On the other, there are these students starting to make connections between their lives and the lives of others through introspective writing. On one hand, this is a Hilary Swank vehicle with undue focus on the mundane problems - at least compared to the high drama in her students’ lives - of a neophyte teacher.
#Freedom writers movie#
So the Hollywood development process has produced a movie at war with itself. But it ill serves the original material, a published collection of journal entries by at-risk students written over several years that explain and explore their lives, fears and aspirations. Swank stars in the new film "Freedom Writers." REUTERS/Dave Gatleyīecause the film is based on a real-life high school English class in Long Beach, Calif., whose teacher is played by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, this undoubtedly was a foolproof way to get a commercially risky subject developed and greenlighted. The focus is for hard work, determination, courage, hope, and understanding of the humanity of all kinds of people through sharing ideas in writing rather than violence.In this file photo actress Hilary Swank attends a news conference at the 2006 Comic-Con Convention in San Diego, California July 21, 2006. Great read for educators, parents, and children who may see the connection of their problem lives to these children. Various activities, visits to famous places, corporate help, and determined hard work changed these kids from failures and hoodlums, into productive kids pursuing college educations and "legal" careers. This book includes the anonymous entries, for the safety of her students, of the diary writings of her students telling of their personal issues and problems around violence, racism, gang "ethics", drugs, alcoholism, spouse abuse, child sexual abuse, and one parent families, etc. When she realized that none of her students had heard of the Holocaust, she assigned the kids The Diary Of Ann Frank, and thus began her program of writing for tolerance and change, rather than violence and ignorance.
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When she found a cartoon of a big lipped boy being passed around her classroom, in her rage she told her class that this stereotyping is how the Holocaust got started. This is the true story of a young teacher, Erin Gruwell, and diary entries from her "unteachable" students in Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Great reading for educators, parents, and kids The Freedom Writers Diary remains a vital listen for anyone who believes in second chances. And now, with this 20th-anniversary edition, listeners are brought up to date on the lives of the Freedom Writers, as they blend indispensable takes on social issues with uplifting stories of attending college - and watch their own children follow in their footsteps. In the two decades since its original publication, the book has sold more than one million copies and inspired a major motion picture Freedom Writers. Her students began recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers.”Ĭonsisting of powerful entries from the students’ diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an unforgettable story of how hard work, courage, and determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students. So she rebooted her entire curriculum, using treasured books such as Anne Frank’s diary as her guide to combat intolerance and misunderstanding. She was met by uncomprehending looks - none of her students had heard of one of the defining moments of the 20th century.
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She had intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust.
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In 1994, an idealistic first-year teacher in Long Beach, California, named Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. Now a public television documentary, Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart The 20th anniversary edition of the classic story of an incredible group of students and the teacher who inspired them, featuring updates on the students’ lives, new journal entries, and an introduction by Erin Gruwell