An Inspirational Teacher free essay sample

In one of the most powerful scenes in the film, Erin draws a line in the center of the classroom and divides the students into two groups. She then asks a series of questions, telling the students to step up to the line if their answer is yes. †¢ Do you own the new Puff Daddy CD? †¢ Have you seen the movie Boyz in the Hood? †¢ Do you know anybody who has been in jail? †¢ Do you know where to get drugs? †¢ Have you ever been shot at? †¢ Have you have lost a friend to gang violence? †¢ Two friends? †¢ Three friends?As the students stand on the line, they realize they are standing face-to-face with those of other races, backgrounds, and tribes. They realize that they share certain common experiences despite their differences. The Line Game is a powerful way to practice empathy and openness. Erin tries to connect with her students by talking their language and by referring to cultural artifacts they are familiar with but they immediately judge her as just another white person trying to make them over. We will write a custom essay sample on An Inspirational Teacher or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nothing works until she confiscates an ugly racial cartoon that one student has drawn of an African American in the class. She compares it to the kind of drawings of Jews that the Nazis used to inflame resentments in Germany. But to her surprise, Erin discovers that her students know nothing about the Holocaust and the persecution suffered by the Jews. She likens the Nazis to a street gang just protecting their own. Erin then hands out blank journals and tells the students she wants them to write something in them every day.They wont be graded, and she will only read them if they give her permission. For many of them, this is the first time they have been empowered to share their feelings and ideas with others. Another time she has them play the Line Game (see Spiritual Moment in Movies at right), and they discover that they share many feelings in common. Next, she decides to have them read The Diary of Anne Frank, followed by a trip the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum. A dinner with several survivors enables the students to further empathize with others who have dealt with intolerance, hatred, and violence.Erins most effective program comes with a visit to the school by Miep Gies (Pat Carroll), the Dutch woman who provided a hiding place for the Franks. The students have written her letters and consider her a hero, but she tells them they are heroes, one and all. Erins commitment to transforming her students attitudes and opportunities undergoes many shocks and setbacks. She has to take part-time jobs to buy books for them and to finance several outings. Her husband, Scott (Patrick Dempsey), grows increasingly irritated by her passion for the work.Her father (Scott Glenn), who inspired her with his idealism, also has a hard time accepting all the time and energy she devotes to teaching. But in the end, all this pays off for Erin as the students find common ground and form a creative community of sharing. Among those who stories stand out are Eva (April Lee Hernandez), a fiery Latino; Andre (Mario), a tough African-American; Marcus (Jason Finn), an African-American who has been living on the street; and Sindy (Jacyn Ngan), a Cambodian teenager who spent years in a refugee camp.This inspiring and thought-provoking movie is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by the Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell. Not only does this story pay tribute to a teacher who makes an enormous contribution to the lives of her students, it also celebrates the unity th at can arise out of diversity when individuals break down the walls that separate them from others. Right now the communities and nations of the world need to study the spiritual meaning of unity and the beauty that can arise out of the dignity of difference.