film, it is evident that there is an anxiety present in him which many students will relate to. The anxieties may be about their performance, and the judgement from other students who are doing better (or worse) than they are. This is common in the classroom (Sanders, 1994), and so incorporating this aspect of classroom life into the film makes for realistic viewing. This realism will help the film appeal to parts of the target audience (student and teacher demographics) as well as making Freedom Writers useful for exploring the American education system and learning about the educational philosophies currently in place and those that may benefit students. Two students illustrating the dangers of the classroom (LaGravenese, 2007) What is perhaps most interesting about Freedom Writers are the dangers that it presents. Whilst most are, thankfully, unfamiliar with local violence and danger, there are always those who may have to deal with gang violence and racial discrimination. The film suggests ways in which the American education system can tackle these problems by using them in such a way that they become appropriate learning tools, such as Gruwell’s inference to gang violence in the line game. It may also be that education is the best place to tackle these problems, and educators could learn a lot from the way that these problems have infiltrated Woodrow Wilson high school and how to tackle them head on. The problems at this school are perhaps the most useful way that Freedom Writers acts as a learning tool for educators, students and society as a whole, because these issues are very real in America. More importantly, Gruwell’s solution is real, and there are many things to be learnt from her methods. Conclusions There are a number of conclusions that can be drawn about Freedom Fighters and the depiction of the American education system. Firstly, the story highlights a number of problems with the system. Bureaucracy is an issue, with teachers having to conform to strict curricula. These may not always be appropriate or culturally sensitive, and some teachers, such as Gruwell, might find it more appropriate to leave the curriculum and explore ways in which to connect with the students and improve their learning experience. Freedom Writers in a way shows educators that there are ways of doing this, and there are ways of challenging the system to become the Hollywood-style hero-teacher who is there for inspiration. The American education system is portrayed here, and elsewhere, as being a place of inspiration and learning despite the fact that many students face difficulties in their education. This depiction may not be accurate but it is evident that Freedom Writers is attempting to show a different type of educational philosophy, with a different way of tackling the issues in the classroom and further afield. This, in turn, may help America’s education system to be more like the one that Gruwell purports. Freedom Writers also explores the challenges and anxieties of the American classroom, particularly concerning racial stereotypes. The students in the film seem to have expectations of their future based on the lives of their friends and their families, all tied into gang warfare, racial discrimination and cultural stereotypy. The American system is free for all, and therefore should be trying to tackle these problems. The problem with Freedom Writers is that it feeds into these stereotypes itself, but the message it portrays is pure and the aims of Gruwell are noble. It highlights that school may not always be easy but there are possibilities afforded to all if there is a source of inspiration and someone to highlight these possibilities whilst dispelling anxieties and discouraging the dangers. There are a lot of things that can be learnt from Freedom Writers about the American education system, educational philosophies, inspirational teaching, racial discrimination and cultural stereotyping, all of which feed into one another and provide us with a slightly stylized but still informative picture of America’s classrooms. References Bulman, Robert C. Hollywood Goes to High School?: Cinema, Schools, and American Culture. Worth Pub., 2005. Print. Choi, J.A. ‘Reading Educational Philosophies in Freedom Writers’. The Clearing House 82.5 (2009): 244–248. Print. LaGravenese, Richard. Freedom Writers. 2007. Film. May, SA. ‘Curriculum and the Education of Cultural and Linguistic Minorities’. International Encyclopedia of Education (2010): n. pag. Print. Sanders, W.B. ‘Gangbangs and Drive-bys: Grounded Culture and Juvenile Gang Violence’. No.: ISBN 0-202-30537-6 (1994): 111. Print. Writers, The Freedom, and Erin Gruwell. The Freedom Writers Diary (Movie Tie-in Edition): How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. Broadway Books, 2006. Print. Read More