TEACHING CHANGE

To teach change, one must consider the person’s inner self.

On our previous session, we watched the movie Freedom Writers for us to appreciate more the course. Besides the good plot and the great acting of the characters, the movie taught me things that I should consider when handling my patients in the future.

First, the movie emphasized the importance of building rapport. In any circumstances, a person should always know someone personally before entering in their lives. In this case, the teacher listened first to the needs of the students before guiding them in the right path. The student should feel that he/she can trust the teacher in order for him/her to open up and comply.

Second, the movie also showed the holistic view of a person. People behave not just because they wanted to but they underwent certain experiences which made them change their values in life. By knowing their story, you can create your own tunnel to their hearts and start to realize the real things that they needed. People don’t need another spectator to push them away, but rather they need open-minded individuals who can see them as an agent of change.

Lastly, the movie made me realized that we should look at the people as capable of helping themselves. As PTs, we should always remember that their improvements were not due to us alone. We should put in our hearts that these people can facilitate change by themselves even if we step away from the scene. This is where teaching enters as we help them not by giving the people “fish” but by teaching them “how to fish”.

With the lessons I have in this movie, I hope I could spark some light to their lives and guide them to help themselves to keep the light until the end. 

“But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room” – Miep Gies (Freedom Writers, 2007).