Freedom Writers

Freedom writers is a book consisting of the diary entries of a classroom of a troubled youth from the inner cities struggling just to make it through each day. A courageous and kind-hearted teacher, Ms. Erin Gruwell took on the class as a first year teacher at Woodrow Wilson High school in Long Beach, California. She pushed past the students’ reputations, lack of funds and non supportive co-workers to help these kids achieve something many of them thought they’d never ever do: Graduate high school and go to college. I truly enjoyed reading the book and found so many of the stories touching and it amazes me how hard some kids have to work past the unfortunate family life or background they come from. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to have grown up in a city like Cary.

I especially enjoyed reading the diary entries from Ms. Gruwells point of view because it gives you an inside feel to what kind of environment it is from someone who grew up in a society similar to what we live in. Her entries gave proof to how much she cared for these students and all of the discrimination and negativity she overcame just to prove to these kids she wanted them to succeed and that she was willing to go the distance to help them. In the movie they mentioned the fact Steven Spielberg invited the students to meet him at Universal Studios I think that was a huge deal for kids from backgrounds like that to meet a world famous movie director who wanted to help them after finding out they were being discriminated against. I also like the diary entry on the alcoholic girl because to a certain degree it was relatable.

Everyone can look normal on the outside and have that perfect life and nobody would suspect anything could ever be wrong but inside everyone has their own battle they are fighting and their own troubles nobody would ever even think to realize or notice. It just makes me think that we should all try and be a little more aware of things going on with other people not just ourselves or our family. I was also happy to read how she overcame it through determination and a little help. I really liked the fact that we watched the movie in class first and I read the book after because it made everything seem more real and understandable and for each character I already had a mental image of what they would look, sound and act like. Another one of the diary entries I enjoyed was the Latino girl who carried the gun. It gave an in depth view into her personal life, conflicts among the gangs and her emotions about going in as a witness and trying to do the right thing even if it meant going against her own kind.

It showed how much Ms. Gruwell’s class and teaching methods affecting her students. In this case it saved an innocent boy from a life time in prison. So many people tease other kids or call them names without realizing how much it can affect them or hurt them. I read the entry about the girl who got teased for her eye sight and it makes me want to watch what I say now either jokingly or seriously. This girl had suppressed feelings in her for so long and it took just one more person saying something she had been teased about for years to set her off. Name calling is so much more hurtful than perceived just because pointing out the flaws somebody already has isn’t going to make you feel any better about yourself.

All in all I truly enjoyed this book and movie and it made me appreciate the way I live today and it makes you realize there are some amazing people in this world who really want to help other people. Ms. Gruwell started a foundation for kids in this kind of situation to go to college and be able to receive a proper education and she really made a difference in these students lives not only throughout high school but for the rest of their lives. She helped many of them to be the first to get out of poverty or to be the first in their family to graduate high school.