Erin Gruwell

Chapter 1 – Why Teach, by Denisse Escarcega

One of my biggest fears when I started teaching was working with students who came from difficult home life situations. Having been pretty sheltered all of my life and being considered a “good” student growing up, I was worried that not all of my students would feel like they would be able to relate to me and as a result would not be willing to open up to me. As it turns out, students were more than willing to open up to me if I made it clear to them that I was willing to listen. Erin Gruwell’s story really strikes a cord with me because I admire the incredible work that she did with her students. It’s very inspiring to see that she was able to motivate her students to write. In this first video clip, (the embedding code was not available, so please follow the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=799H6oMD5DQ ), I found it very inspiring to hear her say that she encouraged her students to pick up a pen (instead of a weapon or a spray can) in order to express themselves and to make their voice heard. I really like that she touches on topics such as “street smarts” and “book smarts, ” students as teachers and vice-versa, and the questions that a teacher needs to ask themselves in order to figure out how to help the students. These are extremely important issues for teachers to reflect on.



The second video clip I chose is a scene from the movie based on Ms. Gruwell’s life. I like how it shows the types of issues that teachers have to grapple with and how it spills over into both the teacher’s and the student’s home life. A teacher can’t just clock out at 3:00 in the afternoon – they take home more than just homework to grade. The fact that she is dealing with a divorce hints at some of the issues, such as depression, that come with teaching or that affect us as teachers but that aren’t talked about in teacher education courses. I also liked that the clip shows how students become attached to their instructors and how they become bewildered and look for solutions (some more creative or colorful than others) when they realize they might lose their favorite instructor.

Erin Gruwell is a fascinating and inspiring educator. Future educators can learn a lot from her work, her thoughts, and her story because it provides us with much food for thought. To learn more about her and her work with Freedom Writers, check out the following site: http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org