The Freedom Writers Diary (20th Anniversary Edition): How a Teacher and 150 Features: With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students. Description: Product Description #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The twentieth anniversary edition of the classic story of an incredible group of students and the teacher who inspired them, featuring updates on the students’ lives, new journal entries, and an introduction by Erin Gruwell   Now a public television documentary, Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart   In 1994, an idealistic first-year teacher in Long Beach, California, named Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. She had intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust. She was met by uncomprehending looks—none of her students had heard of one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. So she rebooted her entire curriculum, using treasured books such as Anne Frank’s diary as her guide to combat intolerance and misunderstanding. Her students began recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers.”   Consisting of powerful entries from the students’ diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell,  The Freedom Writers Diary is an unforgettable story of how hard work, courage, and determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students. In the two decades since its original publication, the book has sold more than one million copies and inspired a major motion picture  Freedom Writers. And now, with this twentieth-anniversary edition, readers are brought up to date on the lives of the Freedom Writers, as they blend indispensable takes on social issues with uplifting stories of attending college—and watch their own children follow in their footsteps.  The Freedom Writers Diary remains a vital read for anyone who believes in second chances. From Library Journal When Gruwell was a first-year high school teacher in Long Beach, CA, teaching the "unteachables" (kids that no other teacher wanted to deal with), she discovered that most of her students had not heard of the Holocaust. Shocked, she introduced them to books about toleranceAfirst-person accounts by the likes of Anne Frank and Zlata Filopvic, who chronicled her life in war-torn Sarajevo. The students were inspired to start keeping diaries of their lives that showed the violence, homelessness, racism, illness, and abuse that surrounded them. These student diaries form the basis of this book, which is cut from the same mold as Dangerous Minds: the outsider teacher, who isn't supposed to last a month, comes in and rebuilds a class with tough love and hard work. Most readers will be proud to see how these students have succeeded; at the end of their four-year experience, the Freedom WritersAas they Recommended for youth, education, and urban studies C. Bell-Russel, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers continue to share their stories with students and teachers from around the globe through their nonprofit, the Freedom Writers Foundation. They are the subject of the 2019 public television documentary  Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart, and the 2007 feature film  Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank. Gruwell lives in Long Beach. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Freshman Year Fall 1994 Entry 1 -- Ms. Gruwell Dear Diary, Tomorrow morning, my journey as an English teacher officially begins. Since first impressions are so important, I wonder what my students will think about me. Will they think I'm out of touch or too preppy? Or worse yet, that I'm too young to be taken seriously? Maybe I'll have them write a journal entry describing what their expectations Payment: We accept PayPal and all major credit cards. “Buy It Now” items require immediate purchase. Shipping: Most items ship within 1 business day of received payment. Shipping is free unless you upgrade your shipping speed at checkout. You will receive tracking information within 48 hours of shipment. Returns: If you need to return your purchase, please do so within 30 days of receiving your item. Please contact us for an RMA number. We will not accept returns without an RMA number.