Ecrire For Exister (Movie Review)
Un film magnifique, tres agréable et avec de bons acteurs. Il manque d’une violence mais cela ne fait pas mal, c’est un homme sérieux qui réalise de bonnes choses.
Ecrire pour exister est l’adaptation du livre The Freedom Writers Diary écrit par Erin Gruwell et ses élèves. Ce dramatique americain obtient 70 % des opinions favorables sur Rotten Tomatoes.
Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) is a young teacher at a Los Angeles high school. She’s insecure about her job and her students’ progress. But when a teacher’s assistant (Margaret Campbell) threatens to fire Erin for writing in class instead of testing students’ work, Erin must find a way to keep her students motivated.
The first day of school, the dreadful monotony and the blaring noises of the classroom are the same as every other school year. But for the students in Erin Gruwell’s class, this is anything but ordinary. For these high-school kids, the onset of classes is more than just a time to study for tests and finish assignments. It’s a time to express themselves and their ideas in ways that will make them feel heard.
Erin has chosen to use freedom writing to help her students overcome the many obstacles that stand between them and their potential for success in life. As she begins to see real results, including an increase in the students’ reading levels, they become more willing to share their writing with others. But when the teacher’s assistant (Margaret Campbell) threatens to fire Erin for writing in class instead of testing her students’ work, she must find a way to keep her students motivated.
Cette année, j’ai eu la chance de voir deux films qui me sont et continuent de m’amuser : Un avenir dans le noir de la Syrie du réalisateur Olivier Peyon et la tumultueuse vie de l’auteur grec Nikos Kazantzakis dans Insyriated.
C’est avec tristesse que je viens de lire l’article du dernier numéro de Pro Tem critiquant les heures consacrées à la langue française dans l’ensemble des cours FSL à Glendon. As the interim director of the Centre de formation linguistique, I’d like to tell you that it is a true honour to be part of such an amazing team of teachers and to witness such fantastic work being done by our students here at Glendon.
Freedom Writers
In 1994, idealistic teacher Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) enters a classroom of students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, a community plagued by drugs, gang warfare, and violent homicides. She takes the courageous step of letting her students know they can learn and achieve. Her unconventional approach to teaching inspires her class and changes their lives forever.
Erin uses the subjects that her students relate to in their everyday lives as the basis for their lessons, assigning them books and journals that deal with issues they face such as homelessness, racism, bullying, drug abuse and more. She encourages them to express themselves in their writing, and the teens quickly bond as a supportive group of friends. They call themselves the Freedom Writers. They overcome their divisions, shatter stereotypes and aspire to reach college.
However, the success of the class doesn’t come without its challenges. Erin’s refusal to conform to the rigid rules of the school system and her disregard for the authority figures in charge of the school draws the ire of Margaret Campbell (Margaret DeVito), the teacher’s assistant, who attempts to stop the progress of the Freedom Writers. Erin’s passion and determination to teach her students that knowledge is power ultimately pays off.
Twenty years after Freedom Writers first entered Room 203 at Wilson, the students still keep in touch with each other, and some have gone on to earn college degrees. Their story of courage and combating intolerance in their community has been made into a film starring Hilary Swank, and a PBS documentary won an Emmy. Erin and her former students continue to speak out on behalf of education reform and the fight against bullying, and her unconventional methods have been adopted by schools worldwide.