And…my first semester of teaching is over. Now that classes have drawn to a close, I find it hard to believe the semester flew by so quickly.
I hosted viewings of Freedom Writers all day today, and my students seem to have decided that the teacher in the movie is “just like you, Ms. ____!” If such analysis is personality-driven I can’t really think of a bigger compliment, but this entry would be incomplete without a side note: Ms. Gruwell and I are both white women with brown hair, monstrous smiles and a penchant for pearls. I haven’t done anything particularly revolutionary yet.
I hadn’t actually viewed the film before showing it in class — yes, this is generally a terrible idea, although it was fine in this case — and when we saw the scene in which the teacher realizes her students have never heard of the Holocaust, I almost started to cry. The same exact thing happened in my classes earlier this year.
One more thing: The kids freaked out when an allusion to Atticus Finch popped up toward the beginning of the movie. Be still my heart.
You made it! Congrats. I’m sure it will get easier from here on out.