Reaction to Mona Lisa Smile

Mona Lisa Smile is kind of an odd movie. Although it had a lot of my favorite actress' in it, it's a movie that didn't really capture my interest. I feel like they tried too hard to make the teacher look like she changed those girls lives when in reality, I feel like she didn't do a WHOLE lot. Now, I'm not saying she didn't do anything, because she did, but from what I saw I didn't see a whole lot. To me, the movie was more just about their lives and all the drama that was happening in them. I wouldn't strike this as an incredibly touching movie. Now, it was a good movie overall, it just didn't strike me as a movie about a teacher who completely changed her students lives. Did she make an impact? I'm sure she did. But it didn't occur to me that these girls' lives were totally changed and influenced by Mrs. Watson. I'm not bashing on the movie, it's just my personal opinion.

Is Mrs. Gruwell a Good Teacher?

Is Mrs. Gruwell a good teacher? In my opinion, I would say yes. Mrs. Gruwell never gave up on those kids even though they didn't even respect her in the beginning. Yet, Mrs. Gruwell's determination was as strong as ever and she tried to reach the kids on a personal level. She tried to teach the children poetry through the rap artist, Tupac, someone they were very familiar with. Even though they turned her idea down, she still didn't give up. She got a second job yo buy them new books because she though they were capable of so much more then the worn down and old books that were provided for them. Then she got a third job to pay for a field trip for them to learn more about the Holocaust because none of them, except for one student Ben, didn't know what the Holocaust was. She devoted all her time into those students and went above and beyond the call of duty to reach to them. In the end, she gained the students' respect. Mrs. Gruwell was someone who truly understood them and wanted to help them. All the other teachers were completely against what she was doing, but she didn't give up. Her passion for teaching really showed.  

Audre Lorde

In Audre Lorde's essay, she states that the lady in the library was very kind to her and 
offered to read her a story when she was throwing a tantrum. Because of her, Audre wanted to learn to read. Audre didn't have very good eye sight but she still tried to write even when she was yelled at. The nun at the other school seemed to be quite harsh. Although her teaching methods did seem to work slightly, Aubre still needed help. In fact, she relied on another class mate to tell her what page the lesson was on when she had to read out loud. Aubre was a fabulous reader, she helped her friend who couldn't read as well by whispering to him the words when it was his turn to read. 

Mona Lisa Smile Notes

Ms. Watson encourages Joan to live her dream of being a lawyer and gets her an application to Yale

She tries to get the girls out of the stereo typical "house wife"

Looks up law schools in Pennsylvania for Joan

"Not all who wander are aimless"

Freedom Writers Notes

Bryan doesn't care if the students stay or note but Erin wants them to come to class. She wants them to be lining up at the door.

She's wants to teach the kids even though they don't want to be taught.

She tries to relate to the kids interests to teach them English and poetry

Erin is fighting for the kids to have good books

Erin wants to help improve the kids lives

she goes against what other people say when they tell her to give up but she doesn't

Gets another job to pay for her kids books

Erin gets a third job for more money to pay for a trip for the kids

Erin makes them feel at home

Erin united all of the students

She went against every negative thing people said about her students so she could educate them

She treated them as equals

Gives them hope

Erin is devoted to the kids even outside of school

Erin fights to teach her students their junior year

She ends up teaching them junior and senior year

doesn't let her husband get in between her and her students

What Makes a Good Teacher?

What makes a good teacher? Is it the amount of homework they give you? Is it how easy going they are? Or is it the fact that you actually passed their class? What do I say makes a good teacher? Passion. Passion, is the most important trait when it comes to teaching. If teaching is not what you love, then your student's will not love what you teach. A good teacher puts their heart into every class and are passionate about helping students and educating others. When a teacher loves what they're teaching and loves teaching it, it really shows through to the students and makes them excited about learning more. Me personally, I'm not a big fan of history at all; but that all changed my junior year of high school when I took an American History class with Stephen Pagaard. Stephen Pagaard is probably the most intelligent being on this planet. When it comes to teaching history, he's the best. He made me see history in a whole new way and got me excited about each and every class I had with him. You could literally ask this man anything about history and he could answer it in full text book detail without hesitation. The education I got from this man is one of the best educations I've had all my years in high school. It was such an amazing class that I took his AP European History my senior year. Now, Pagaard can be a harsh critique when it comes to homework, but he's fair. Some students think his class is way to hard, but you actually learn in that class. I've gone through so many classes where the teacher is dull and boring and only cares about their pay check. But I bet you anything Pagaard would teach history for free. He had such passion for teaching! He actually won best history teacher award in the state of Washington. Cool, huh? He's amazing! And you may think he was some uptight nerd who was a bore to talk to. Never. Never did I go a day in his class without laughing like crazy! He was such a funny guy! I could go on and on about Pagaard but then I'd be writing an essay, which I have to do pretty soon anyway. 

In conclusion, when it comes to teaching, passion is key. :)

TED Notes Ken Robinson

Education is a huge topic to talk about

Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it the same

Kids aren't afraid of being wrong
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you're not prepared to be original." 

"We are educating people out of their creative capacities." 

"Everyone is born an artist."

"If we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it."

Arts are on the bottom of the educational system

The purpose of public education is to create university professors 

Intelligence is diverse, dynamic, distinct 

Creativity is also interactive