Biography and Legacy of Erin Gruwell

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Education is a massive part of the world today and it is important every student is able to reach their fullest potential. Erin Gruwell, born in southern California on August 15, 1969, roves to be a symbol of hope and change as she forever changed the lives of her troubled high school students at Woodrow Wilson High School who were “written off by the education system”(Rea,2012) by allowing them a voice and instilling infinite potential in every student.
Long before Gruwell became a teacher she aspired to be a lawyer. However, after seeing the violent L.A riots in 1992 she decided her passion was to make a difference in children’s lives as a teacher. In 1994 Woodrow Wilson High hired Gruwell and gave her classes filled with the “un teachable” “failure” students who didn’t have any respect for school or teachers.() Yet, rather than getting discouraged by the pool of students she was given, Guwell wanted to change the way these kids thought and viewed school and themselves(Adams, 2013). Through her innovative teaching style she was able to communicate to her students by reading them stories about hardships that they could relate to. As time went on her students slowly started embracing her and together wrote The Freedom Writers Diary; which included the inspiring stories in her student’s journals, from their hard upbringings to their everyday struggles and how they were able to stay strong through it all.
I chose Erin Gruwell as my leader to showcase someone with such a passion for making a difference. She and I alike so not believe in the paradigm “separate but equal”, how could something be separated but treated equal at the say time? I find it redundant and so did Gruwell. I admire her strength and courage to make a di...

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...ty. - Salem College. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.salem.edu/events/erin-gruwell-the-original-freedom-writer-empowering-students-faculty-and-the-community
Choi, J. (2009). Reading Educational Philosophies In Freedom Writers. The Clearing House, 82(5), 244-248.
Elsenbach, B., & Kaywell, J. (2013). Making an Impression: YA Authors and Their Influential Teachers. English Journal, 102(5), 74-79.
Erin Gruwell. (n.d.). Cech. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://cech.uc.edu/content/dam/cech/centers/hope/docs/Erin%20Gruwell%20Biography.pdf
Mitchell, M., & Jacob, D. (2011). A Toast for Change. Reclaiming Children & Youth Spring, 20(1), 26-28.
Petersen, A. (2009). Their Words, Our Story: Freedom Writers as Scenario of Pedagogical Refor. Film and History, 39(1), 31-43.
Trierweiler, H. (2009). Talking with Erin Gruwell. Talking with Erin Gruwell, 118(4), 27-28.

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