The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World...

Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.

As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of ?unteachable, at-risk? students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust?only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata?s Diary: A Child?s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the ?Freedom Writers? in homage to the civil rights activists ?The Freedom Riders.?

With funds raised by a ?Read-a-thon for Tolerance,? they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell?s students were ?the real heroes.? Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition?appearances on ?Prime Time Live? and ?All Things Considered,? coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley?and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.

With powerful entries from the students? own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.

The authors? proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers? college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers. more

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Recent Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-24-2009; Love changes things; This is an awesome book. I think that it really shows how love can truly change a person. These children had all experienced so much heartache and devastation. I really admire Mrs. Gruewell for her dedication and love she showed the...; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-11-2009; A Must for Anyone Working With Teens; As a retired teacher and social worker, who worked with at-risk preschoolers I found this book very moving. As I read the diary entries I could picture the diarists as children that I worked with who had grown to teenagers and had had no...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jul-28-2009; Starts out fuzzy but wins you over; This is one of those inspiring teacher books. And like most of these inspiring teacher books it's a little heavy on the moralizing and light on the actual hard work involved. The great teachers are like the great writers, painters and...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jun-10-2009; Lack of authenticity ruined it for me; Like many other reviewers, I was looking forward to this book as an inspirational read and was disillusioned on page one. The journal entries are clearly not written by youth, especially those with negative attitudes toward learning....; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-24-2009; Love changes things; This is an awesome book. I think that it really shows how love can truly change a person. These children had all experienced so much heartache and devastation. I really admire Mrs. Gruewell for her dedication and love she showed the...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Dec-16-2007; Role model?; This is a great read. She was a great teacher and gives other teachers food for thought. However, I was concerned that she is being held up as a model for all the rest of us teachers. Are all teachers who aspire to be great teachers...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jun-10-2009; Lack of authenticity ruined it for me; Like many other reviewers, I was looking forward to this book as an inspirational read and was disillusioned on page one. The journal entries are clearly not written by youth, especially those with negative attitudes toward learning....; read full review | report as inappropriate