It’s always fun and inspiring to hear success stories. I decided to start by responding to the success story of Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers, which inspired the topic for this blog. Much like the “moan and groan” stories, one of which I will cover in my next post, Gruwell started her job with odds against her.
In the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, dubbed by the administration as “unteachable, at-risk” teenagers. The class was a diverse mix of African-American, Latino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students, many of whom had grown up in rough neighborhoods in Long Beach. In the first few weeks of class, the students made it clear that they were not interested in what their teacher had to say, and made bets about how long she would last in their classroom. Freedom Writers Foundation Home Page
As depicted in the movie, in the midst of her chaotic classroom she never broke up a fight herself or lost her temper over physical skirmishes in class. She was fortunate enough to have another adult that she could call in the room to break up fights while she sadly observed the tension in her class. If this is what really happened, I think it is what allowed her to have a strong relationship with these kids later on once she captured their attention. She never made it into a power struggle. She took the time to figure out what her students were passionate about, and taught them by harnessing that passion. She was sincere and honest in her teaching and had no intentions of babysitting or simply controlling her pupils. In one part of the movie, a student said something along the lines of, “why do we have to be here? What’s the point?”
Gruwell made sure there was a point. What I admire most about this woman, is that according to the true story website and the movie depiction, she used amazingly sound teaching strategies. She made sure that their assignments had an authentic purpose. She designed assignments so that they would have a real and meaningful audience. The students knew that they weren’t just “jumping through hoops” for a grade or being baby sat by her. I can’t think of a more authentic way to respond to the text of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank than to have students write to Miep Gies, the woman who hid the Frank family in Natzi Germany. As the article about the real Erin Gruwell puts it,
By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students’ lives. She encouraged them to rethink rigid beliefs about themselves and others, to reconsider daily decisions, and to rechart their futures. With Erin’s steadfast support, her students shattered stereotypes to become critical thinkers, aspiring college students, and citizens for change. They even dubbed themselves the “Freedom Writers” — in homage to civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders” — and published a book…
Currently, Erin serves as president of the Freedom Writers Foundation. She raises awareness by traveling nationwide to speak inside large corporations, government institutions, and community associations. But Erin’s capacity to convert apathy to action matters most at schools and juvenile halls, where any observer can watch the expressions of troubled teens shift from guarded cynicism to unabashed hopefulness. Erin Gruwell
The whole website is a great resource. I want to keep the Freedom Writers Foundation in mind if I someday become eligible to apply to undergo their training program for current teachers in at risk schools. Until then, I plan on picking up the book,
The Freedom Writers Diary – How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. Through poignant student entries and Erin’s narrative text, the book chronicles their “eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding.”
