Freedom Writers

It's 1994 in Long Beach, California. Idealistic Erin Gruwell is just starting her first teaching job, that as freshman and sophomore English teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School, which, two years earlier, implemented a voluntary integration program. For many of the existing teachers, the integration has ruined the school, whose previously stellar academic standing has been replaced with many students who will be lucky to graduate or even be literate. Despite choosing the school on purpose because of its integration program, Erin is unprepared for the nature of her classroom, whose students live by generations of strict moral codes of protecting their own at all cost. Many are in gangs and almost all know somebody that has been killed by gang violence. The Latinos hate the Cambodians who hate the blacks and so on. The only person the students hate more is Ms. Gruwell. It isn't until Erin holds an unsanctioned discussion about a recent drive-by shooting death that she fully begins to understand what she's up against. And it isn't until she provides an assignment of writing a daily journal - which will be not graded, and will remain unread by her unless they so choose - that the students begin to open up to her. As Erin tries harder and harder to have resources provided to teach properly (which often results in her needing to pay for them herself through working second and third jobs), she seems to face greater resistance, especially from her colleagues, such as Margaret Campbell, her section head, who lives by regulations and sees such resources as a waste, and Brian Gelford, who will protect his "priviledged" position of teaching the senior honors classes at all cost. Erin also finds that her teaching job is placing a strain on her marriage to Scott Casey, a man who seems to have lost his own idealistic way in life.

Directed by

Richard LaGravenese

Freedom writers are pure inspiration for teachers and teens

"For many, its the start of a new day, but for me, its the continuation of a nightmare. Every day before I leave my mom me percina with the sign of the cross, praying that I come home safely."

So wrote a freedom writerone of Erin Gruwells "unteachable" Grade 9 English students in 1994. The Freedom Writers Diary, a collection of journal entries written by Gruwells students over a four-year period, reveals why some mothers were moved to pray for their child. These powerful testimonials describe students daily struggle to simply survive, let alone graduate secondary school in racially divided and poverty-plagued America. The book has recently enjoyed a welldeserved reprisal following the release of the movieFreedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank as Ms. Gruwell and a dynamic cast of young actors portraying the diverse and spirited students who find hope in Room 203.

In 1994, rioting in Los Angeles followed the verdict of the Rodney King trial. This set an ominous tone for Gruwells first year teaching at Wilson Smith High, a recently desegregated public school in Long Beach. The tensions students endured at home also occurred at schooland in Gruwells classroom. But after many setbacks, Gruwell changed teaching tactics. She began to listen to the students stories and to teach from their perspective. Students poured a litany of obstacles they faced into their diaries: racism, poverty, sexual abuse, gun violence, drug and alcohol addictions, and cruel peer pressure (including the abusive ritual of initiation with hazings). Gruwell respected the privacy of the journals (sharing was optional) and she did not grade students for this ongoing assignment. It all paid offher simple strategy opened a door to a whole new classroom relationship between teacher and students.

Next, Gruwell selected reading books she believed her students could identify with, including Holocaust literature such as The Diary of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesels Night. Students discovered parallels with their own lives. She also guided them to study freedom movements, and so the students dubbed themselves freedom writers. Gruwell brought in guest speakers and conducted field trips connected to themes of racial tolerance, compassion, and freedom. As the media got hold of the changes going on in Room 203, the publicity allowed Gruwell to tap into the communitys economic abundance. She fundraised for projects including a class trip to New York and sponsored prominent speakers, such as Zlata Filipovic, who wrote a diary from war-torn Sarajevo when she was a child. All these achievementsand moreare chronicled by the students in The Freedom Writers Diary.

The students of Room 203 moved on, and so did Ms. Gruwell, who is teaching her methods at the university level. She leaves the public school system as a brilliant shooting star and not a seasoned veteran who nevertheless made an important difference in many students lives and illuminated the power of the teaching profession.

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.