Freedom Writers starring Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey is a very inspirational movie. One teacher was able to change the lives of a classroom full of students. At the beginning of the movie, all of the students stayed with others of their own race and none of them were educated. None of the students even knew what the Holocaust was. The teacher first had to make the students feel comfortable with one another and help them to recognize similarities between one another. To do this she had them play a line game. Step on the line if this happened to you, step on the line if you like this, etc. Another way to create a comfortable learning environment is to do a cultural sharing as some of us have done in TLC I and II. For those of you who have not done this , a couple students each week bring in materials that described themselves and what is important to them, kind of like a show and tell. Anyway, after creating a comfortable learning environment for the students the teacher began to teach. Eventually the students learned their literacy skills so well they were able to read The Diary of Anne Frank. They also were able to write letters to the woman who hid Anne Frank from the Nazis. The students became extremely interested in learning and even raised enough money to bring this elderly woman to their school. These students told their stories in journals, which they eventually typed up. I believe if these unfortunate students were able to become literate, anyone can. These students went from killing each other to caring about one another and seeing classmates as family. Educators need to take enough time to actually see their students. They need to break down barriers and get to know their students so they can help them. A comfortable learning environment will help students learn because they feel OK participating and sharing their ideas and views with one another. Below is the link to see the Freedom Writers trailer on you tube.
