'Dangerous Minds' Reading Response (1)

After reading these excerpts, it is clear the authors are desiring better and similar outcomes for the inequalities in the American school system. In these readings, there are similar themes of which not only include addressing housing inequalities but also the unhealthy correlation between family demographics, unenthusiastic or unwilling teachers, and uninterested students. 
As I mentioned in my 'Dangerous Minds' post, the movie highlighted the underlying problems within the poorer schools and the board of education. For example, Mrs. Johnson was hired after three teachers quit due to the high amount of stress and unfair salary wages. The stress was mainly induced from the students who were, at first, unwilling to listen and respect their new teacher. Although, as mentioned in Kozol's chapter about the children in North Lawndale, Chicago, the students are reacting in response to the teacher's inability to show genuine interest in their learning (despite financial problems); "...'I have a low fifth grade,' he says without enthusiasm, then-although he scarcely knows me-launches into an attack upon the principle, the neighborhood, and the school" (46). This encounter Kozol has with a teacher not only highlights the frustration amongst the teachers but also the easy willingness to blame others for their problems. This is an aspect I greatly appreciated about Mrs. Johnson, she was willing to try and help her students and never gave-up on them despite their inappropriate behavior.

The students' actions though, are not an entire reflection of who they are but rather the tragic and unfair social segregation that occurs in nearly every city. In both of the readings, the authors mention 'magnet schools' or the 'magnet system' which essentially are the schools with better funding and thus a white-dominant population. These 'magnet schools' draw-in richer parents, and consequently, more funding towards better schools leaving non-white dominant schools with the scraps. The improper and unequal school system is a revolving door and no one is to blame. The problems with students in poorer schools, in terms of extremely low graduation rates, is not only because of the teachers' lack of enthusiasm, but a combination of unequal funding and increased housing segregation, or as Orfield states, "[The] toxic combination of minority isolation and racial bias deepens inequality" (43). Minority isolation occurs when housing in certain areas become cheaper or more affordable which consequently draws in poorer families. The location of a student's upbringing absolutely impacts their level of education. Orfield and Kozol both argue this concept and believe is a central problem to inequitable and unequal education. What should be done by this then? That has been a problem for decades and continues to be a problem. Personally, the only way students will receive better education is from a combination of ways: (1) Higher tax collection from the rich and better distribution, (2) Enthusiastic teachers and, (3) Affordable housing for all. Easier said than done, I know. I also feel as though I do not know enough about the politics for my ideas to seem less naive. Although, if there was more funding towards the schools that need it, and a better housing market, that will eventually draw better teachers who will hopefully be enthusiastic and improve the education system.

To finish up, I think it is important for me to address my naivety about the education system. As I mentioned in my autobiography, I was raised in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is an extremely white city that has one of the best public school system in Colorado. This is no coincidence though, the average house in Boulder is now above one million dollars and the residents come from well-educated, white families (which I have observed are mainly from Chicago and California). The presence of the University of Colorado also brings in a lot of city-revenue. So, going to a public school was no issue for me nor 4,000+ other kids. Despite this, I have definitely come across unenthusiastic teachers and my high school needed desperate work on the physical state of its building. Education is not only determined by good teachers and enough supplies but also the effort a student is willing to put into their work.

Kozol, J. (1991). Other people’s children: North Lawndale and the South Side of Chicago. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.

Orfield, G. (2013). Housing segregation produces unequal schools: Causes and solutions. In P.L. Carter & K.G. Welner (Eds.) Closing the opportunity gap (pp. 40- 60). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

'Dangerous Minds' Film Review

The 1995 film, 'Dangerous Minds' directed by John N. Smith, highlights a group of troubled students' lives and the lengths a teacher will go to change their lives. The story begins with Michelle Pfeiffer's character, Louanne Johnson applying for a student-teacher job but instead is asked to be a full-time teacher at the 'Academy.' The English literature teacher was thus unprepared for what happened next. As an ex-marine as well, Mrs. Johnson was expecting a well-behaved classroom of students ready and excited to learn. Instead, the classroom was full of students calling her 'white-bread,' making loud noises, intimidating her, and even sexualizing her. Wade Dominquez's character, Emilio Ramirez, thus comes into play, as he hits on Mrs. Johnson it is clear he is the leader, so to speak, of the class. Upset and angry, Mrs. Johnson walks out of the room and believes she cannot teach these students. Her new coworker, Hal Griffith played by George Dzundza, speaks with her and convinces her that she can do it, all she needs to do is get their attention and respect. For the next few classes, Mrs. Johnson teaches karate, mirrors the energy of the class (dresses in black and leather), and tells the students they all have A's and all they have to do is try. One of the first lessons she gives the students is to pick a verb to replace 'want' in the sentence 'we want to die.' The theme of choice is thus introduced as it invokes a thought-provoking concept amongst the students.

For the rest of the movie, the concept of always having a choice is repeated. It is seen in Renoly Santiago's character, Raul Sanchero- he has a choice to fight Emilio, a choice to get expelled, and a choice to come to class. Along with Emilio Ramirez, he has a choice to fight Raul, to murder an enemy, and a choice to come to class. Mrs. Johnson's determination and unconditional willingness to help her students gave them the light and inspiration for a better future. By telling her students they have a choice to be on the streets or in class, she also receives their respect. Despite this, outside responsibilities still take control of some of the stuents' lives. It is seen in Bruklin Harris's character, Callie Roberts, who becomes pregnant or Emilio who had to fight an ex-convict and consequently is murdered.

 

'Dangerous Minds' is a powerful movie for anyone who is or has been involved with the school system. Instead of having a setting in a white-dominant school, the film is set in a poorer environment which highlights the complex lives of troubled students, and the reasons for their behavior in class. Michelle Pfeiffer's character is able to gain their respect and attention which steadily increases throughout the movie. 'Dangerous Minds' not only highlights the issues of troubled students in school and the student-teacher relationship but it also highlights the underlying issues with the board of education. Namely, Mrs. Johnson was hired after three teachers quit because they believed they were not getting enough money for the amount of work and amount of stress that is involved with the job. Additionally, how there isn't enough funding for supplies and more teachers hired to make the over-crowding in the classrooms more bearable. Off of that, the teachers that are willing to work there cannot always follow the strict curriculum, which does not always correlate with what the students are interested in or capable of learning. 'Dangerous Minds' further reveals the complicated spider-web of problems that is the school system. Despite this, there are some problems that I have with this film.

If I were to rate this movie out of five stars, I would give it three to four. I thought a majority of the content was interesting and extremely thought-provoking, although, I was concerned about the way the writers directed Michelle's Pfeiffer's character. She was perfect for acting as a naive teacher who eventually gained the balls to command the class and her overall character, personally, is an excellent example of an amazing teacher. Although, her unconditional willingness to help her students honestly seemed a little exaggerated and fake. I have never seen or heard of a teacher take a student out to dinner as a reward, come to a student's house, or even lend them $200. Do not get me wrong, I think Mrs. Johnson is an excellent teacher and if I wanted to become a teacher I would admire her work. My opinion may also be swayed because I did not grow-up in a poor environment and nearly every student knew how to respect their teachers. Other than giving an example of excellent teaching, I believe this movie's aims were to highlight the problems with the board of education. As I mentioned before, the movie had many example of the problems. The problems though, were only slightly dissected and I thought the writers could have gone more into detail by potentially comparing the issues to other schools or having Michelle Pfeiffer's character lash-out more. There were plenty of moments I thought the movie could have gone more into detail. I would have also liked more character development with the principle, Emilio and his girlfriend, and Hal Griffith. I thought they were important characters in Mrs. Johnson's life but did not have as much depth as I would like. 
Despite all of this, after watching this film for the first time, I would absolutely recommend others to watch it. I thought it was interesting how it was told from a teacher's perspective and how the main theme was about choosing your fate. I also believe we have the power to choose our fate.

Who am I? An Introduction

Let me just say, I am always lost when it comes to writing an autobiography. Autobiographies are difficult to truly convey who you are, especially when you don't understand yourself in the first place. I can only communicate the basics to the audience and even then it seems like an over-generalization. Although, since this is a film review blog, I will orchestrate my background information around my experiences with film and education.

Me, 2016

To begin, my name is Caroline Bertini and I am from Boulder, Colorado. I am 20 years old and currently a junior at Western Colorado University. I am studying to become an Occupational Therapist but my degree is going to be in psychology with an emphasis in clinical and school counseling. I also am receiving a minor in art and biology and I am a member of the honors program here at Western, which should be considered another minor within itself. If you cannot tell, I am a school-oriented person in the sense that learning and academics are one of the most important aspects of my life. I currently have a GPA of 3.95 and have been a member of Western's dean list for my whole college career. Despite my current in-school success, I have not always been as fond of going to school and learning as I am now.

When I was four years old, my parents tested me for any learning disabilities or brain abnormalities that might impair my schooling. I was soon diagnosed with a mild form of Dyslexia. This learning disability didn't impact my learning as much as some people thought it would so consequently, I was placed in a special program at my school. This program though, consisted of students who had severe autism, in the sense that a few could not read or write whatsoever and were physically handicapped. Being placed in that program affected me greatly. Since I had to be taken out of class to go learn something I already knew about, my classmates stigmatized me and thought I wasn't smart. My teachers did the same as well, they didn't believe nor allowed me to read a "harder" book when I could. I spent years with tutors outside of school and countless hours reading out-loud to my mother in order to increase my reading abilities and to make me feel "normal." My elementary years were painful and extremely frustrating not only for the learning aspect but for my socialization. Although, without the pressure of my parents and the devastating affects of the social stigma around learning disabilities, I would not be here today. You could say I proved those guys wrong and yes, I may have overcompensated a little.

In respects to education as a whole, I hold teachers (especially elementary teachers) to a higher standard than most. School effects children more than anyone can imagine. On average, a student spends eight hours, five days a week, for 15+ years inside school walls surrounded by the same students and teachers. Education is extremely important for young people and greatly impacts their beliefs, values, and even to some extent, the formation of their personality.

In respects to film and education, I believe films do not incorporate the harsh realities of school to the extent that they should. Of course, displaying those harsh realities may be too difficult to accomplish. Movies that have captured education in the best way, personally, include 'Dead Poets Society' and the 2018 movie, 'Eighth Grade.' I appreciate these movies because they were able to convey the angst of coming to age while in school. 'Dead Poets Society' entails the story of a group of young private school boys who are motivated academically by their "controversial" English professor. 'Eighth Grade' depicts the story of a young girl growing up with technology in school and the challenges of not only increased self-awareness but social media standards.

'Eighth Grade'

I appreciate these movies and others that are able to capture a snapshot of a person's or group of persons lives to the finest details. Like I mentioned, school impacts people more than some will ever know, and the consequences are not always fixable for they morph a person's values, personality, and how people treat one another. Growing up with dyslexia, social stigmas, and the increased usage of technology, schooling has greatly affected who I am today. Hopefully, with the aid of films, will people, and myself, better understand the education system and challenge the way we think of schooling.