Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell (www.freedomwritersfoundation.org ())

For Erin Gruwell, walking into classroom 203 was like charging head first into battle. According to a database article by Nick Simpson, "Gruwell's career at Woodrow Wilson [High School] began in 1994, and the community in which she taught was still feeling the aftershock of the horrors of the Los Angeles Riots of 1992" (Simpson). Gruwell was a new and relatively young teacher with little experience, so she was instructed to teach a class made up of the 150 lowest achieving freshman in the school (Simpson). Nearly all of the kids in this class came from troubled backgrounds, many of which had lost family and friends to gang violence ("TEDxConejo..."). Some were poor, some were starving, and some had seen more misery in their lives than happiness. But there was one thing that all of these teenagers had in common: they did not like Erin Gruwell ("TEDxConejo..."). She was white, she came from the suburbs, and she showed up on the first day of class wearing fancy clothing and jewelry ("TEDxConejo..."). The students in her class all came to the conclusion that she was a rich, privileged white girl who had no idea what they were going through or how they felt. According to Gruwell, "... They looked at me, and they sized me up with my white polka dots and my white pearls and this perceived white privilege, and they were miserable. And they made their sole mission to make me as miserable as they were" (Gruwell). However, Gruwell had a battle plan. She threw away the old curriculum and began to teach her students about tolerance. She helped her students find themselves and encouraged them to give themselves a second chance. A hero is a person who truly cares about making a difference. Not only do they care, but they turn their dreams into actions, and they are willing to use all that they have and all that they are to help others and change the world. Erin Gruwell is a seemingly ordinary person who was placed in extraordinary circumstances. Rather than allowing fear or discomfort to stop her, she committed herself and changed the lives of 150 kids who were thought to be hopeless. Because she possesses empathy for others and incorruptible determination, Erin Gruwell is a considered a hero and an inspiration to the world.

Erin Gruwell and Maria (www.vaildaily.com ())

Erin Gruwell was able to understand and relate to the thoughts and feelings of her students, despite having never been in the situations they were in. On her first day as a teacher, Gruwell encountered one of her most troubled students: "'Maria walked into my classroom at the tender age of 14... with an ankle bracelet and a parole officer,' she said. 'I remember this little girl. I looked at her and realized if we don't sit kids down and teach them their history, they're doomed to repeat it'" (Simpson). Instead of judging Maria and writing her off as a hopeless cause, Gruwell immediately started thinking of ways that she could change Maria's situation and improve her life (Simpson). Gruwell understood that if she did not help Maria, she would live the kind of unhappy life that no person, especially a fourteen year old girl, should. Erin Gruwell possesses an incredible ability to empathize with others, because before she even knew her student, Erin Gruwell was already able to understand the troubles going on in Maria's life (Simpson). In another database article by Elaine Haglund, Erin Gruwell is quoted as she shared her hopes for helping her kids gain a better understanding of what they were learning: "I vowed to take all of them to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and to learn about what was going on in Bosnia, and to learn why tolerance was so important to one another in class. Otherwise it was futile to read To Kill a Mockingbird and other literature planned for the class" (Haglund). As Gruwell was having her students read The Diary of Anne Frank, she decided to take them to visit the Museum of Tolerance to help them better understand the importance of tolerance, both in their own lives and in the lives of the people they were reading about (Haglund). She knew that her students, coming from hard lives themselves, would be able to relate to these people and really get something out of a field trip to a place that vividly illustrates the horrors of intolerance. Though she had not been in situations like her students had, Erin Gruwell was able to empathize with them and understand how and what they were feeling. This allowed her to realize what she needed to do for them in order to help them. Gruwell's ability to feel for others and understand what they needed allowed her to help her students and ultimately inspire people around the world.

Erin Gruwell continues to inspire her students and others who know of her through her relentless determination. After teaching them for some time (and finally gaining their respect), Gruwell decided to take her students on a field trip (Haglund). Erin's determination to do so is displayed through the database article by Elaine Haglund: "Although feeling thwarted, she used her sense of frustration to make a difference in the lives of her students; her response was that she'd find a way to pay for buses, the museum tickets, and lunches herself at a cost amounting to about $1,000...Meanwhile, she kept working an extra job to fund future trips" (Haglund). When she was told that there was no money in the school's budget to take her students on the field trip, Gruwell refused to let this stand in her way (Haglund). She took it upon herself to work another job so she could provide the things she believed would help her students (Haglund). She was determined to do whatever she could to bring the importance of tolerance to light for her students. Once she had accomplished this, they were able to better themselves and become great people. In his website article, Nick Simpson shares another example of Gruwell's determination when she first met her class: "Gruwell admitted that after the first day a part of her wanted to flee, to submit to a life and livelihood much more comfortable, but something held her fast" (Simpson). After her first day of teaching, Gruwell was overwhelmed by the feelings of hostility and resentment she  received from her students (Simpson). However, despite her uneasy feeling and her instinct to escape an uncomfortable situation, Gruwell decided to stay because she felt as though she was there for a reason (Simpson). Gruwell refused to give up on her students, despite their troubles, because she cared for them and wanted to help them through their hard times. Through her determination, Erin Gruwell was able to successfully teach, inspire, and provide a second chance for her students, which changed their lives and improved their future.

Erin Gruwell and her students (myhero.com ())

Erin Gruwell has, and continues, to inspire the world through her empathy for others and her determination to do what she believes in. She was able to take a class of 150 "sure to drop out" students, and change every one of them into successful high school graduates with broad perspectives and bright futures. Because she cared for them so dearly, Gruwell was able to empathize with her students which allowed her to realize what they needed. Once she had figured this out, Gruwell was determined to make sure that they got it. Erin Gruwell proved to the world, as well as to myself, that anything is possible through hard work, determination, and a strong love and passion for others. She has inspired teachers around the globe to never give up on a student, because everyone has potential (Freeman). She has also encouraged struggling teenagers, like her students, to leave the past behind them and strive for success and happiness, because they can become whoever they want to be. Erin Gruwell has rightfully earned the title of a hero. She always knows which weapon to use, how to properly defend an attack, and to never retreat. Through her battles in life, Erin Gruwell has never given up, and continues to inspire those around her.