The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

by Erin Gruwell, Zlata Filipović

book data

1,489 ratings, 3.94 average rating, 395 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		34%
4		34%
3		22%
2		7%
1		1%

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published

October 12th 1999 by Main Street Books

binding

Paperback, 304 pages

isbn

038549422X (isbn13: 9780385494229)

description

Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.

As an idealistic twe

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Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.

As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to the civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders.”

With funds raised by a “Read-a-thon for Tolerance,” they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell’s students were “the real heroes.” Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition—appearances on “Prime Time Live” and “All Things Considered,” coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley—and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.

With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.

The authors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers’ college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers.

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05/01/08

Rhonda rated it:

Read in September, 2004

Erin Gruwell was a first-year high school teacher. She was teaching tough kids in Long Beach, CA. Her students are the lowest at the school so she begins with diaries written by others to have them create diaries of their own. She was able to stay with these students for all four years of high school. The she decided to teach college to new teachers.

I teach. I teach well. An yet I find myself discouraged when I read books like this. Not because of the state of education or students i...more

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04/25/08

The Reader rated it:

Read in May, 2008

I work in an inner city school. This doesn't quite touch on the way inner city schools really are. For instance, all the kids' writing is in standard English. My kids, when expressing how they really feel, use what I call Urban English. I just couldn't hear my kids in this book. I related a bit to the teacher's writing. But there are a lot of realities that were not portrayed in this book. For instance, the teacher had her own room --- the same room --- for the 4 years she taught. The re...more

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08/03/08

Jean rated it:

Read in August, 2008

I had to read this after having seen an essay in Newsweek. We former teachers always want to to hear those great success stories and this is certainly one of them! My only wish is that the rest of the wonderfully creative and committed teachers out there were recognized like this one...the book itself was good. I found it a bit redundant. Worthwhile but I think you'll skip ahead after awhile. I don't want to take anything away from it...buy it, read it, pass it on, support them, give every ha...more

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02/14/08

Lani rated it:

(review of isbn 0767924908)

bookshelves: education, non-fiction, own

Read in February, 2008

I was pretty disappointed by this book from the get-go. Diaries and journals are interesting because you are able to experience someone else's life in real-time. Part of that experience is being immersed in the language, personality, and emotion of the author. The students idolize Anne Frank and Zlata, but don't allow any of their own voices into their writing. Each entry sounds just like the next with only occasional sentences that feel "real" and un-edited.

Good writers ca...more I was pretty disappointed by this book from the get-go. Diaries and journals are interesting because you are able to experience someone else's life in real-time. Part of that experience is being immersed in the language, personality, and emotion of the author. The students idolize Anne Frank and Zlata, but don't allow any of their own voices into their writing. Each entry sounds just like the next with only occasional sentences that feel "real" and un-edited.

Good writers capture the energy of their experience, and these students have seen too much to be as bland as these examples portray. The few poems recited - although not great - at least convey some emotion. It's a shame since some of these stories are extremely powerful - issues such as homelessness, child abuse, domestic violence, street violence, peer pressure... all expressed in cookie cutter language that could all be written by the same person.

I expected to see a realistic progression in the journal entries; I wanted to see improvement as these students grew as writers and people. I appreciate a variety of perspectives, but I think the book suffered from not having a consistent batch of identifiable characters that progressed over the course of four years. Anonymous entries further their cause, but detract from the impact and make it harder to "own" the characters as you read.

The book certainly got better as I read. The students certainly had some amazing opportunities, and I was proud to see them develop as people as the book progressed. Perhaps as they got better as writers over the years the later entries were less heavily edited and retained more flavor.

I really wish there had been more information about how the book was compiled and edited. Certainly she couldn't have gotten these students to write the long-winded and introspective entries at the beginning of her first semester. Without that information many of these entries feel so forced and unbelieveable that I found it difficult to read them at all. Even an afterword explaining that the pieces were elaborated on and edited before the published final draft would be helpful. I can understand the students wanting to showcase their best work, but I'd like to see more information about the process.

From an education perspective... I felt like I wasn't getting the whole story about Ms. Grunell and her resources. It's wonderful that she had the support that she did, but it is so glazed over that it seems like it should be within any teacher's grasp. That doesn't seem quite fair to many of the amazing teachers that struggle just to keep their head afloat. I know that she has another book that is more focused on her methods, and maybe that has more of what I was looking for.
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12/26/07

Rachel rated it:

(review of isbn 0767924908)

bookshelves: education, waste-of-time

I will begin by stating that I did not read this entire book. I made it through 50 or 60 pages. I had not had any intent to read it, as I have heard more than enough stories about the fish out of water young white teacher who is able to "save" the inner city youth from the apparent inevitability of failure. A coworker strongly recommended the book to me and actually put it in my hand, so I decided to give it a chance.

As I read one journal entry after another, I was puz...more I will begin by stating that I did not read this entire book. I made it through 50 or 60 pages. I had not had any intent to read it, as I have heard more than enough stories about the fish out of water young white teacher who is able to "save" the inner city youth from the apparent inevitability of failure. A coworker strongly recommended the book to me and actually put it in my hand, so I decided to give it a chance.

As I read one journal entry after another, I was puzzled by the fact that every entry of every child seemed to be written in almost the same exact voice. The vocabulary and expressions used were not what I would expect to hear from a group of high school freshmen, particularly in a group of kids that was previously underachieving and hated reading and writing. Inner city dialect was juxtaposed with difficult vocabulary and phrasing that seemed adult and dated on almost every page. I skimmed through the rest of the book to see if there was any information on how the journals were edited, or if they went through any type of writing process with them (typically a journal wouldn't go through revision) but didn't see any explanation. Maybe I was just missing something. There also was not any description of how Ms. Gruwell was able to elicit the trust of all of her students so quickly (so that they would be comfortable writing about their crimes and personal issues) and get them to write pages and pages when they had refused to do any writing before. It seemed that she was able to have them writing full entries that were eloquent and insightful within the first month or two.

I know that there is truth to these stories. I know that this is a real class and Ms. Gruwell is a real teacher. I just can't get past the belief that these diaries are not fully authentic and that these words have been reshaped somewhere along the line; how can I tell how much and by whom? Why wasn't this addressed? Perhaps if the diaries were in their original form, complete with spelling and grammar errors, it would make more sense. As it was, I just couldn't trust it. These are real kids. They have real stories. I want to hear them in their words.

I would love to hear other people's opinions on this. Did anyone else have this problem?(less)

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06/21/07

Valdir Delgado rated it:

Freedom Writers by Erin Gruwell is one of the most interesting books I've ever read.It is about how one teacher(Erin Gruwell) makes it her goal to change the way students in her class view the world.The students in her class view the world as one big war zone and have their own goal which is to be able to survive the streets without being killed.Mrs.Gruwell takes it up on herself to show the kids the theirs more to life then gang violence trying to do so she risks losing her job and husband.She ...more

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05/27/07

rachel added it

Read in May, 2007

This is a diary compiled from 150 students in Long Beach, CA. They were almost all at-risk kids in gangs, who lived in the projects, and generally were expected to drop out of high school and not live to see 18 or be in jail. Enter the preppy very white idealistic Erin Gruwell who was a brand new teacher fresh out of college. She gets the idea to teach them about the Holocaust after a racist drawing of one student gets passed around the class. After that it picks up, and soon her students are wr...more

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03/25/09

Nargess rated it:

عشق ، راه برخورد با یک دوست نیست
نمی خواهم این طور باشی.
نمی خواهم ببینم چشم هایت
در یک روز بارانی
در کیف گود کم حافظه ها
در فراموشی گم می شود.

عشق،راه برخورد با یک دوست نیست
نمی خواهم ببینم تن ات
مثل مرمری زخمی
به معماری آن ها که از پرنده های فلج
پل �...more

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05/23/07

Rohann rated it:

I picked up this book from my local store when I saw the movie was releasing back in January 2007. I like to read the book before seeing the movie, so I still haven't watched Hillary Swank on the big screen with this one. It was moving and sad to read the journal entries of these students in LA and the horrors they lived through on a daily basis. We all think high school was an awful experience... try high school in LA when your raped at 15, pregnant and your uncle is a drug dealer! I like life ...more

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02/25/09

Karen rated it:

(review of isbn 0767924908)

bookshelves: biographies-autobiographies, inspirational, survival, teaching-coaching, teens

Read in February, 2009

This book is inspirational to both teachers and students. It is written by high schoolers who were considered "losers" by the school administration of Wilson High, a racially integrated school in Long Beach, California. No one expected them to graduate. They are teens write about their problems and how being in Erin Gruwell's class made a huge difference in their lives. It is a compilation of their journal entries. At the beginning of their freshman year, none of them expected to gradu...more

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02/17/09

Black Elephants rated it:

(review of isbn 0767924908)

Read in May, 2007

The only reason I picked up this book was because it happened to be lying around the house and I needed something to read. I'd heard of the movie with Hillary Swank and intended (and still do) to stay away from it as I believed it was another "Gangsta's Paradise" cliche: white teacher, colored students, they all dance and learn. When I picked up the book, I thought it would provide a few anecdotes of interest and then would return to its pile on the floor and disappear under weightier ...more The only reason I picked up this book was because it happened to be lying around the house and I needed something to read. I'd heard of the movie with Hillary Swank and intended (and still do) to stay away from it as I believed it was another "Gangsta's Paradise" cliche: white teacher, colored students, they all dance and learn. When I picked up the book, I thought it would provide a few anecdotes of interest and then would return to its pile on the floor and disappear under weightier matters.

Three hours later, past midnight nearing 1 a.m., I finished the diary.

As proclaimed by the authors, the diary is a continuation of the message and work carried on by other famous diarists: Anne Frank and Zlata Filipovic in particular. Each entry is numbered to anonymize the individual author and universalize the collective experience of the students. "Chapters" are school semesters and what was amazing to me was that the diary was a story - it followed students' journey from being underdog academics to accepting awards in NY, teaching graduate classes and going off to college. What was also interesting was how the later entries started to reflect what the students had learned - there were references to Dylan Thomas, Holden Caulfield and of course Anne and Zlata - all made as nonchalantly as a gangster sign. It's also amazing to see how the teacher Erin Gruwell got caught up in the momentum of her class's enthusiasm. For instance, a generic letter assignment - write a letter to Zlata, turned into the class's full-fledged attempt to invite the Bosnian diarist to come visit them in Long Beach - and it works! In Gruwell's process to find Zlata and not fail her students, she befriends Holocaust survivors like Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank, Zlata and her family and other important figures of tolerance.

The movie I expect is preachy, but the book is not at all. The Freedom Writers tell it as it is and never tack a moral on the end. It is, instead, their attempt to prove the written word has more power over a gun in hand, and in my case, I am a believer in that cliche 100%.

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01/26/09

Jovan Rivera rated it:

Freedom Writers Diary a novel and movie based on real life events of one-hundred and fifty students and a woman by the name of Erin Gruwell, has opened up the eyes of many people and welcomed them into their lives. The novel includes diary entries from students that attend Wilson High School, in Long Beach, California. As a first year teacher at Wilson High School Ms.Gruwell was experiencing and seeing things she had never seen before. One day as Ms.Gruwell taught in the very diverse school she...more Freedom Writers Diary a novel and movie based on real life events of one-hundred and fifty students and a woman by the name of Erin Gruwell, has opened up the eyes of many people and welcomed them into their lives. The novel includes diary entries from students that attend Wilson High School, in Long Beach, California. As a first year teacher at Wilson High School Ms.Gruwell was experiencing and seeing things she had never seen before. One day as Ms.Gruwell taught in the very diverse school she seen a racial note that changed the way she would teach and the way her students will learn for the rest of their lives. As an English teacher Ms.Gruwell immediately connected this degrading drawing to the Holocaust. Being that this drawing was so explicit to the African-American race Ms.Gruwell explained to her high school students that, that was how the Holocaust began.

I would recommend this book to any and everyone because it’s a book you cannot put down because of how saddening the stories of these young children are. Freedom Writers Diary is a novel that doesn’t target any specific age but targets one who has an eye (everyone). This book is one that is so easy to relate yourself or the people around you. Freedom Writers Diary is not only a breath taking book it is a book that educates and increases your knowledge on the Holocaust and racism itself. This novel is an uplifting novel that will have readers at the edge of their seats and their hairs standing because of the significant amount of similarities they have with each writer. As students wrote things that inspired them and events that had taken place they probably weren’t thinking that they will teach life lessons, such as respect for one another, honesty, and dedication to working hard.
As a person that usually does not read I recommend this book to any and everyone. I believe that these students as well as Ms.Gruwell had no intentions in targeting any specific age group or sex but individuals that needed a change in life. Everyone should enjoy reading this novel because of the lessons taught and the connections made. Freedom Writers Diary is a novel that introduces actual facts in history and will be a great and interesting way to teach learners. It will eventually become a book that will be passed down from generation to generation.This very book has inspired me to become mature in life and appreciate everyone and everything that surrounds me.(less)

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06/12/09

Terri rated it:

In the movie the teacher gave each of students a notebook and they were allowed to write anything in it, and it was more like a diary to them. So in this book it shows what they wrote in there notebooks about their lives. Most of them talked about how their everyday lives are when they're in the streets just walking. No where is safe for them and they're always getting chased if they see people that is not their race they start running because those people will beat them up or even worse ...more

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01/08/09

Sophie rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Despite having this book recommended to me, and being incredibly eager to get started reading it, it took me a fair while to get into it. The beginning didn't read very realistically at all. I understand that the beginning of the story had to be told somehow, but I find it hard to believe that these kids that supposedly hated reading and writing were even willing to write diary entries at the start, especially ones that in depth with what was going on.

Once I got past that, it was an ...more

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01/01/09

Erin rated it:

Read in January, 2009

When Erin Gruwell first entered the high school classroom for the at-risk students, she wasn't sure how she would come across. Her students weren't sure how long she'd last. Little did they know that their lives were about to change forever.

Erin, a first-year English teacher at a high school in Long Beach, California, knew that her students suffered from a lot of issues due to their environment: gangs, fights, abusive parents, drugs, and so forth. But when they passed around a rac...more

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07/20/07

Betsy rated it:

Read in July, 2007

I read this book after I stumbled upon the teacher's memoir (Teach With Your Heart). Erin Gruwell is the real life teacher who inspired the movie the Freedom Writers, and this book is filled with diary entries from her high school students. I found their entries insightful, inspiring, eye-opening, and somewhat disturbing--these are kids living in the projects, experiencing all sorts of nastiness that I was thankfully spared. Their writing and their story is impressive.

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01/11/09

Kathleen added it

bookshelves: 2007-audio-books, 2007-nonfiction

Read in May, 2007

The Freedom Writers Diary, by The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell. Downloaded from audible.com.
A-plus
This is one of these inspiring teacher books that makes me glad there are some teachers out there in public school who try to go beyond the teach-to-the-test mentality of our current Department of Education administration. It was made into a movie, so more people have probably seen the movie than have read the original book. It is about Erin Gruwell, a White upper middle-class wo...more The Freedom Writers Diary, by The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell. Downloaded from audible.com.
A-plus
This is one of these inspiring teacher books that makes me glad there are some teachers out there in public school who try to go beyond the teach-to-the-test mentality of our current Department of Education administration. It was made into a movie, so more people have probably seen the movie than have read the original book. It is about Erin Gruwell, a White upper middle-class woman who ended up student teaching at Wilson Highschool in Long Beach, California in an area most Whites, certainly suburbanites, would not enter at all. But Erin took on the challenge, getting through her student teaching and getting hired at Wilson as an English teacher. She was assigned the most challenging kids, the ones already in trouble, skipping classes, not expected to succeed. She threw out traditional lesson plans and started to teach them with lessons they could understand. She was so committed to them that she took on extra jobs to pay for extra resources the school could not afford. She was able to manage teaching the same kids for their entire highschool career, and in that time she and they together changed their lives. This book is a compilation of journal entries from these students over the four years. It tells of their lives, their challenges, their pain, and the private things they went through, such as incest, abuse, drugs and alcohol, etc. It’s an absolutely amazing book. They called themselves The Freedom Writers after studying about The Freedom Riders of the 1960’s. They chose not to name themselves in the book but to have the entries numbered because they told about some very private things. Unfortunately for highschool kids, Erin has left that job and is now teaching college students to hopefully be creative teachers in the classroom. I don’t know if there is anything written about what has happened to these kids since 1998, but I’ll probably google them and find out. Definitely on my top ten reads for the year.

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08/29/07

Summer rated it:

bookshelves: autobio-bio-memoir, us

Read in September, 2007

I found this book to be a little manipulative. I understand that Ms. Gruwell was a spark for growth in the lives of these students, but I was a little annoyed. She taught these 150 kids for 4 years...why? Why didn't she try to reach as many students as possible? Couldn't she have sparked change in 4 different groups of 150 students? However, I greatly appreciated reading the students' impressions of the books they read. I am taking a few recommendations from them.

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03/06/09

J053' rated it:

Read in March, 2009

In big urban school there are always bad students. And in Long Beach it is no exception. In the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” many kids from Long Beach that have very bad reputation in school for different reasons have a class with Miss. Gruwell, a new teacher, which has no idea what’s waiting for her.
I really liked this book because it is very touching mostly because of what the student’s life is like at school, home, and in the streets of Long Beach, California. I ...more

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04/09/08

Robin rated it:

(review of isbn 0767924908)

bookshelves: 2008, diaries, non-fiction, young-adult

Read in April, 2008

A tad disappointing. The entries seemed to be more about putting together the book then the remarkable ones that made such an impact on people who had read them. Would like to have seen the ones that were so insightful and touching about the lives they led and less the "rah rah we're impowered and making this book". I think hoopla from the movie may have ruined that for me.

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