The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

I've been meaning to read The Freedom Writers Diary ever since I saw the movie version starring Hilary Swank years ago.  Erin Gruwell is definitely a strong woman that I deeply admire, so this month was the perfect time to finally pluck this novel off my shelf and dive in.

The Freedom Writers Diary is the story of how Erin Gruwell, a new high school English teacher in Long Beach, California, changed the lives of her 150 at-risk students through her creative and dedicated teaching style.  As the name implies, the novel is structured as a set of diary entries, with entries from Gruwell herself interspersed with writings from her students.  Through the students' narratives, we learn about how Gruwell was able to create a strong classroom community for her kids and encourage them to strive for higher goals. 

In the very first entry in the book, Gruwell herself explains how she chose a theme of tolerance for her students after witnessing one of them drawing a racially offensive picture.  From that point on, her students studied genocide, racism and gangs through literature and documentaries on the topics.  Through the stories of figures like Anne Frank and Zlata Filipovic, her students came to reject senseless violence and discrimination, and form a strong bond among themselves that transcended the racial divisions in their school. 

Gruwell was able to loop with her students and teach her group of 150 through all four years of high school.  In those four years, she completely changed the lives of her kids.  They became powerful ambassadors for change within their community, which was struggling with issues like gang warfare, drug addiction, and poverty. They read several novels, took trips to different states, and met all kinds of important government and historical figures.  Gruwell was even able to secure a scholarship fund for her students so that they could attend college, a dream that for many, seemed impossible at the start of their freshman year.

The diary structure of the novel jumps around from student to student, and through the collage of different voices, the reader gets a clear picture of all the work Gruwell put in to help her kids.  This method of storytelling is a great strength of the novel, because we get to learn about the impact Gruwell had on her kids in their own words.   Her students did not lead easy lives, and their entries discuss heartbreaking topics like homelessness, addiction, rape, and domestic violence.  Against all odds, these kids were able to make something of themselves because their teacher cared about them.  This is a powerful example of what dedicated teachers can do.

Gruwell is an amazing woman.  She was a brand new teacher at a very difficult school, and was given a set of classes to teach that most would have given up on.  Rather than admit defeat and lose control of her classroom, she found a way to reach her students and help them grow.  She never gave up on them.  As a teacher myself, I am very inspired by the work she does. I want to be more like her in my own classroom.  This is why teachers must do so much more than teach their subject area; we must help our kids grow as human being too.  The Freedom Writers Diary sets a powerful example for educators, or anyone else who works with young people, about the importance of forging connections and encouraging others to reach higher and dream big.