"Freedom Writers"

Yesterday I watched a film called "Freedom Writers." It is about new high school teacher who is placed in a class with kids that are expected to drop out and join street gangs and amount to nothing in life. Mrs. Gruwell doesn't want to believe that and begins to teach the students but with great difficulty. It is not until she finally confronts them all about racism and the holocaust that the students begin to listen, believing that they relate to the situation on the streets of Los Angeles.
I believe that this film relates a lot to humanities because it showed just how much writing and literature can really change a person. When the class had to read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, they related to it. Also when they had to journal everday just about anything they wanted they felt like they could finally let their feelings out through writing. It showed me how humanities is very important in the world because it is a way to express feelings that can be trapped inside us--good or bad. The students became more friendly with Mrs. Gruwell and even the other students in the class. It just shows how writing, art, or any other humanities can make a huge impact on someone.
All the students ended up graduating high school and it is based on true story. I thought this film really related to this humanities class when it comes to how much it can change a person.

"The Wind"

"The Wind" by James Stephens

The wind stood up and gave a shout.
He whistled on his fingers and

Kicked the withered leaves about
And thumped the branches with his hand

And said he'd kill and kill and kill,
And so he will and so he will.

I read this poem the other day in my English textbook and I thought about how humanities and poetry fit well together because people have loved to write and read poems all throughout time. From the rhymes that we hear as children to the great sonnets of Shakespeare, it is amazing how far this creative writing has come. I thought this particular poem was interesting how the author gave life to something in mother nature as it gave wind human characteristics. It is fun to read and it is the reason why it has become a popular poem. People love to be imaginative with words and this is a great example. It is the same reason why people love fairy tales or books about science fiction. Or it is even just seen as a different way to describe something ordinary, rather than just saying "the wind blew fiercely" the author wanted to give it life. This is important to people because poetry has enriched the world around us and is a big part of the humanities.