“There are lives lost in this book, and there are lives saved, too, if salvation means a young man or woman begins to feel deserving of a ...
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reviews
Jun 08, 2011
Sarahmcwax
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A former colleague of mine wrote pieces of this book. We graduated from Michigan State's College of Education together, and were great friends for a while. We're not anymore; we lost touch, and I'm not that broken up about it. She was always quite the drama queen - even in college and through grad school and student teaching experiences. Tears abounded, scenes were made, she stormed out of the classroom at least twice. I read this book because she had made news headlines with her choice to
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Apr 21, 2010
Joni
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Now depicted in a bestselling book and a feature film, the Freedom Writers phenomenon came about in 1994 when Erin Gruwell stepped into Room 203 and began her first teaching job out of college. Long Beach, California, was still reeling from the deadly violence that erupted during the Rodney King riots, and the kids in Erin’s classroom reflected the anger, resentment, and hopelessness of their community.
Undaunted, Erin fostered an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diver More...
Undaunted, Erin fostered an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diver More...
Sep 30, 2009
I gave Homeboyz to Nikki so I'm not reading that anymore. This book is the third that a teacher named Erin Gruwell wrote about her journey teaching inner city students. Most of the books that I put on this page are books that you would enjoy reading. This book only I or another teacher would enjoy reading. This teacher is an inspiration to me even more than Oprah because of her love and dedication for teaching. Maybe later this year we'll read a story that you can appreciate by her past stu
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May 04, 2011
Kristi
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So much effort and dedication has gone into the making of this book. Each short two-page-or-so story is inspiring, thought provoking, and sometimes shockingly sad and astounding. Knowledge and wisdom are gifted to the reader as each Freedom Writer teacher in this book openly shares their own experiences in the classroom.
We all know teachers are trained to teach the basics, the required lessons and material, and the goods needed to raise the API scores. That is a momentous job alone. More...
We all know teachers are trained to teach the basics, the required lessons and material, and the goods needed to raise the API scores. That is a momentous job alone. More...
Jan 24, 2010
Kara
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on the one hand I appreciate reading about the commitment that the contributors to this volume make to their students; on the other hand, i'm uncomfortable with the philosophy of teaching that it is solely up to near-impossible individual perserverance of students to improve their lives. education shouldn't just be a ladder out of historically impoverished and marginalized neighborhoods--it should encourage students to analyze and challenge the circumstances that make them places they'd want to
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Feb 09, 2011
Sarah
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Those familiar with Erin Gruwell's The Freedom Writer's Diary will recognize the format and themes presented in this book. However, rather than entries from students these stories come from teachers who have used Freedom Writer's methods with success in their classrooms. Although many of the educators are inspiring it does seem to focus on the extreme hard cases, perhaps leaning a bit too much towards the shock factor.
Jun 25, 2011
Jaime
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Very inspirational. As an early-career teacher, I really appreciated the stories of struggle and disapointment as much as I appreciated the stories of over-coming the odds. The teachers in these stories are amazing and I hope I can take just a bit of of the passion they have for their students and keep it with me
Aug 05, 2011
Urban
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I'm so biased since my friends and I wrote this, but even if that were not the case, I really think every future and current teacher should read this. This is what the classroom looks like. We are not numbers, graphs, or charts; we are people--people who are fractured--who need hope, not mandates.
Feb 27, 2010
Elisa
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Certain parts just seemed to say that when a teacher shares a personal horror story the entire class would open up and write about/talk about their problems, but the later half of the book was amazing - truly inspiring!
Dec 24, 2009
As an educator, I identified with many of the experiences teachers shared in Teaching Hope. Perhaps, the "teacher bashers" will recognize how educating a child requires a partnership among teachers, parents, students, and the community at large.
Apr 27, 2010
Becky
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More stories taken from around the nation who practice the Freedom Writers. Shows a lot about the types of lives students come from.
Sep 13, 2009
Lea
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Most of the stories were awesome, but some parts dragged on. It's keeping me motivated.
Nov 18, 2009
Sara
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So there was a story in Teaching Hope... toward the end which described a trip a teacher took with some students to the mayor's office and how the students wanted their voices heard. BUT the teacher had also called reporters to come witness the event. I believe that this, in a nutshell, is my problem with the book. Teacher go above and beyond, and some are very sincere. But some also do it in a self-serving way like the above mentioned teacher.
Apr 05, 2010
Erin
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Not nearly as good as the other "Freedom Writers" books I've read, but still interesting. I wish there were fewer stories and each story had more details.
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