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news
Gruwell lasts
the long run through writing
By Kimberly Pasquis
On-line Forty-Niner
Erin Gruwell has
been teaching for less than a decade and she has spoken to
congressmen in Washington D.C., is in the process of writing
a second book and will be serving as a consultant for the
movie that will portray her first years of teaching.
In a recent speech,
Gruwell explained how she started teaching at Woodrow Wilson
High School in Long Beach in the fall of 1994 after completing
her master's and credential programs. Woodrow Wilson had the
demographics and personality that still had traces of the
Los Angeles riots in 1992 and influence from the O.J. Simpson
trial. Her students were not looking to be influenced by a
young white woman from Newport Beach.
Even though bets
were taken against Gruwell on how long she would last, she
did more than surprise her students. Through reading they
became inspired by adolescents with struggles similar to their
own. Gruwell was able to engage her students through writing.
They became activists and turned their crime-filled lives
into ones that had hope for the future.
Gruwell and her
students co-authored the "Freedom Writers," which
describes what they learned from each other and how writing
about it changed their lives. The rights of the book were
bought by Universal Pictures and is currently being written
into a movie by the same screenwriter that wrote "Erin
Brockovich."
Gruwell now sits
on the other side of the education sphere as she is in the
middle of her fourth year as Distinguished Teacher in Residence
for the College of Education. She is currently teaching Schooling
in a Democratic Society which is the prerequisite into the
elementary teaching credential program.
Pat Burn, coordinator
of the multi-subject credential program, said, "Erin
brings a first hand knowledge of contemporary classroom knowledge.
She understands the importance of teacher and student relationships
in a learning environment."
According to Gruwell,
her classes are about how to be a teacher. Authors are scheduled
to come and speak. They will also be visiting the Museum of
Tolerance. Gruwell has found the class to be very popular.
Now that Gruwell is working with teachers she says that she
is now able to reach more students than she would from personal
contact. "I believe that everything should have a purpose
rather than just teaching theory. But there can be a balance
by showing a theory in reality," Gruwell said.
Gruwell hopes to
change education on a national level. She said that through
her travels around the country, Long Beach is one of the best
examples of how teaching works. "I would like to duplicate
what is happening here and use the movie and the second book
as a platform for change," Gruwell said.
According to Gruwell,
every teacher can be a catalyst for change. She is currently
involved in a tolerance program by speaking to schools around
the country. Gruwell learned in her experiences that stereotypes
are wrong and she feels that it is important to teach that
to teachers.
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