Friday, August 31, 2007

Freedom Writer

Just watched Freedom Writers, and it is hella of a good movie. Maybe the timing is just right, that I am on the topic of race and ethnicity in school and watched other movies that deals with the problem of ethnicity, including Hairspray.

The story is base on a true story, where a new teacher went to her school and was allocated a class of so call unteachables. One might argue that this movie is just another kind of good teacher show like GTO, but I feel otherwise.

The ethnicity issues in the show are very personal and certain issues make you question certain fundamentals that you believe in. Of course I do not live the troubled life like the students in the show, but I certainly do relate to the ethnic diversity in the show, which is quite reflective of Singapore or even NUS, which brings me to wonder why certain aspects that are so obvious to us but yet we can be so oblivion to it and not even talk about it.


**Trailer of Freedom Writers**

There is an official website for the original Freedom Writers where they are conducting courses for teachers and schools, and trying to improve the education system. http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/site/c.kqIXL2PFJtH/b.2300095/k.E351/Overview.htm

As compared to the movie, my lecture on race and ethnicity today was more cheerly and bright since my lecturer is such an interesting lecturer. She brought up some interesting views on the Multiracialism system in Singapore, which initially I thought was a good and practical system since it serves it's function, however now i do have doubts about it's effectiveness in preserving the diversity, or whether integration would be a better policy.

Afterall, the only way for harmony would be for people to realise that we are the same. Strangely, my lecturer for Engineering Professionalism actually had the same idea as me, that only in the event of a invasion of Earth by aliens would human actually unite to face the common enemies. After all these years, she is the first person that actually say this, and she is an activist. Such a coincidence that this semester I have a bit too many lecturers who are so passionate about their stuff.

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