There have been many movies about inspiring teachers trying to motivate wayward kids. This movie is one of them. The teacher, played by Hilary Swank, cares deeply about the kids, loves the kids and shows great brotherly love. She exhibits great patience and understanding in the midst of insults, disrespect and disinterest on the part of her high school students. As a first year teacher she is given the worst of students, which in this school seems to come from three or four different gangs, all of which hate each other.
She has quite a challenge. She is a relatively newly wed when she takes the job. She ends up sacrificing her marriage as a result of her commitment to teaching. She gets the kids motivated, but gradually loses her ambitionless, self-centered husband. You can see the two growing more and more apart as the movie unfolds. To me this is very sad. His lack of support and her lack of demonstrated concern for her husband are two forces at work to destroy the relationship.
Because of the breakdown of the marriage, much of the good the teacher does is tempered by the cost. One lesson is be careful who you marry and be sure that you both have a clear understanding of each others goals and priorities.
Hilary Swank’s character does really engage the students in active learning, reading and writing to a degree unfortunately not seen in our government schools. The movie is a powerful demonstration of the burdensome bureaucratic system faced by caring, innovative teachers. It seems that the teacher was bucked every step of the way. She had to go over the heads of her superiors and buy teaching material using her own money because of the intransigence of the educational system. This is an excellent portrayal of what is so desperately wrong with our schools across the board. The situation begs for giving students many options such as charter schools, private schools, homeschooling and Internet courses, etc. Something the short-sighted, entrenched, miserable, power hungry and turf-protecting teachers' unions perpetuate: protecting a badly broken and absolutely inept system.
RATING
gregjaye rates this movie **** of ***** for its depiction of what can be accomplished in education with commitment, care and love. Anyone can learn and grow in the right environment. It is not money (do you hear that politicians?). Best of all this is based on a true story.
She has quite a challenge. She is a relatively newly wed when she takes the job. She ends up sacrificing her marriage as a result of her commitment to teaching. She gets the kids motivated, but gradually loses her ambitionless, self-centered husband. You can see the two growing more and more apart as the movie unfolds. To me this is very sad. His lack of support and her lack of demonstrated concern for her husband are two forces at work to destroy the relationship.
Because of the breakdown of the marriage, much of the good the teacher does is tempered by the cost. One lesson is be careful who you marry and be sure that you both have a clear understanding of each others goals and priorities.
Hilary Swank’s character does really engage the students in active learning, reading and writing to a degree unfortunately not seen in our government schools. The movie is a powerful demonstration of the burdensome bureaucratic system faced by caring, innovative teachers. It seems that the teacher was bucked every step of the way. She had to go over the heads of her superiors and buy teaching material using her own money because of the intransigence of the educational system. This is an excellent portrayal of what is so desperately wrong with our schools across the board. The situation begs for giving students many options such as charter schools, private schools, homeschooling and Internet courses, etc. Something the short-sighted, entrenched, miserable, power hungry and turf-protecting teachers' unions perpetuate: protecting a badly broken and absolutely inept system.
RATING
gregjaye rates this movie **** of ***** for its depiction of what can be accomplished in education with commitment, care and love. Anyone can learn and grow in the right environment. It is not money (do you hear that politicians?). Best of all this is based on a true story.
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LESSONS LEARNED
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It was amazing watching the freshmen high school class mature under the nurture of a teacher who did it in spite of the many obstacles inherent in a failed government education system and with a lost and an essentially written off bunch of kids.
Despite the portrait of marriage as being of secondary import, the fact that Freedom Writers shows what can be done in the right situation in education. The non-financial costs are high. Freedom Writers shows the need to scrap the current government schools, because of the failed, bloated bureaucracy with the able and active assistance of their accomplices-in-crime, the teachers unions. What we have is, in reality, is a system that insures that nearly every child is left behind. What is needed are more teachers and more learning alternatives and more accountability.
BOTTOM LINE
Freedom Writers is a story of courage, persistence, love, care, overcoming all odds. It is inspiring and hopeful. I recommend it.
Amen.
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