Intro to "The Insiders and Outsiders of Freedom Writers"

As I watched the movie Freedom Writers, I felt very strongly about its message and the theme of the story. Especially knowing that this is a true story I instantly felt connected with the characters. Also, since my girlfriend is a teacher, I was drawn to this storyline that portrays a young teacher struggling through her first year while facing groups of insiders and outsiders. As I responded to this movie in a discussion board that would be read by my classmates, I was able to show my voice through my writing since I felt so connected with the movie. In my response I wrote “This teacher, who thought she would be in an insider group with the other staff, begins to become more of an insider with her students. This in turn loses respect from her staff as she is clearly an outsider to their group, but this is also the point when she is making the biggest impact on her students’ learning.” This type of public writing challenged me as a writer because I had to put my voice into my writing even though I knew others might read it and disagree. Even though it was a public forum, I needed to share my true feeling while keeping my audience in mind.