Erin Gruwell
Encyclopedia
Erin Gruwell is an American
teacher known for her unorthodox teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
(1999). The 2007 film Freedom Writers
is based on her inspirational story.
, in La Verne, California, and the University of California, Irvine
, where she received the Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award. She earned her Master’s Degree and teaching credentials from California State University, Long Beach
, where she was honored as Distinguished Alumna by the School of Education.
in 1994 at Woodrow Wilson High School
in Long Beach, California
. She was assigned the lowest-performing students in the school (computer generated IDs randomly selected the students she was to teach). One student, a boy she referred to as "Sharaud", seemed determined to make her life miserable. He had transferred to Wilson from a rival high school where he had allegedly threatened his teacher with a gun. However, a few months into the school year one of her other students passed a note depicting Sharaud (an African American
) with extremely large lips. Gruwell told the class that that was the type of caricature that the Nazis had used during the Holocaust. When only one of the students knew what the Holocaust was, Gruwell changed the theme of her curriculum to tolerance. Gruwell took the students to see Schindler's List
, bought new books out of her own pocket and invited guest speakers.
After her year of student teaching, Gruwell returned to Wilson as a full teacher, this time with a class of freshmen. Her fall semester got off to a rocky start due to student protests of Proposition 187. But Gruwell persevered, and reached her students by asking them to make movies of their lives, keep journals, and relating the family feud in Romeo and Juliet
to a gang
war. She also had the students read books written by and about other teenagers in times of war, such as The Diary of a Young Girl
, Zlata's Diary
and Night
. Writing journals became a solace for many of the students, and because the journals were shared anonymously, teenagers who once refused to speak to someone of a different race became like a family.
In the fall of 1995, Gruwell gave each of her students a bag full of new books and had them make a toast for change. After that, she saw a turnaround in them. The students went on to surprise everyone. All 150 Freedom Writers graduated from high school and many went on to attend college.
Between 1994 and 1998, the Freedom Writers garnered a great deal of media coverage, including appearances on PrimeTime Live
, The View and Good Morning America
.
. Gruwell later went on to start the Freedom Writers Foundation
, which aspires to spread the Freedom Writers method across the country.
In 2000, 30 years old, Gruwell ran for Congress in CA-38. She did not win.
The Freedom Writers Diary
is a 1999 book written by Erin Gruwell. It is the basis of the 2007 movie Freedom Writers
, starring Hilary Swank
.
She has written an autobiographical account of her experiences, entitled Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers, published around the same time as the movie's release.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
teacher known for her unorthodox teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
The Freedom Writers Diary
The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them is a non-fiction 1999 book written by The Freedom Writers, a group of students from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, and their teacher Erin Gruwell. It is the...
(1999). The 2007 film Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers is a 2007 American drama film starring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach,...
is based on her inspirational story.
Education
Gruwell is a graduate of Bonita High SchoolBonita High School
Bonita High School is a high school located in the city of La Verne, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Opened in 1903, it was the first high school in the Bonita Unified School District. It moved to its current campus in 1959. The majority of its students come from Ramona...
, in La Verne, California, and the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, where she received the Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award. She earned her Master’s Degree and teaching credentials from California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
, where she was honored as Distinguished Alumna by the School of Education.
Teaching Job
Gruwell was born in California, United States. She began student teachingStudent teaching
Student teaching is a college-supervised instructional experience; usually the culminating course in a university/college undergraduate education or graduate school program leading to teacher education and certification. Examples of programs include Early Childhood , Middle Childhood , and...
in 1994 at Woodrow Wilson High School
Wilson Classical High School
Woodrow Wilson Classical High School is a secondary school in Long Beach, California. It is part of the Long Beach Unified School District and opened in 1925.-Overview:Wilson High School opened in 1925 as the second school in the city....
in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. She was assigned the lowest-performing students in the school (computer generated IDs randomly selected the students she was to teach). One student, a boy she referred to as "Sharaud", seemed determined to make her life miserable. He had transferred to Wilson from a rival high school where he had allegedly threatened his teacher with a gun. However, a few months into the school year one of her other students passed a note depicting Sharaud (an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
) with extremely large lips. Gruwell told the class that that was the type of caricature that the Nazis had used during the Holocaust. When only one of the students knew what the Holocaust was, Gruwell changed the theme of her curriculum to tolerance. Gruwell took the students to see Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
, bought new books out of her own pocket and invited guest speakers.
After her year of student teaching, Gruwell returned to Wilson as a full teacher, this time with a class of freshmen. Her fall semester got off to a rocky start due to student protests of Proposition 187. But Gruwell persevered, and reached her students by asking them to make movies of their lives, keep journals, and relating the family feud in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
to a gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
war. She also had the students read books written by and about other teenagers in times of war, such as The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
, Zlata's Diary
Zlata's Diary
Zlata's Diary is a book by Zlata Filipović, who was a young girl living in Sarajevo while it was under siege in 1992....
and Night
Night (book)
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father, Shlomo, in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War...
. Writing journals became a solace for many of the students, and because the journals were shared anonymously, teenagers who once refused to speak to someone of a different race became like a family.
In the fall of 1995, Gruwell gave each of her students a bag full of new books and had them make a toast for change. After that, she saw a turnaround in them. The students went on to surprise everyone. All 150 Freedom Writers graduated from high school and many went on to attend college.
Between 1994 and 1998, the Freedom Writers garnered a great deal of media coverage, including appearances on PrimeTime Live
Primetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
, The View and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
After teaching
In 1998 after teaching for only four years, Gruwell left Wilson High School and became a Distinguished Teacher in Residence at California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
. Gruwell later went on to start the Freedom Writers Foundation
Freedom Writers Foundation
The Freedom Writers Foundation is a non-profit organization created to "inspire young, underprivileged students to pick up pens instead of guns." It was founded by Erin Gruwell, and John Tu is a benefactor....
, which aspires to spread the Freedom Writers method across the country.
In 2000, 30 years old, Gruwell ran for Congress in CA-38. She did not win.
The Freedom Writers Diary
The Freedom Writers Diary
The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them is a non-fiction 1999 book written by The Freedom Writers, a group of students from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, and their teacher Erin Gruwell. It is the...
is a 1999 book written by Erin Gruwell. It is the basis of the 2007 movie Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers is a 2007 American drama film starring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach,...
, starring Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
.
She has written an autobiographical account of her experiences, entitled Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers, published around the same time as the movie's release.
See also
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