Through Their Eyes

In my 17 years of schooling, I’m not sure how many times we were shown films in class that took place in a classroom setting as well. I would call it cliché if it weren’t for the revolutionary premises of these movies. The Freedom Writers is definitely one of them.

We watched this film last Friday, which was a pleasant break from the routine of didactics and discussions. The film took place in a time more or less lost to us (because most of us were infants in the early 90s), suffice to say, the flow of ideas and open-mindedness in general was hard to find. Division between races was rampant and boundaries were numerous; I honestly can’t imagine being a student circumstances like those, let alone a teacher.

We were able to see the importance of how teaching requires patience from all of us to be able to step into the shoes of our learners and see through their eyes; what may work for us may not work for them. In our batch alone, we already function through different learning styles – adding cultural differences and racial hostility into the mix might make us give up teaching altogether. 

It’s a learning experience for us to-be teachers as well; as physical therapists, we will have to adapt to the individual needs of our clients and to be more aware of their differences. We can't expect them to come from a singular cohort so there’s a certain kind of compassion that’s asked from all of us if we want our students to achieve true learning, which is what every individual deserves.