STUDENTS BAD BEHAVIOUR CAUSES: A SOCIOLOGICAL

STUDY ON FREEDOM WRITERS MOVIE

Purpose: Improving the quality of student learning through the root of the problem experienced,
an important factor that mental health of students influences the learning process. therefore, the
behaviourism of students is an important factor that cannot be ignored so that the learning
process experiences an increase. This paper aims to analyze the social phenomena of a student in
the dominant film "Freedom Writers" which are difficult to manage because they each form an
association where their lives, are never calm and tend to have very high stress levels..

Methodology: this is a qualitative paper., the data taken is primary data from the film script and
then clarified with secondary data to support primary data. Data collection techniques performed
are by watching a film and sorting out the data obtained from the film. which were then
analyzed, using library research and applying sociological theory by Diana Laurenson and
Swingewood

Implication: The implication lies in the part to suppress or overcome a student's bad behavior
while in class because it interferes with the learning process, therefore in their freedom writers to
vent their emotions, students in the film "Freedom Writers" pour it in a writing written in a diary,
so it can be seen from several characters that there are several reasons for each of them for their
behavior. and when Gruwell's teacher suggests they write a diary, so they can ease their burden
through a piece of writing that if they allow it, Gruwell's teacher will read it, this can be used as a
therapy so that the teacher knows what to do if faced with conditions in a situation such as that.

Keywords: Freedom Writers, Students, Behaviourism, Couses, Stress level, Writing Skills, Diary,
Therapy.

The nature of a person is different, both from adults to children. Even so today a school student
has a bad character, both are caused by the environment, his friends, and from when he was a
child. These bad qualities are often displayed in their daily lives and at school,
(Kompasiana,2015)
According to a research conducted by Balitbang of the Ministry of Social Affairs (2002),
Hamzah (2002, Prahesti (2002), indicates that emotional maturity in unstable adolescents is one
of the factors in juvenile delinquency.

The immature emotions of a person are characterized by emotional outbursts in the presence of
others, can not look at situations critically, and have emotional reactions that are not stable, on
the contrary mature emotional emotions are characterized by unexploded emotions in front of
others, can assess critical situations and have stable emotional reactions and confidence such as
believing in one's own abilities, acting independently in making decisions, have a positive self-
concept and dare to express opinions.

Causes of delinquency or Bad Behaviours

Juvenile delinquency occurs due to several factors, it can be caused by adolescents themselves
(internal) or external factors.

Internal factors

Identity crisis: Biological and sociological changes in adolescents allow for two forms of
integration. First, the formation of a feeling of consistency in his life. Second, the achievement of
role identity. Ramaja delinquency occurs because teenagers fail to reach the second integration
period.

Weak self-control: Adolescents who cannot learn and distinguish acceptable behavior from
unacceptable behavior will be dragged into 'naughty' behavior. Likewise for those who already
know the difference between the two behaviors, but cannot develop self-control to behave
according to their knowledge.

External factors

Family and Divorce of parents, lack of communication between family members, or disputes
between family members can trigger negative behavior in adolescents. Incorrect education in the
family, such as over-indulging children, not providing religious education, or rejecting the
existence of children, can be a cause of juvenile delinquency.

some of these factors are not much different from those in the film "Freedom Writers" where
they students who are there have very low reading and writing grades.
Then by turning the brain of the teacher Gruwell and seeing the condition of those who
originally came from different races, with a very hard life and allowing them to experience
stressful pressures, therefore by knowing the root of the problem Mrs. Gruwell used the diary
writing method before finally when playing line games he entered a sensitive stage when he
began to talk about the number of victims due to fighting between gangs of different races,
before finally they began to cry and began to understand that the traditions they had been doing
were useless and began to accept that they were all one entity and because of mrs Gruwell often
told them to read and write diaries, their interest in reading and writing became high and their
academic grades got better.

This paper aims to analyze the social phenomena of a student in the dominant film
"Freedom Writers" which are difficult to manage because they each form an association where
their lives are never calm and tend to have very high stress levels.

some of these factors are not much different from those in the film "Freedom Writers" in which
their students have very low reading and writing grades.

Then by turning the brain of Gruwell's teacher to see the condition of those who are classified as
having bad or deviant behavior which is motivated by different races, with a very hard life and
allowing them to experience the pressures that cause them to behave badly, therefore by knowing
the root of the problem, Mrs. Gruwell uses the diary writing method before finally when playing
the line game he entered a sensitive stage when he began to talk about the number of victims due
to the battle between gangs of various races, before finally they began to cry and began to
understand that their traditions were useless and began to accept that they were all is a unity and
because Ms. Gruwell often tells them to read and write diaries, their interest in reading and
writing becomes high and their academic grades become better and behave well as students.

This paper aims to analyze the social phenomena of a student in the dominant film "Freedom
Writers" which are difficult to manage because they each form an association where their lives
are never calm and tend to have bad behavior and deep trauma.

Next, this paper discusses the bad behavior of a student and its causes. Unayah, N., &
Sabarisman, M. (2016) in their book about the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency and crime.
Sosio informa, explained that juvenile delinquency is an act that violates the norms, rules, or
laws in society that are carried out at the age of adolescence or the transition from childhood to
adulthood. Juvenile Delinquency is a social pathological symptom in adolescents caused by a
form of social neglect that ultimately leads to deviant behavior

The following outlines some of the causes of an individual's deviation (objective factors)
Inability to absorb cultural norms. Someone who is not able to absorb cultural norms into his
personality, he can not distinguish things that are appropriate and inappropriate. The situation
occurred as a result of an imperfect socialization process, for example because someone grew up
in a broken home (broken home). If both parents cannot educate their children perfectly, then
the child will not know their rights and obligations as family members.

Distorted learning process. Someone who does deviant acts because of frequent reading or
viewing shows about deviant behavior. It is a form of deviant behavior caused by a distorted
learning process. Career snapper class that begins with petty crime that continues to increase and
increasingly brave / desperate is a form of deviant learning process.

The tension between culture and social structure. The tension between culture and social
structure can lead to deviant behavior. That happens if in an effort to achieve a goal someone
does not get a chance, so he strives for the opportunity itself, then there is a deviant behavior.
Different social ties. Each person is generally associated with several groups. If the association
has deviant patterns of behavior, then it is likely that it he or she will also imitate patterns of
deviant behavior. As a result of the process of socializing deviant sub-cultural values,. The
mass media often shows news or shows about crime (deviant behavior). This is said to be the
learning process of a distorted sub-culture.

The focus of this paper is on a student's bad behavior that is reflected in the film Freedom
Writers. Based on focus, it is broken down into a number of questions as follows;

1. What motivates students to behave badly in class?

2. What is the condition of the class from Mrs. Gruwell's point of view?

3. How does Gruwell resolve the problem?

Considering the above questions, the purpose of this study is to examine the problems faced by
students so that theywhich results in them exhibiting bad behavior while in class, to analyze
some of the causes of the problem and to examine some of the solutions made by Gruwell. The
theoretical significance of this research is to accumulate research on Freedom Writers. By doing
that, we get many perspectives on the study of literature. Practical research can provide many
advantages for readers in understanding what is behind a person so that behaves badly.
There have been studies related to The Freedom Writers movie. The followings are some of the
researches done by previous researchers.

(Wiwin astuti. 2016) in his research he examined a method used by Mrs. Gruwell in teaching his
students. by asking them to write a diary to correct social inequalities between themselves so as
to create a compact and unclassified class atmosphere.

(Abdilah Nugroho. 2019) in a future teacher article using socioligical study by laurenson and
swingewood, in his article he discusses how Mrs. Gruwell with her multiculturalism led her
students to get along and instill their principles or understandings to their students that
everything they did during this is meaningless.

(Carey applegate. 2013) In his research, Carey examines how hip hop in the classroom asks
students to engage in critical thinking about their own identities and issues connected to their
cultures and communities. Classrooms that are grounded in Hip Hop pedagogy often position
students who are invested in the Hip-Hop culture as curricular experts, a proposition that can be
scary for both new and veteran teachers. The fear of sharing academic leadership and closing
classroom control can be very real concern for teachers whose jobs may depend on being
considered an expert in creating an academic environment that demonstrates the rigor necessary
for their students to succeed in a high-stakes testing culture.

Based on John C. Reinard, Communication Research Statistics, SAGE, 2006. Qualitative

research is research about research that is descriptive and tends to use analysis. The process and
meaning (subject perspective) is more highlighted in qualitative research. The theoretical
foundation is used as a guide so that the focus of research is in accordance with the facts in the
field. Besides this theoretical foundation is also useful to provide a general description of the
research background and as a material discussion of research results. There is a fundamental
difference between the role of the theoretical foundation in quantitative research with qualitative
research. In quantitative research, research departs from theory to data, and ends in acceptance or
rejection of the theory used; whereas in qualitative research the researcher departs from the data,
utilizes existing theories as explanatory material, and ends with a "theory".

Kriyantono stated that, "Qualitative research aims to explain phenomena profusely through
deep data collection." Qualitative research emphasizes the depth of data obtained by
researchers. The deeper and detailed the data obtained, the better the quality of this qualitative
research .

In contrast to quantitative, objects in qualitative research are generally limited in number. In this
study, researchers participated in the events / conditions that are being studied. For this reason,
the results of this study requires a deeppth of analysis from the researcher. In addition, the results
of
this study are subjective so they cannot be generalized. In general, qualitative research is
conducted by interview and observation methods. Through this method, researchers will analyze
the data obtained from the field in detail. Researchers cannot research the observed social
conditions, because all the reality that occurs is a unity that occurs naturally. The results of
qualitative research can also bring up new theories or concepts, if the results of the research
conflict with theories and concepts that were previously used as studies in research. [1]

Qualitative research is far more subjective than quantitative research or surveys. Also use very
different methods, including in terms of gathering information, especially individuals, namely by
using in-depth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is open research
and exploration, and ends with interviews in a relatively small number of groups that are
interviewed in depth.

Participants are asked to answer common questions, and the interviewer or moderator of the
research group explores with their responses to identify and determine perceptions, opinions and
feelings about the ideas or topics discussed and to determine the degree of agreement in the
group. The quality of findings from qualitative research directly depends on the ability,
experience and sensitivity of the interviewer or moderator group.

This type of research is rarely carried out for surveys, because it requires expensive costs, but is
very effective in obtaining information about communication needs and responses and views
on certain communications. In this case it is often the preferred method in cases where
quantitative measurements or surveys are not needed.

Researchers are trying to examine the phenomenon in the film about what is behind the students
in the movie "Freedom Writers" to show their deviant behavior in the story. The object of this
research material is the Freedom Writers text or script which relates to the focus of the research.
Formal objects consist of

1. What problems do students face so that they behave badly in class?

2. What factors cause the problem?

3. How does Gruwell as a teacher deal with problems?

Data analysis technique is done by examining and interpreting the meaning of text or film
scripts under the theoretical framework of Sociological Literature by Laurenson and
Swingewood.
And I saw the war for the first time( eva ). She saw for the first time in the beginning of this film,
eva’s neighbor is die, because he is shot by a group that she didn’t know before, and after that

“He was innocent, but they took him,”

“because he was respected

by my people.”

“They called my people a gang

because we fight for our America.”

“In this part, eva’s father detsined by police and eva is too young when the tragedy is happened
. this is the first fact why eva’s had a bad behavior.”
In this part the students show that they are only take the friends from their gang. And this is happened when Mrs.
Gruwell teach in this class for the first time , because in this situation , Gruwell knew that something was wrong in
her class.

so she tried to find out by making a line game, where at the beginning of the question he gave
with easy questions like :

“how many of you have

the new Snoop Dogg album?”

“Did you steal it?”

“Okay, back away.”

“Next question,”

“how many of you have seen

Boyz n the Hood?”

Then from the intermediate question to ice breaker to this difficult:

“How many of you live in the projects?”

“How many of you know someone,

a friend or relative,who was or is in juvenile hall or jail?”

“How many of you have been

in juvenile hall or jail for any length of time?”

“Detention don't count.Does a refugee camp count?”

“You decide.”

“How many of you know

where to get drugs right now?”

“How many of you

know someone in a gang?”
…
“Okay, now I'm gonna ask you
a more serious question.”

“Stand on the line if you've lost

a friend to gang violence.”

“Stay on the line if you've lost

more than one friend.”

until finally Mrs. Gruwell asked all of them to pay their respects and mention the names of the
victims as a sign of respect that made the entire class feel emotional.
Then seeing a situation like that, Mrs. Gruwell turned to the next method, where she told her
students to write in a diary, and if allowed to read, they would put it on a shelf that would open
during learning and would close at the end of the lesson.

Then Mrs. Gruwell began reading one by one the books of her students one by one and finally
she began to know, what made them behave badly.

BRANDY ROSS’s POV

“In every war, there is an enemy.”

“I watched my mother
being half beaten to death”

“and watched as blood and tears

streamed down her face.”

“I felt useless and scared

and furious at the same time.”
“I felt useless and scared
and furious at the same time.”

“Stay there, Brandy. Watch the kids!”

“- Get my money!
- Watch the kids!”

“I can still feel the sting of the belt

on my back and my legs.”

“One time, he couldn't pay the rent.”

“And that night he stopped us on

the street and pointed to the concrete.”

“He said, "Pick a spot. "”

MARCUS’s POV

“Clive was my boy.

He had my back plenty of times.”

“We was like one fist, me and him,

one army.”

“- That's heavy.
- Yeah.”

“That's the real shit right here.

Nobody'll jump us now.”

“But we got to practice

'cause this, this got power.”

“You shoot it, it...”

“I sat there till the police came.”

“But when they come, all they see

is a dead body, a gun and a nigga.”

“They took me to juvenile hall.

First night was the scariest.”
“Inmates banging on the walls,

throwing up their gang signs, yelling out

who they were, where they're from.”

“I cried my first night.

Can't never let nobody know that.”

“I spent the next few years

in and out of cells.”

“Every day I'd worry,”

"When will I be free?"

ANDRE BRYANT’S POV

My brother taught me
what the life is for a young black man.

Do what you have to,

pimp, deal, whatever.

Learn what colors to learn,

gang boundaries.

You can stay on one corner,

you can't stay on another.

Learn to be quiet.
A wrong word can get you popped.

If you look in my eyes,

you'll see a loving girl.
GLORIA MUNEZ’s POV

If you look at my smile,

you'll see nothing wrong.

If you pull up my shirt,

you'll see the bruises.

What did I do to make him so mad?

JAMAL’S POV

At 16, I've seen more dead bodies

than a mortician.

Every time I step out my door,

I'm faced with the risk of being shot.

To the outside world, it's just another

dead body on the street corner.

They don't know that he was my friend.

SINDY’S POV

During the war in Cambodia,

the camp stripped away

my father's dignity.

He sometimes tries
to hurt my mom and me.

I feel like I have to protect my family.

I was having trouble deciding what

candy I wanted, then I heard gunshots.
ALEJANDRO’S POV

I looked down to see

that one of my friends

had blood coming out of

his back and his mouth.

The next day, I pulled up my shirt

and got strapped with a gun

I found in an alley by my house.

EVA’S POV

I don't even know how this war started.

It's just two sides

who tripped each other way back.

Who cares about the history behind it?

Etc.

DISCUSSION

Some schools in the United States were integrated before the mid-20th century, the first ever
being Lowell High School in Massachusetts, which has accepted students of all races since its
founding. The earliest known African American student, Caroline Van Vronker, attended the
school in 1843. The integration of all American schools was a major catalyst for the civil rights
action and racial violence that occurred in the United States during the latter half of the 20th
century.
After the Civil War, the first legislation providing rights to African Americans was passed. The
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, which were
passed between 1865 and 1870, abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and protection under
the law, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting, respectively

Based on the history of school integration, is a film based on the true story of the struggle of a
teacher in the New Port Beach area, United States in reawakening the enthusiasm of their
students to learn. It is said, Erin Gruwell, a highly educated idealist woman, came to Woodrow
Wilson High School as an English teacher for a special class of children victims of racial gang
fighting. Erin's mission is very noble, wanting to provide proper education for problematic
children who where there are even more experienced teachers who are reluctant to teach them.
But reality isn't always what Erin thought. On his first day of teaching, he realized that the
intergroup war that took place in the city, is also carried into the classroom. In class they sit in
groups according to their respective races. No one wants to sit in a different racial group.
Small misunderstandings that occur in the classroom can lead to interreligious fights.

Erin tried to conquer her students by asking them to write some sort of diary. In the diary, they
can write whatever they want, feel, and experience. This method was successful. The diaries
of his students every daywere returned to Erin every day, with themir writing about what they
experienced and what they thought about every day.
From the diaries, Erin understood that she had to make her students aware that the war between
the war they had was not everything in the world. Through his unique way of teaching, he tries to
make his students aware that with education they will be able to achieve a better life.

Although all of her efforts were not supported by her fellow teachers and the school, Erin
continued to progress. In fact, he is willing to sacrifice his spare time to work part time to buy
books that are useful for his students.

As a result, the students' enthusiasm for learning resurfaced. Finally, many of the students in
Erin Gruwell's class became the first of their families to continue their education to college. The
diary they wrote was published as a book called 'The Freedom Writers Diary'.

This film does not sell the dream of From Zero to Hero, but rather shows how one person who
cares about the education of children who are considered community trash can turn them into
more useful people. Reminiscent of a film called 'Dead Poet Society', which has the same theme
and was made in the late 80s with Robin William as the main star. The books used by Erin
Gruwell to educate her students in this film are all books that really exist. Including the book
'Diary of Anne Frank' which has been translated into Indonesian and has been sold on the
market.

The following is a dialogue where Mrs. Gruwell as a teacher is underestimated by Jamal at

the beginning of the film:

"My name is Erin Gruwell.

Welcome to Freshman English. "

"I give this bitch a week."

from this dialogue clearly visible bad behavior of students in her school On the first day of
teaching, the students assumed Erin would not be able to face those who were gang members.
Erin can see, even when in class they gather only with members of their respective races. And
this cannot be tolerated, and therefore Erin's teacher tries hard to be able to provide the
education they deserve so that they can change the unfavorable character they have.

And one day in the middle of class time, there was one of Erin's students who drew a face
caricature of a different race from her, then the student spread the picture to all her classmates,
and it made a lot of noise. So Erin's teacher knows what made the class. Teacher Erin could not
be silent seeing that. Finally Erin worked hard to resolve this misunderstanding, Erin needed to
make her students aware that differences should not make them united.
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Unayah, N., & Sabarisman, M. (2016). Fenomena kenakalan remaja dan kriminalitas. Sosio
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Aroma, I. S., & Suminar, D. R. (2012). Hubungan antara tingkat kontrol diri dengan
kecenderungan perilaku kenakalan remaja. Jurnal Psikologi Pendidikan dan
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Fatchurahman, M. (2012). Kepercayaan diri, kematangan emosi, pola asuh orang tua
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Abdi, Alfian Putra. "KPAI: 24 Kasus Anak di Sekolah pada Awal 2019 Didominasi
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Aviyah, E., & Farid, M. (2014). Religiusitas, kontrol diri dan kenakalan remaja. Persona: Jurnal
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Maria, U. (2007). Peran persepsi keharmonisan keluarga dan konsep diri terhadap
kecenderungan kenakalan remaja (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Gadjah Mada).

(Wiwin astuti. 2016) in his research he examined a method used by Mrs. Gruwell in teaching his
students. by asking them to write a diary to correct social inequalities between themselves so as
to create a compact and unclassified class atmosphere.

(Abdilah Nugroho. 2019) in a future teacher article using socioligical study by laurenson and
swingewood, in his article he discusses how Mrs. Gruwell with her multiculturalism led her
students to get along and instill their principles or understandings to their students that
everything they did during this is meaningless.

(Carey applegate. 2013) In his research, Carey examines how hip hop in the classroom asks
students to engage in critical thinking about their own identities and issues connected to their
cultures and communities.

"Brown at 62: School Segregation by Race, Poverty and State — the Civil Rights Project at
UCLA"

"Teaching Tolerance | Brown v. Board: Timeline of School Integration in the U.S." Southern
Poverty Law Center. Spring 2004. Retrieved October 13, 2016.