To Kill A Mockingbird Reflective Essay

Fortunate was I, to grow up in a rural community where almost everybody was the same. I blended in, was like almost all others. I have always felt I received a good education that prepared me fairly well for college and later family life. However, I had no idea how others in the world lived. I grew up in a nice part of town, where everybody I knew was married, middle-class, went to either the “big Lutheran” or Catholic church in town, and the vast majority had occupations relating to agriculture. Fast forward, I’m now a junior high social studies and science teacher living in that same small town. Here, a few ideals guide my teaching practice. The first is to instill a quality work ethic in the students; the second, to teach them to do

the right thing; and finally, that every student has a story to tell that influences their education and who they will become someday. As such, I can most certainly relate with the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird (Lee, 1960) and Freedom Writers (2007).
In To Kill A Mockingbird, we read a story about children growing up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The Finch family appears to be a well-respected family in their small, quaint town. Their social status is based on their long-standing local proprietorship at Finch’s Landing and the fact that they have been well-educated for generations. Though they are not wealthy in the 1935 setting due to the recent economic depression, they are still looked upon with high regard by most in the area. Atticus is a humble, honest lawyer in town with a moral conscience to guide his ways. His heart is in the right place, and he does his best to raise his children, Jem and Scout, in absence of their mother who had passed when daughter Scout was two years old. His hired help is Calpurnia, a black woman who has been with the Finch family for a number of years. The family has educated her, which has aided in the rearing of Jem and Scout. I enjoyed reading the story and envisioning the changes these children endure as they age. The requirement of attending school still applies, because it’s demanded by law, expected of us, the right thing to do, and we simply must attend school because it will help us get further in life, much to Scout’s dismay. The children see their father as an average man that others seem to admire, as noted throughout the story. It seems these children have not been made aware of the talents or notoriety possessed by Atticus Finch. After all, they had never seen him handle a weapon until he was asked to shoot a mad dog, and were quite surprised to hear, as written on page 97, that their father had been known as “One-Shot Finch,” that could shoot better than the Sheriff in town. Later in the story, the children learn that their father has been assigned to represent a black man who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, daughter of the despised Bob Ewell, the white man in town who managed to be the exception to most rules with a negative reputation that preceded him. The Finch children were advised to hold their heads high, do the right thing, and hold their tongues. Throughout the trial, the children learned a tremendous about social roles, social classes, telling the truth in good conscience, and that life isn’t fair. Children believe right and wrong is as simple as black and white, but even as it is assumed that Atticus cast reasonable doubt that Tom Robinson could not have taken advantage of Mayella Ewell, jury members were too engrained in their social roles to acquit Tom Robinson. It really proved that there was no such thing as freedom or justice at that time; the color of one’s skin held precedence, as was implied in Chapter 21 of the story. There was some reassurance, though, as the local citizens turned out and showed their appreciation of Atticus’s dedication to prove Tom’s innocence. Sadly, Tom leapt for a chance of freedom and was killed in the prison yard. It’s alarming to me the simple prejudices based on skin color, a physical characteristic not of one’s own choice. The lesson of Adolf Hitler and his persecution of Jews was quite similar on premise, but the children of Maycomb avoided the assimilation to their local case. At the close of the story, we read that the Finch children were attacked by Bob Ewell, whom sought his own form of justice to get back at Atticus for making a fool of him while on the stand during the Tom Robinson trial. Atticus Finch is so concerned with how the death of Bob Ewell may look on him and his children, he insists they handle things right from the start. He was most concerned that Sheriff Heck Tate was favoring him, though Sheriff Tate insists Bob Ewell died of a self-inflicted stab wound as written on page 276. As the story closes, we see the informal education Scout has acquired, at last looking at things differently with a new perspective. This is truly where I feel a majority of true education, be it formal or informal, takes place. We must change our thought processes from time to time and apply what we have learned to move forward.
We see similar experiences in the motion picture Freedom Writers (2007). My first year teaching was a very challenging year, much like Ms. Gruwell’s, so this video had me interested right away. I had been out of formal teaching for seven long years, but was so excited to get into the classroom, meet my students, and accomplish big things. I certainly admire the courage and tenacity of Ms. Erin Gruwell. She gave every ounce of energy she could to help her students. She truly loved them and believe in them. Even when odds were against the students in terms of reading and writing skills and even faculty members, she took a road less traveled, found common ground with and among the students, and progressed from there. She called out students and the chips on their shoulders admitting she had never walked in their shoes, managed to unite the class, found relevant themes and lessons that students could relate to, and pushed them to do their best. She broke down incredible barriers to do her job, even at the sake of her husband. She jumped into the profession with both feet, made a splash, and really taught those student both formally and informally. Her students’ lives were possibly not easier, but perhaps more meaningful. I loved the idea that Ms. Gruwell encouraged the students to journal every day. They wrote their story that nobody else knew or could experience. I can only assume this process helped each student relieve some of the pressure exerted on them, and also allowed them to tell their stories so others could try walk a mile in their shoes. I dare to think it may have been a release for them from the everyday horrors in their lives. Perceptions of others guide a lot of decisions, but those perceptions are far from reality as suggested by both works and what we know from our own personal experiences.
There were a number of themes in both To Kill A Mockingbird and Freedom Writers that struck me.

First of them, as is written by Harper Lee as Scout’s lesson on democracy, it most certainly is not realistically, “equal rights for all, special privileges for none.” Page 245 continues that the teacher, Miss Gates, said, “…Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced.” It seems so contradictory that Miss Gates said this, when clearly as decided that summer before school started, that all people were not treated equal. People were not treated equally then in 1935 as the story is set, or even today in 2015. Along the same lines, I say that freedom most certainly is not free. Someone has a price to pay for it, and it is easy to become jaded from personal experiences. Eva in Freedom Writers saw her father taken to jail for a crime, and vowed to stay faithful to her ethnic group. Thankfully, she told the truth when placed on the stand for a shooting committed by a male she associated with, and she later paid a price for doing the right thing and then lived in fear for quite some time. A third situation that stood out was that some students in both To Kill A Mockingbird and Freedom Writers, students would bully their classmates in hopes of breaking the classmate down and building up themselves. Students knew better, but chose not to do the right

thing.
As we look to racial tension that continues today, I am initially aggravated when I hear the phrase, “Black lives matter.” I often reply, “Don’t all lives matter? Aren’t we all people just the same?” For me who has grown up where almost everybody is the same social and economic class with little deviation, it probably is easy to think and feel this way. After reading this book and watching this film, however, I realize I have very little idea what it would be like to be of a different group. My only experiences like this have been when I travel to areas like Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Texas, or Denver, Colorado. There, the diversity is much greater, and it may be easy to be a target. I do feel my apprehension rise and my nerves become more sensitive. This is temporary. I have not lived this. I have not seen the horrors others have seen. I am blessed beyond measure that I live where I do and experience little adversity. I have no right to judge, no matter what the issue. Skin color, religious affiliation, personal experiences. None of it. I have taken so much for granted, and though I am extremely thankful, at times, I should be ashamed.
Although situations referenced above and in these stories are not new, they are common, unfortunate, and need to be addressed. I wish I had all the answers, but until I do, I will continue to relate to the characters Scout and Ms. Gruwell in these stories. I will try to be fair with my students at all times. I will strive to make content relevant and build relationships with the students to help them learn the important lessons before them. I will dedicate my time, talents, and dedication to them. I will do my best every single day as I have the last few years, and I will do my best to leave stereotypes at the door and see them as equally as possible. I will try to meet my students at least half-way and attempt to walk in their shoes. Each student deserves it, and I believe each of them is capable of great, incredible things.

References
Devito, D., Shamberg, M., & Sher, S. (Producers), & LaGravenese R., & Swank, H. (Directors).
(2007). The freedom writers [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. NY: Warner Books, Inc.