The Freedom Writers Diary (33 page)

“They don’t even care about school,” said another.

“They don’t care about anything!” said yet another.

Their casual banter about
those kids
was startling. I was troubled by how nonchalant they were with their pejorative comments. After a string of generalizations, the teachers moved on to something more specific.

“Did you hear about the latest disciplinary transfer from Poly?” one of the teachers asked.

I instantly suspected that they were talking about Sharaud, because he had sauntered into my classroom wearing his Poly jersey.

“I heard he brought a gun to Poly last year and was planning to shoot everyone in the teacher’s lounge,” the teacher said.

“No, I heard he was planning to shoot his English teacher,” said another.

“I can’t believe they let him in here. It’s just a matter of time before that boy blows someone away,” a different teacher said.

After being sufficiently ignored and having heard tales of how Sharaud would single-handedly destroy the institution, I decided I couldn’t handle it anymore. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. No one said goodbye. Why would they? They hadn’t even bothered to say hello.

I fumbled for my keys as I dashed to my car. The lingering conversation about Sharaud had struck fear in me. What if I was the next teacher to trigger him?

The Freedom Writers Foundation

The story did not end in Room 203. Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers created the Freedom Writers Foundation to positively impact communities by decreasing high school drop-out rates through the replication and enhancement of the Freedom Writers Method. Ultimately, the Foundation seeks to provide all students with hope and opportunities to realize their academic potential.

The Foundation’s core programs include Outreach, Curriculum, and Scholarship. The Outreach Program involves sharing the Freedom Writers’ story through public speaking and training teachers to replicate the success of Room 203 in their own classrooms using the Freedom Writers Method. The Foundation is developing a library of curriculum resources that outline the Freedom Writers Method, including a Teacher’s Guide, study guides, and interactive DVDs that can be purchased through the Foundation’s Web site. The Scholarship Program supports students deserving of post-high school educational tuition grants. The Foundation also maintains the copyright of this book, the royalties of which support the Freedom Writers Foundation.

If you wish to support the work of the Freedom Writers and

the Foundation, please send your contribution to
:

Freedom Writers Foundation

P.O. Box 41505

Long Beach, CA 90853

www.freedomwritersfoundation.org

The Freedom Writers Foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, public-benefit foundation, organized under the laws of the state of Delaware and tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal EIN #04-3678807).

For more information on the Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell, or the Freedom Writers Foundation, please visit www.freedomwritersfoundation.org.

PUBLISHED BY BROADWAY BOOKS

Copyright © 1999 by The Tolerance Education Foundation

All Rights Reserved

A previous edition of this book was originally published in 1999 by Broadway Books.

Published in the United states by Broadway Books, an imprint of The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.broadwaybooks.com

BROADWAY BOOKS
and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming hardcover edition of
Teach with Your Heart
by Erin Gruwell. This excerpt has been set for this edition and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Freedom Writers

The Freedom Writers diary: how a teacher and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them / the Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell.—1st ed.

p.cm.

1. Teenagers—United States Diaries. 2. Toleration—United States.

I. Gruwell, Erin.

HQ796.F76355 1999

305.235—dc21 99-30342

CIP

eISBN: 978-0-7679-2833-5

v3.0