Reflection: Freedom Writers

Reflection: Freedom Writers

Carl Angelo Mateo Caluag

1.

a.

In Ms. Gruwell’s school, there is a lot of tension undergoing. There is a reign of discrimination and segregation of classes, especially among the blacks, the Asians, and the Latinos. The students form and join gangs to protect their own class and fight the others. In response to this, the school (Woodrow Wilson High School) adopted an integration program for its curriculum, which in turn lowered the academic competitiveness of the school. Ms. Gruwell’s school, in general, does not care if the students learn advanced lessons, rather, they are satisfied if a student learn basic lessons, such as literacy and discipline. They defy the usefulness of books, because they believe their students were despondent enough to learn to love reading. Even some professors say little words of discrimination without understanding the experiences of their students.

b.

In Ms. Gruwell’s class, there is always disorderliness and aversion to one another. The students cling more to the outside world instead of education. For them, the teacher’s lessons are dull, prosaic, and uninteresting. They each have their own story, which at first they were hesitant to tell. Every one of them has seen a dead person, because of riots and secret murders, and somehow they are used to seeing these. Some of them have lost a friend or more because of gang conflicts. The students think that Ms. Gruwell doesn’t really understand them, so they hate her and disrespect her. They even caused Ms. Gruwell’s white complexion to arouse dislike at her.

c.

In Eva’s community, the events are really bad and frightening. Murder has become a common sight to most people. The gangs are to be feared. If they saw an enemy class, they would run after him and hurt him. It’s not safe to go outside and roam. No one is free. The police can take a convicted person without habeas corpus. They can take anyone for granted. People have guns and they use them if they needed to.

2.

Ms. Gruwell understands her students very much, and she believes that special education must be given to them. Ms. Campbell, the department head, won’t allow Ms. Gruwell to give her students books. She thought that book lessons won’t have any effect on the students. But Ms. Gruwell knows what needs to be done for her desperate students, so she worked three jobs to buy them special notebooks for them to write their feelings on it. These notebooks served as their diary, like the one of Anne Frank. She also taught against the syllabus, having extraordinary activities for her students, like playing games with lessons to be learned at the end. She took her students on a field trip, which is not school-based, so the students can know more about the Jewish discrimination of the Nazis. The climax of all of these is when she made her students write letters for Miep Gies – the one who hid Anne Frank from the Nazis – inviting her all the way from abroad so that she can give inspiration to the students.

3.

Eva was needed to speak as a witness in the court because she was at the place when Sindy’s boyfriend was accidentally shot by his own boyfriend. She was part of a gang, so she had to express loyalty to her boyfriend which means she must lie. But she knew that she must do what is right, thanks to Miep Gies’ influence. Eva told the truth, and it was not easy for her to do it. It means wrecking her fidelity with her same-class friends. It means breaking her relationship with her boyfriend. But it also means turning back on his past and moving on the present. It liberated her long-tormented spirit.

4.

We each have different culture, traditions, and classes. Each one of us may belong to various social groups. Even the color of our skin may define who we are, culturally. But that does not mean that we should not respect one another. We are all human beings, eyes and ears alike. Everyone has a heart that produces emotion. Everyone knows how to love, how to hate, how to laugh, and how to fear. No one is an exemption. There is no such thing as a special class, nor an inferior one. In the eyes of our Creator, we are all the same. That is why we must respect one another, and humble ourselves before others. No one should have a principle of ethnocentrism or chauvinism, even if in some aspects they are more blessed than others. Social, economic, and physical backgrounds may define us, but we must understand that we are only separated by continents. We must all treat one another as brothers and sisters, for each one must come from the same ancestors.

When things get rough and culture is abused, counter-culturing is good to be done. We must all stand up for what is morally right, not just on what is culturally correct. But we must always keep in consideration the lives of others, because they might have their own life stories, stories that must be heard and understood before doing counter-culture.

All in all, respect of one another’s physical and cultural differences must be emphasized.