Philippine Normal University

Taft Avenue, Manila

National Center For Teacher Education

A REACTION PAPER

Submitted to:
Prof. Ali F. Anudin
Submitted by:
Jessa B. Contado
III-14 BSE English
 I watched the movie titled “Finding Forrester”, a 2000 American drama film written by
Mike Rich and directed by Gus Van Sant. This movie is all about a Black American teenager
whose name is Jamal Wallace who, because of his good academic performance in a regular
public high school, was offered to attend a private and of a good standing high school. By this
time, he became friends with William Forrester who happened to be his neighbor and in the
beginning, he didn’t know as a famous writer of a book they are going to analyze and give their
asssumptions about. Through the latter’s tutelage, Jamal gradually developed his natural talent in
writing until his professor, Robert Crawford, noticed something familiar and peculiar about his
quick development in writing. But because he promised Forrester that he would not reveal his
identity, he kept it to himself although it asked him to sacrifice his scholarship and good standing
in his new school. Indeed, this movie brought its viewers in the reality of friendship, that it can
stand the test of trust and truth, furthermore, that writing is a process brought about by heart and
head.

It is unsual for a Black American student to be both into sports and academics during the
1960s-1980s. Jamal Wallace was a kind of a young man that doesn’t want to exhibit his unusual
talents because that is dictated by their culture that time. But when he met William Forrester
through a “not-so-ideal” way and later giving him a letter of apology which Forrester gave a big
feedback to, his disposition begun to change. I find it very unusual for a person to have a
minimal focus on the bad thing did to him instead concentrate on th offender’s good side. A lot
of people nowadays would not do it. But Forrester is different which is why Jamal grew to trust
him. That begun their friendship.

They have a vast difference, first is their nationality, their views in life and their age.
Nonetheless, this huge difference between them did not hamper the kind of friendship they grew
to have as time goes by. Their broad gap is bridged by a common interest—writing. When I
realized this, I was interested because writing for me is real way of communicating what really is
in one’s heart and mind and a lot of people make writing an avenue to create something
meaningful out of themselves and I am one of those people. I love to write about my feelings and
insights and most of the things I cannot say directly, Iwrite instead. It is a way for me to organize
my thoughts and bring out my insights to things that catch my attention but like Jamal, who at
first has to refine his writing abilities, I still have a long way to go before becoming an effective
writer.

However, in the course of their friendship, he submitted a paper done in Forrester’s

apartment, which he really forbade him to take out. In this case, the title and the first paragraph
of the essay is Forrester’s so Jamal was accused of committing plagiarism unless he admitted it
or tell the board that he was granted permission to use them. However, he neither resorted to any
option so as to protect Forrester’s secret. This meant his scholarship’s probable cancellation but
hie prized his friendship with Forrester more than anything else. I was really touched by what
Jamal did to keep his friend’s secret. I would say that this is what true friendship is all about—
protecting your friend and keeping your promises to him/her no matter what the circumstances
entails. I already made many friends and I would say that I just found few whom I could really
trust wholeheartedly.

In the height of the tension, however, Forrester succored Jamal and returned his honor through
reading in the writing competition Jamal’s written work. Jamal and Forrester, friendship became
ever deeper as Jamal’s writing talents soared to great heights. Their friendship became like a
father-son relationship that when William Forrester died, he left a package to Jamal, the key of
his apartment and Forrester’s second manuscript titled “Sunset” withwhich Jamal has to write the
foreword.

The movie was a aportrayal of a lasting and true friendship and a lasting love of writing.
It was a succesful movie that was able to make these two concepts bloom in a single blast. True
friendship is a gem that is rarely found in one’s life. Onsequently, it calls for a person to act like
one—a true friend. To achieve it, I have to work hard and be selfless because it is just the way it
is.It also increased my desire to continue to write but not only that; write according to, first, what
my heart is telling me and secondly, wht my head directs me. Writing is all about what it is that I
want to write and how I am going to write it. That is why it is paramount that I should develop
both the content and the conventions to effectively convey what I mean through writing.
 LESSON PLAN IN TEACHING WRITING

I. Objectives
Construct a paragraph effectively using supporting details in each topic
sentence.
Do peer editing using a set of criteria.
II. Subject Matter
Topic: Smoking
References: Badger R. and White G. ‘A Process Genre Approach to
Teaching Writing’.pp.154-155
Materials:
Worksheets
Whiteboard markers
Pictures of smoking people

IV. Learning Sequence:

Pre-writing

Composing/Drafting

Revising

Editing