A Reaction of The Movie Freedom Writers

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course

JLDPJRE: English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Under the tutelage of

Hadassah Mae B. Honorio

Darren Joy I. Sabilla

October 11, 2023

 The greatest gift we can cherish is freedom, yet it can also be taken advantage of by

many. "Freedom Writers" is a heartfelt movie about students who face the most challenging

and difficult situations from birth and are treated unfairly by the school system. However, one

day, a teacher enters their lives and help them to achieve to be better. The movie "Freedom

Writers" highlights the transformative power of education and a dedicated teacher's impact on

students facing adversity.

First off, the movie starts with a brief background information to a child named Eva

who witnesses a murder just outside their house and injustice arrest of her innocent father.

These applies to other students in the classroom, shows off their formidable journey. This

made us all think that she was the main protagonist with her being the first one to be shown

in the movie. Not until, the teacher named Erin Gruwell shows up to aid her students.

Continuing the story, beginning with when teacher Erin Gruwell started her teaching

journey with them, I initially believed she might fail. I mean, who would take her seriously?

Even the students ridiculed her from the start because of her appearance. She seemed

privileged, and they judged her based on their past experiences, thinking that nobody could

be tough enough to teach them, as they had been raised to be resilient and act like gangsters.

Who would have thought that she could make them change on how they believe about

everything, through her dedication and perseverance to teach the students. As it progressed, I

could see that all of them underwent character development, which pleased me. However,

there are some parts that weren't fully explained, leaving uncertainty about the extent of their

development for some students. Eva’s character development kind of interest me .to expect

more of the outcome until the trial finished. Well, I felt there’s something more could be done
there, it wasn’t developed in the way I had anticipated. After being punched in the face by the

gang members and scolded by her father for “not protecting and defending her own”, she

went to school to inform her teacher, Erin Gruwell, about the incident. How could a father

instruct his own daughter to engage in unethical behavior for their own benefit? As adults,

and given the maturity between them, he should clearly understand the difference between

right and wrong. It’s quite unbelievable since I couldn’t actually imagine that this happened

real life, those challenges that they experience all throughout their life. Regardless to their

problems the story ended with the students happily spending their entire high school with

Erin Gruwell.

In the end, the story is highly inspiring and heartwarming, as it showcases the

compassion of a teacher who persevered to educate her students and the dedication of the

students to learn and embrace the values of diversity in our world. There is no excuse not to

help other people. We can do everything within our power to create opportunities to reach out

to them, and with God, we can accomplish anything through Him. Even a small act of

kindness can have a significant impact on a person's life.

 Reference

LaGravanese, R. (Director). (2007). Freedom Writers. Paramount Pictures.