The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
11 journalers for this copy...
My daughter loved this and has passed on to me.
From Library Journal
When Gruwell was a first-year high school teacher in Long Beach, CA, teaching the "unteachables" (kids that no other teacher wanted to deal with), she discovered that most of her students had not heard of the Holocaust. Shocked, she introduced them to books about toleranceAfirst-person accounts by the likes of Anne Frank and Zlata Filopvic, who chronicled her life in war-torn Sarajevo. The students were inspired to start keeping diaries of their lives that showed the violence, homelessness, racism, illness, and abuse that surrounded them. These student diaries form the basis of this book, which is cut from the same mold as Dangerous Minds: the outsider teacher, who isn't supposed to last a month, comes in and rebuilds a class with tough love and hard work. Most readers will be proud to see how these students have succeeded; at the end of their four-year experience, the Freedom WritersAas they called themselves, in honor of the Freedom Riders of the 1960sAhad all graduated; Grunwell now works at the college level, instructing teachers on how to provide more interactive classes for their students. Recommended for youth, education, and urban studies collections.ADanna C. Bell-Russel, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
When Gruwell was a first-year high school teacher in Long Beach, CA, teaching the "unteachables" (kids that no other teacher wanted to deal with), she discovered that most of her students had not heard of the Holocaust. Shocked, she introduced them to books about toleranceAfirst-person accounts by the likes of Anne Frank and Zlata Filopvic, who chronicled her life in war-torn Sarajevo. The students were inspired to start keeping diaries of their lives that showed the violence, homelessness, racism, illness, and abuse that surrounded them. These student diaries form the basis of this book, which is cut from the same mold as Dangerous Minds: the outsider teacher, who isn't supposed to last a month, comes in and rebuilds a class with tough love and hard work. Most readers will be proud to see how these students have succeeded; at the end of their four-year experience, the Freedom WritersAas they called themselves, in honor of the Freedom Riders of the 1960sAhad all graduated; Grunwell now works at the college level, instructing teachers on how to provide more interactive classes for their students. Recommended for youth, education, and urban studies collections.ADanna C. Bell-Russel, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This was a great book with a great message. I was a little distracted by the phrasing in the diary entries - it felt, to me, they did too much editing. There were also two typos towards the end that drove me crazy!
Overall, though, it was very good. I got this from my daughter - If she doesn't want it back, I may do a ray.
Overall, though, it was very good. I got this from my daughter - If she doesn't want it back, I may do a ray.
Alteregozoe, PA
Erishkigal, UT
mrsboknows, SC
NMreader, NM
Littlewhitebird, CA
Becksterca, CA
nattabee, KY
dastephan6, MA
missgyder, NY
BMVCOE, PA
back to me <---Book is home now!
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Sent to Alteregozoe to finally start this bookring. Enjoy!
Sent to Alteregozoe to finally start this bookring. Enjoy!
Got today, will start reading it shortly. :)
This is a wonderful book, I really enjoyed it. I liked how the entries transformed from being negative in the beginning, to positive over the course of the book. Some of the things, I didn't think they would be able to accomplish, but they did. (Now I'm a little interested in seeing the movie)
Lynlee, thanks for sharing. I'll be contacting spaceystacey.
Lynlee, thanks for sharing. I'll be contacting spaceystacey.
Mailed yesterday!
arrived Monday, I think~~sorry it took me so long to journal. We were in tech for our season opener, now I'm pack like mad to fly down to AZ in the morning~~ hopefully I can make great inroads on this book while waiting/flying ~~ it looks really good!
Thanks for including me in this ring. I really enjoyed the book--despite current conditions, I remain a lifelong optimistic
idealist--so i found this inspiring and encouraging! tremendous what Ms Gruwell and her students accomplished. My only problem with the book was the heavy amount of editing. Some years ago (before AZ stopped putting money into college classes for inmates) I taught at a state prison; many of my students came from the same sort of enviornment as most of Gruwells kids, and there is no way the diary entries sounded like their true voices. How lucky these kids were to have had her help to change their lives!
pming mrsbokknows now, and will put in the mail as soon as I have her address. Thanks again for sharing!
idealist--so i found this inspiring and encouraging! tremendous what Ms Gruwell and her students accomplished. My only problem with the book was the heavy amount of editing. Some years ago (before AZ stopped putting money into college classes for inmates) I taught at a state prison; many of my students came from the same sort of enviornment as most of Gruwells kids, and there is no way the diary entries sounded like their true voices. How lucky these kids were to have had her help to change their lives!
pming mrsbokknows now, and will put in the mail as soon as I have her address. Thanks again for sharing!
posted Monday (22nd?) from St. David, AZ
confirmation # 0308 0070 0002 0498 0328
confirmation # 0308 0070 0002 0498 0328
Journal Entry 11 by PalmettoBuckeye from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina USA on Saturday, September 27, 2008
Book arrived today and is next in line to be read. :)
Journal Entry 12 by PalmettoBuckeye from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina USA on Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Inspiring! It's amazing what can happen to people when they decide to ignore the labels society (or the school system) has put on them. This makes me want to be a better teacher.
Journal Entry 13 by PalmettoBuckeye at -- By post or by hand --, South Carolina USA on Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Released 15 yrs ago (10/15/2008 UTC) at -- By post or by hand --, South Carolina USA
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CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed to NMreader this afternoon! :)
Mailed to NMreader this afternoon! :)
Arrived today. Looking forward to reading.
I asked lynlee4 for some additional time and she has graciously granted it to me. I am presently reading the book.
WOW! What a story and how lucky these students were in their teacher.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I signed up to read this to see what all the hoopla was about. It is a great story and I am recommending it to friends and family.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I signed up to read this to see what all the hoopla was about. It is a great story and I am recommending it to friends and family.
Released 15 yrs ago (1/2/2009 UTC) at
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
sending on to the next reader
Delivery Confirmation Number is: 0307 3330 0001 2248 7337
sending on to the next reader
Delivery Confirmation Number is: 0307 3330 0001 2248 7337
The book arrived today. I have to finish reading one other book first before reading this one.
Thank you for the book thongs, NMReader!
Thank you for the book thongs, NMReader!
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
I found this book very encouraging as well. I'll recommend it to my friends who are teachers. But I think it's inspiring in general, not only for teachers. We can all make a difference if we just care.
I didn't mind the editing of the entries. As some say in their journal entries, the students did it among themselves, and the whole book is a group effort.
I'm sending the book to BecksterCa, the next person in the bookring.
I found this book very encouraging as well. I'll recommend it to my friends who are teachers. But I think it's inspiring in general, not only for teachers. We can all make a difference if we just care.
I didn't mind the editing of the entries. As some say in their journal entries, the students did it among themselves, and the whole book is a group effort.
I'm sending the book to BecksterCa, the next person in the bookring.
I look forward to reading this book!
update 4/3/09:
I'm reading this book and find that it's hard to put down...you just keep reading one entry after another. I should be done with it by the end of the week.
Finished this book. It was very inspirational. I'll be sending to the next person in line.
update 4/3/09:
I'm reading this book and find that it's hard to put down...you just keep reading one entry after another. I should be done with it by the end of the week.
Finished this book. It was very inspirational. I'll be sending to the next person in line.
Book arrived Saturday. I loved the movie, and I am looking forward to reading the book. Thanks for including me!
I really enjoyed the book. I taught for ten years....much younger kids, and most were from good homes-not like the ones in this book. It was great to see how lives were transformed at the end. I agree with all the comments about the editing, although I am guessing the senior students did the editing as part of their education. Overall, great read.
I will pm the next in line.
I will pm the next in line.
Have a few in front of it but will get to it as soon as possible
this book was pretty good. it follows a teacher's quest to change the lives of 150 of her students, through the students eyes.
i just wish there was something at the end telling us how the kids ended up.
will be shipping it out to the next person this weekend!
i just wish there was something at the end telling us how the kids ended up.
will be shipping it out to the next person this weekend!
Can't wait to read this! Thanks!
Very enjoyable, inspirational read. My mom worked in an inner-city high-school for years and years, dealt with many of the same issues, and also used writing to inspire her students.
Shipped out today via USPS.
Tracking #: 9102 1501 3471 1012 4067 56
Shipped out today via USPS.
Tracking #: 9102 1501 3471 1012 4067 56
This book arrived at the perfect moment, right before a 3 day weekend and exam week! I'll definitely have time to enjoy it, and I'm sure it will motivate me to start the new semester out strong.
This book has a special resonance for me for two reasons. First, as an English teacher myself looking for ways to engage and motivate students in global issues, to break them out of their ego-centric shells. I finally saw the movie, my students persuading me to show it as a pre-Christmas treat, and I'm excited to see what the students actually wrote. Second, Miep Gies, who played a central role in the story, recently died at the age of 100. Reading this will be a way of celebrating her life and actions that have motivated so many people across the world to choose to do what is right instead of what is easy.
This book has a special resonance for me for two reasons. First, as an English teacher myself looking for ways to engage and motivate students in global issues, to break them out of their ego-centric shells. I finally saw the movie, my students persuading me to show it as a pre-Christmas treat, and I'm excited to see what the students actually wrote. Second, Miep Gies, who played a central role in the story, recently died at the age of 100. Reading this will be a way of celebrating her life and actions that have motivated so many people across the world to choose to do what is right instead of what is easy.
This book was very exciting to read. I only hope that I can have as positive an impact on my students as Erin Gruwell had. I do have to imagine what the cost of making sure all of this happened for her students was on her. It takes a lot to care, to put in so much time, and still do something positive for yourself and your own life. The fact that she was teaching college courses through some of this is astounding.
Sending this book home to lynlee4!
Sending this book home to lynlee4!
made it home today and will return to my daughter. Thanks to all who participated!
