Freedom Writers

“I don’t know many of you but it is the shear tolerance of human being that invokes the sprit of power and determination”

This is a true story of strength, courage and achievement in the face of adversity.

At Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, dubbed by administrators as "unteachable, at-risk" teenagers. The class was a diverse mix of African-American, Latino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students, many of whom had grown up in rough neighborhoods in Long Beach. In the first few weeks of class, the students made it clear that they were not interested in what their teacher had to say, and made bets about how long she would last in their classroom.

Then a pivotal moment changed their lives forever. When a racial caricature of one of the African-American students circulated the classroom, Erin Gruwell angrily intercepted the drawing and compared it to the Nazi caricatures of Jews during the Holocaust. To her amazement, the students responded with puzzled looks. Erin Gruwell was appalled to discover that many of her students had never heard of the Holocaust. When she asked how many in her class had been shot at, however, almost all of them raised their hands, and began lifting their shirts to show their scars. This initiated a battle-scar show-and-tell that left Erin Gruwell shocked and inspired to take advantage of the powerful energy she had sparked.

By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students' lives. She encouraged them to rethink rigid beliefs about themselves and others, to reconsider daily decisions, and to rechart their futures. With Erin's steadfast support, her students shattered stereotypes to become critical thinkers, aspiring college students, and citizens for change. They even dubbed themselves the "Freedom Writers" - in homage to the Civil Rights activists the "Freedom Riders" - and published a book.

From the moment they named themselves the "Freedom Writers," the students of Room 203 changed from a group of apathetic, frustrated students to a closely knit, motivated family. The Freedom Writers have continued their mission to teach tolerance and share their story of success.

Soul

Resting in peace…
Lied a body…with its eyes so gloomy and field so soggy…
Soul emerged underneath the skin…
It emerged like sun would rise after dawn….
Or phoenix emerged from its ashes….

Soul picked up its pace and moved ahead….
It went up the hill, crossed the river….
It went up the sky and went so high…
Came down and hit so hard….
Like an empty glass thrown from the top….

Soul had some fun….
Before it was terrified…..
Terrified with the thought…..
That it had to leave and leave quickly…
Before the arrival of angel or devil….

Soul had a thought….
Thought was hard….thought twice…
Like how did I die….was I good enough to die…
Soul sobbed for a second…..
Sobbed even wolves were terrified……

A light emerged from the sky….
Light was hard it was harder than ever….
Only the soul could see the light….
Beneath the bright light…

Arrived the angel….
The angel was white…..
Like a diamond from black emerald of sky….
Puzzled with the look of soul…
Angel took its hand…

Angel flew with the soul…
It also went up the hill, crossed the river…
It also went up the sky and went high…
Came down the angel, came with the soul……
Pointed to the body…
which was lying…..right there before….

soul saw its master…
soul saw to whom it belonged….
Soul asked “how did I die….”
Angel replied “you didn’t die…you were killed….
Killed with your thoughts…
You killed yourself……”

Now soul remembered everything…
It came haunting, it came with fear…
Soul closed its eyes….
Never wanted to open his eyes….

Angel took the soul….
Took it so far….
Took it so high…
That it could never come down..
Such was the fate of the soul…
Didn’t realize….when it was alive…
Didn’t realize….when it died..