Freedom Writer Teachers

Listening to Ms. Pyles discuss her experience at the Juvenile Detention Center opened me up to various teaching options that I usually overlooked. For example, before hearing her talk, I immediately held the bias against urban schools and wanted to get a job in suburban America. After listening to how she cared for her students and showed them they love they did not get at home, I realized that I wanted to become a teacher in an urban school district. The story she told about the boy whose grandfather shot his dog at a young age brought tears to my eyes. Some students just do not get the support from their home lives as other students. In most urban schools and detention centers, I am sure it is easier to see the impact one has on a student's life; I want to be that impact.

Another part of her presentation I liked was the peanut mini-lesson. At first, seeing that I was hungry, I just wanted to eat the peanut. After learning the lesson in the peanut game though, I realized how important it was for all students to know. It's easy to judge someone from the outside, but the inside is what is hard. I hope to utilize that lesson in all of my classes at the very beginning of the year to attempt to lower bullying in my classes.

The last idea of the Freedom Writer Teachers presentation that appealed to me was the aspect of journal writing. I enjoy journaling in my own free time, and I feel that having my students keep a journal that I only privately read would be beneficial to them as well. Adolescence can be a difficult time and writing can help these adolescents focus their thoughts. Through it all, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Pyles presentation and think that all future teachers should witness a speaker such as this.