Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers

by Erin Gruwell

In this memoir and call to arms, Erin Gruwell, the dynamic young teacher who nurtured a remarkable group of high school students from Long Beach, California, who called themselves the Freedom Writers, picks up where The Freedom Writers Diary (and the movie The Freedom Writers ) end and catches the reader up to where they are today. Teach with Your Heart will include the Freedom Writers’ unforgettable trip to Auschwitz, where they met with Holocaust survivors; toured the attic of their beloved Anne Frank (Gruwell had the kids read Anne’s Diary in The Freedom Writers Diary ); visited Bosnia with their friend Zlata Filipovich, and more. The book also includes what happened with the Freedom Writers as they made their way through college and graduation. Along the way, Gruwell includes lessons for parents and teachers about what she learned from her remarkable band of students.

In this passionate, poignant, and deeply personal memoir, Gruwell tells the tale of her journey through the emotional peaks and valleys on the front lines of our nation’s educational system and her commitment to awaken personal power in students and people everyone else discounts. Teach with Your Heart is a mesmerizing story of one young woman’s personal odyssey and of her remarkable ability to encourage others to follow in her footsteps.

Teach with Your Heart is marked by the enviable radiance and irrepressible force of nature that is Erin Gruwell and her unbelievable determination to ensure that education in the United States truly meets the needs of every student.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Memoir, Teaching, Biography, Biography Memoir, Adult

265 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stevie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of negative reviews about not only this book, but Erin Gruwell as well.

I found this book truly inspiring. As I am about to begin my teaching credential, I am full of enthusiasm. From my experiences in education (I am a teacher's aide at an elementary school) I understand that sometimes senior teachers do not share this enthusiasm. In the first couple of pages she reminiscences about walking into the teachers' lounge and not feeling welcomed, which I feel I can fully relate to. One of education's biggest failures is that they cannot seem to get their employees to work together as a unit. Employees get jealous of each other, and criticize other teachers for spending their own money, and going that extra mile to make education a rewarding experience for their students. It makes me sad that there are teachers out there that do not support each other out of pure jealousy.

Before reading this book I had only watched the movie and never truly understood why Erin chose to move on after her kids graduated. I too believed that she had "sold out." After reading this book, I understand why she chose to move on. I feel that the work she is doing today to educate students, teachers, and even businesses is admirable. As much as I think that there would have been so many other kids that could have benefited from her, there was no need to stay at a school where other teachers did not appreciate her and made her feel as if she was a bad teacher for believing in kids that were meant to fail.

Finally, I'd like to address what some of the reviewers said about Erin sacrificing her marriage for her job. Only a man with insecurities would leave a woman like Erin Gruwell. In my eyes he could have been there supporting her, and that would have made their marriage work. She shouldn't have felt afraid to tell her husband about what was going on in her classroom. I remember watching a movie about a Utah teacher, Stacey Bess, who taught a group of homeless kids called "Beyond the Blackboard." My mom had told me about the movie and was in the middle of mentioning something about her husband when I interjected, "Her husband left her?" My mom said no, her husband helped her by starting a little league for the children. Erin's husband was the wrong kind of person for her.

[Debbie Moore-hargrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reviewing the movie and reading the book, it inspired me as a teacher to care more, give more, and encourage my students to reach for the stars.

I have so much compassion for my students and teaching to make sure they progress, graduate and achieve their goals in education, careers and lives that I let them know and try to stay in touch with them even after they leave my class to assure them they are still important, special and valuable in my life and I trust they feel the same about me and themselves.

This book really gave me hope to know that no matter how far you come from or what you have been through you can achieve your goals if you believe in yourself, don't give up, and truly want to succeed.

[Dustin Hanvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how many times I read this story, I never cease to be moved by it. This is a reminder of why teaching is the most important profession in our world and Ms. G a model of why we do it.

[Andrew Sydlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir about a high school English teacher's experiences at a forcefully integrated California school is both touching and disturbing. It reveals the ways in which race and class still split people apart and trap them in poverty and violence. With the other teachers and administrators largely being bigoted and uncaring, and the students being rebellious and mocking, Ms. Gruwell faced much adversity. Male students sexualized her rather than respected her, and both her white colleagues and her racially diverse students thought her idealistic and naive.

Yet, rather than give up, she sought to understand them. She asked about their personal lives, and began learning about rap and sports to be able to compare them to things in literature and history. But when a drawing gets passed around caricaturing a black student, it reminds her of Nazi drawings of Jews, and she berates the class on their making a joke of stereotyping. "This is how a holocaust happens," she shouts at them.

"Holocaust? What's that?"

That's right. None of them had heard about the Holocaust. When she asked how many of them had been shot at, everyone raised their hand. Gruwell learned how some had lost as many as a dozen friends to gang violence. “I’ve seen as many bodies as a mortuary,” Maria quips. Others attested to being brutalized by police, victimized by parents and other adults, ridiculed by teachers, and constantly fighting with rival gangs. Some faced racial prejudice in stark ways—one classmate lost a friend to a white-supremacist gang, who put his body inside a basketball hoop to intimidate other minorities. It turned out that a fellow white student had a brother who was part of that gang, though he rejected his brother’s racism and struggled to form connections with other students.

When she requested books such as The Diary of Anne Frank and Zlata's Diary, she was turned down, told that it was a waste of time, that her students were "too stupid" to understand such works, and would only ruin the copies. Gruwell used her own money to buy them from Barnes & Noble.

The students not only connected to stories of the Holocaust and war-torn Bosnia, they became extremely moved and got to meet Zlata and Holocaust survivors. Publicity began to build around Gruwell's activities, such as taking students to a screening of Schindler's List and the Museum of Tolerance. Unfortunately, this brought more hostility down on her, as angry phone calls came to her home, one caller even saying, "If you like black people so much, why don't you marry a monkey?" And Gruwell finds she has to sacrifice much in her personal life to stay dedicated, such as her husband divorcing her because of all the time she spent apart from him.

While it is clear that Gruwell sacrifices much to help, spending virtually all of her free time staying with students after class to help them with homework, driving them home, or working two additional jobs to afford books and field trips--one can also clearly see the humility and genuineness of her actions. Perhaps defiant and challenging at times, she never hesitates to remark how she shakes in terror at speaking in front of others. Nor does she fail to fret about her appearance or lack of experience in the efforts she dives into. The point she makes rings home a message of hope: though uncertain and limited, powerful things can happen with passion and love.

She does not hesitate to outline the many benefactors that helped her along the way, whether parents who volunteer to run fundraisers, or businessmen who donate thousands of dollars to send her and students overseas to Europe to visit Auschwitz and Bosnia.

There are many surprises and emotional moments that spring up in this astonishing tale, which is more the memoir of a family than of a person.

One of the reasons I like this story so much, aside from it being a tale of hope, is that it shows the power of literature to affect lives in a positive way. Some may dismiss this as a romanticized story of a white person saving the lowly minority, but lives were changed in real ways here. Also, she describes how her students touched her and others as much as she did them.

She got the students to collect their thoughts in what came to be published as the "Freedom Writers Diary," which is a good companion piece to this. These 2 books were used as inspiration for the movie "Freedom Writers," a rather good dramatization of the events and personalities involved.

[Merritt O'Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehhh. okay, I appreciate the fact that all Erins students graduated and obviously she had a positive impact on many (since they still work with her). let's establish that.

however, this story was so lucky and outlandish...and her tone so annoying.. that the book really grated my nerves. she doesn't talk much about how or what she taught beyond the mentioned book titles they read and their diaries. based on this, the way to be a good teacher is have your class read a book and then introduce them to the authors and characters. so simple, right? another way to get class involvement is meeting celebrities, having fancy dinners, and trips across the country. totally feasible for every teacher.

so the continual strokes of luck and networking mean this book offers no real or usable insight into teaching. strike one.

next, Erin is just... how much can a person talk about their humility and stress how they feel "so out of place" and "embarrassed" and generally inferior to everyone they encounter before it gets old? not as much as she does because its definitely worn by the end. after appearing on the front page of papers and meeting spielberg etc etc ad nauseum, she still claims to feel so intimidated. okay, maybe she has a complex. yet she then turns around and does things like chat with hank aaron and go on oprah and ask her exs boss for a quarter million bucks...

which brings me to THAT. in her run for congress she complains about how she would never ask for money and hates to even think of her friends that way (how many times did her dad foot a bill?) yet she then calls up a Kennedy and coyly requests cash and a dinner meeting! that inferiority complex and hatred of handouts is surely showing.

finally, the only time she mentions other teachers is by way of criticism. no wonder she was rejected by her peers.


anyway. I'm glad for the kids that they got those once in a lifetime experiences and enjoyed it. I saw that one is now a teacher and that's a good testament. however, I do not think it necessarily means you really equipped your students for life success if you are employing them... I'd like to see more info on the situations of all the Writers currently.

and PS I don't think she elucidates any real strategies or models for teaching, so I'm unsure why she launched into her current career after a mere five years in the classroom with the same kids.

okay, done.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting, engaging read about the Freedom Writers teacher and the major impact she made on the lives of so many of her students. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading her memoir, I am only giving it three stars because it is so idealistic and unrealistic to teach in that way. Gruwell sacrificed her marriage, and worked a second job to buy supplies for her students. Her interactions with the kids were definitely inappropriate, including driving them home, and taking them to Sarajevo, where she was lucky she had her brother, an ex-army man, along to help them out in sticky and life threatening situations. In the end it seemed she truly bonded with her first class of kids and then this one particular graduating class, which is a lot different from staying on as a teacher and dealing with different personalities that cross through your door every single year. To that end, she taught the same kids year after year, including having many of them as her students at the college level, which is a highly unlikely scenario. While that sounds so negative, she does deserve kudos for the generous spirit she had toward her students, and the profound life changing effect she had on their lives, and the achievements that she and the Freedom Writers, or Ambassadors of Tolerance, have made are truly inspirational.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring. I love the dedication and devotion she had for her cause. I also find it quite sad that she sacrificed her marriage and her family for that same cause. I'm grateful for what she did and how she raised our awareness of discrimination and problems in our educational situation. I'm also grateful for the all the teachers in my life and my children's lives who may not sacrifice their private life but who still give their all for our education. Great teachers come in all shapes and sizes, from Erin Gruwell down to the kindergarten teachers in the smallest communities.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very remarkable and inspiring story, even though at most times it is unrealistic or difficult for most educators to relate to. Erin's experience is just such an extraordinary one. However, there are enough lessons that elevate and affirm humanity, dignity, the teaching profession, the students, and their community, and enough examples of effective practice and pedagogy, to make it a worthwhile read for educators. The story and themes also make it worth reading for anybody interested in the success of each and every kid, wherever they are.

in otherwords, everybody should read it.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's supposed to be inspiring, and Erin Gruwell herself truly is - she spoke to my class of new teachers a couple years ago, and she still cried when talking about her students - but this truly is not realistic. One lucky break after another, really just wouldn't happen. I teach at a fairly difficult school myself (sad to say about an elementary school, but that's life), and there's just no way this perfect storm of events and sponsors and so on would ever happen again.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great memoir of a great teacher who started an incredible phenomenon. Not many specifics on how to replicate the formula, but you can draw out what she did as a teacher from between the lines.

[Bryon Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

While working a couple of years back at a Barnes and Noble, I stacked a 20th anniversary copy of The Freedom Writers. Having spent 6 years in the classroom, I now and again looked into the story, more recently going through Erin Gruwell’s memoir, Teach with Your Heart. The movie, like Lean on Me, Stand and Deliver, October Sky, etc., redeems the often-broken educational system through focusing on an educator who took the hits and labored in the trenches to make a difference. The memoir gives the background of it all, plus her life after teaching at Woodrow Wilson High School.
Gruwell’s labors are at times heroic, at times naïve, but certainly showed heart and hutzpah, and gained the notice of influencers, donors, and the media. The out of state-and country-field trips are impressive, especially when juxtaposed to her struggles with the education system and the eventual death of her father. The story ends with the release of the movie.
Yet with all it hopes to offer, the book is limited. As a teacher I learned to stay out of negative faculty lounges, but were there no teachers who faithfully labored in the trenches (with a family to support, low pay, high-stress and constant frustration) that could be highlighted? The book reads as a David v Goliath trek, of only Gruwell cultivating beauty in a garden of status-quo cynicism. Too, her journey ended after four years in the classroom. Why not regroup after her time as a college teacher and return to do it better?
In Teacher Man, Frank McCourt’s memoir of his career in the classroom, he states that an irony of the American education system is that an educator gains more money and influence the further her/she gets from the classroom. Erin’s Freedom Writers foundation trains teachers and is still ongoing-it now has five books to its credit: not bad for four years in one school.
If I were again in the classroom I’d try to invoke some of the Freedom Writer mojo, which I understand as nurturing a community that celebrates the individual. I would not attempt the author’s methods: constant money woes, continuous extra jobs, a collapsed marriage, seemingly unreconcilable bitterness with some colleagues, and burned bridges. For the teacher who wants to stay and make a difference through many years and many, many more students, there is content to learn from, and to guard against, in Teach with Your Heart.

[Deborah Linn · Rating 4 out of 5]

For several years now, the book Freedom Writers has been a staple in my sophomore English class. For just as long, I've had Erin Gruwell's Teach With Your Heart on my To Read shelf. I'm happy to finally be able to check it off the list.

For fans of the Hillary Swank movie, Freedom Writers, Teach From Your Heart will be more familiar than the book that shares the movie title. Teach From Your Heart tells the Freedom Writers movie story. Actually, the two books together tell the whole story. I absolutely recommend reading both.

Gruwell might know how to teach with her heart, but in this book, she writes with her heart, too. The memoir highlight all those heartfelt moments every new teacher experiences--insecurity, imposter syndrome, hopefulness, hopelessness, frustration, failure, and success. Her story reminds teacher readers about the importance of connection with students. It reminds non-teacher readers of how much more schools do for the community than what they can even imagine.

My one warning to teachers reading this book is to be careful of comparison. The reason there is a book, a movie, and a non-profit organization is because Gruwell's situation is unique. She found herself thrown into a perfect storm. She just happened to have every imaginable kind of life support. Not every teachers have that. In fact, most don't.

Nevertheless, it's a heartwarming and inspirational look at the magic of teaching.

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with the film "The Freedom Writers" starring Hilary Swank (keep a tissue handy), and recently came across "Teach with your Heart" and "The Freedom Writers' Diary" in our local library. I read the Diary first, but I think it's better to read "Teach with Your Heart" first, as it gives the background to how the Diary came to be written.

As an ESOL teacher and literacy tutor I found much of what Erin Gruwell talks about very inspiring, particularly the philosophy of really connecting with your students and teaching in a way that is relevant to them. However I can see that she is one of those people who puts 110% into everything she does, which is why she had such spectacular success with her students, and that's not always possible for all of us. She does say that her commitment to the Freedom Writers probably cost her her marriage.

All in all, both these books are great reads, and it's fantastic that there are teachers like Erin around - and that she had the support to bring her dreams for her students to fruition - and well beyond.

[Katie Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who works in Education knows that the relationships you develop with the students are of immense importance. Erin Gruwell managed to develop deep connections with hundreds of students that were not contingent on race, religion, or class - a feat that is truly impressive.

However, it did strike me that 90% of the experiences she was able to give the Freedom Writers were only made possible due to Erin Gruwell's wealthy background, connections, and the generosity of millionaires/billionaires she happened to know. So, while her classroom methods can and, mostly, should be replicated, there is honestly no scope for replicating the experiences she gave to her students (which included a twenty day international trip to multiple European countries for fifty students) if you are not of a similar background to Gruwell (which ironically seems antithetical to her own message).

[Gürkan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think teaching profession is the hardest and most beautiful profession of the world.The hardest profession because you load big percent responsibility of your students. The most beautiful profession because, You are inspiring source for your student and every time they are will be grateful to you. You are growing generations! I read many book of Erin Gruwell. She is inspiring for teachers and students. I had 4 inspiring teacher in my education life. All of them changed to my life.I sure so these 4 teacher changed many student as good form. If you are interested in teaching after reading this book you can change many student life like Erin Gruwell. Finally, don't forget watch "Fredom Writers" movie.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had seen the Freedom Writers film multiple times and really enjoyed it. After hearing two of the Freedom Writers speak at a professional development event, I became more interested in reading about Erin Gruwell. This book did not disappoint. I love Erin's honest, endearing approach to storytelling. The book fills in many of the gaps that often occur in film adaptations, and it was a pleasure to read. I recommend it for anyone who wants to understand other points of view, especially in our current political climate.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Erin Gruwell's story is compelling and life-changing. I was fully engaged throughout every page and inspired to be a teacher! I'm so thankful Erin was able to share her story to the world not only in the Freedom Writers but also through this auto-biography of her time as a teacher and impact in the lives of her students.

[Najwa Hirn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very inspiring for young teachers as well as students. I had watched the movie several years ago and it stayed with me. It was powerful. I recently read the Freedom Writers diaries and that left an impact also. I hope that the movie and these books encourages more educators to believe in students of all types and think outside the box to help more students succeed.

[Jatina Altmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good story, especially ones on learning. Teachers have been such a disappointment to me throughout life. My own, my kids and now my grand kids. Don’t get me wrong I still believe there are good ones (I had a few), it just seems to be going downhill and at a faster pace. Homeschooling the last few of my kids was a great decision. This book gave me hope for a possible future.

[John Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! After reading The Freedom Writer's Diary, I wanted to read Erin' s view of the events that shaped the book and became a movie. This book has done that. Like the others, this was a very engaging read, marvellous details that perfectly rounds the whole story. Highly recommended!

[Debbie Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read

I loved this story very much. It captivated my interest and I had difficulty putting it down. I wanted to see what else this teacher could do. Amazing! It is a feel good book- some things in life do turn out right

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My notes from 2007:
A memoir. I read it because Gruwell is the teacher behind the Freedom Writers, and I taught the Freedom Writers Diary in class. The memoir helped fill in a lot of the blanks of the other text, and it's a compelling story.

[audrey bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book # 95 of 2018 📖

I wanted to read this book last summer, but couldn't get myself through it. I'm glad because I needed to read it now more than I did back then. I loved it. K bye.

[Samantha-Jane Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely inspiring story for anyone, especially aspiring teachers.

[Tasha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read but left me feeling a little inadequate and overwhelmed!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Beware though, there is some pretty rough language at points.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactlynwhat I was expecting. I was looking for more concrete “lessons” and advice in this.

[Emily Sayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every educator needs to read this. Erin offers a raw and insightful view of teaching and the importance of caring for the students more than the standards.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, and changed my perspective for the better.

[KD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely book! I couldn't put it down. An inspirational story.