Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell (www.freedomwritersfoundation.org)

Erin Gruwell was a teacher fresh out of school from the University of California, Irvine. She was a newlywed and a daughter with high aspirations. Her first year as a teacher was about to begin at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. She walked down the hall to the principal’s to discuss the upcoming events for her first year as a teacher. However, her enthusiasm was not shared by the rest of the staff. Many of them were resentful towards the new desegregation laws which were requiring students from rival neighborhoods to be bused to the same school. Because of this Wilson High School had lost many of their high achieving middle to upper class students and were now faced with teaching students from poor backgrounds, many of them with troubled pasts.

Freedom Writers (www.freedomwritersfoundation.org)

The teachers at Woodrow Wilson High School had all but given up on their students. The veteran teachers had taken over the advanced classes and were grouping all of the “troubled” students in the same classrooms. Because Mrs. Gruwell was the “new kid in town” she was assigned to this classroom. Unlike the rest of the staff she began the year enthusiastic and determined to make a difference in the lives of her students. She introduced them to literature written about our history that her students could relate to in many ways from the struggles of being displaced to the horrors of abuse. Mrs. Gruwell was able to capture her students’ attention and teach to them on their level and through their own life experiences. She was able to unite her once diverse classroom and create a strong, stable, and comfortable place for her students.

One way in which she allowed her students to open up in a safe environment was giving them journals in which they were to write about the struggles of their lives. This not only allowed them to express their frustrations with life but it also allowed Mrs. Gruwell to better understand her students and how to help them overcome the struggles in their lives.

Erin Gruwell and one of her past students (www.movies.about.com)

Erin Gruwell is my hero because she accomplished the “impossible”. As teachers we all aspire to better the lives of our students, however, Erin went above and beyond what was expected of her and changed countless lives. She sacrificed many aspects of her life including her marriage. She broke down hundreds of barriers and hurtles that were in her way, trying to prevent her from accomplishing her goal of changing the lives of her students. Due to Erin’s many efforts there is now a Freedom Writer’s Foundation set up for teachers and students in similar situations striving to better themselves and the world.