本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛No one should ever experience violence. This is especially true for children and teenagers. However, some are not so lucky. This holds true in countries such as the United States, as well as third-world countries such as Sierra Leone. The Freedom Writers Foundation helps teach students in the United States and Canada who have experienced violence, particularly gang and racial violence, to learn and actually take it to heart. It is true that a lot of teens who have experienced violence are sent to school, but they are often looked down on and treated unfairly, thus making them unwilling to actually learn. The Freedom Writers Foundation teaches teachers across the country the ‘Freedom Writer method’ of teaching, a method proven effective by the founder of the Foundation.

This foundation began in a way unique from other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). If one somehow looked back in time, one would find oneself in classroom number 203 in Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, during a period of time following shortly after the Rodney King riots. Long Beach, at that time, was filled with gang violence and racial tension, and this did not cease to exist inside school boundaries, especially in classroom 203, where all the ‘un-teachable delinquents’ were put. Almost all of these ‘under average’ teens were in racial gangs, and most had a deep hatred of those of a different race than themselves, a deep enough hatred to kill. A teacher and a student teacher were assigned to this class. This is what began it all.
Neither teacher nor student teacher likely knew what to expect. However, on the very first day of school, the teacher abandoned the student teacher, Erin Gruwell, to escape from these teens, leaving her to attempt to teach them by herself. Although she had a rocky start, to say the least, with the class that was now hers, one significant event changed her thoughts of these young adults. After intercepting a racial caricature of Sharaud, a student who had been expelled from his last school for supposedly bringing a gun to class and threatening his English teacher with it (but presently one of the Freedom Writers), Gruwell told the class that this was the exact kind of propaganda the Nazis had used during the Holocaust, only to find out that all but one of the students had never heard of the Holocaust. Something as well-known in history as the Holocaust was something that even this class should have known, is what was likely thought.

Erin Gruwell took the class as her own. Soon, she began to teach them with books such as ‘Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl’ and ‘Night,’ and had them write journals every day (that were later published). She began to establish a bond with them, and returned the next year as a full teacher, to teach a new class of freshmen in the same position. When learning about the Freedom Riders, these students named themselves the Freedom Writers. Since the school was not willing to give books to this class, Gruwell, who bought them with her own money, was forced to have two other part-time careers. However, as the Freedom Writers’ and Erin Gruwell’s fame grew, John Tu, multi-millionaire and co-founder of Kingston Technology, began to sponsor the Freedom Writers, and he donated 35 computers, which were later given away to the 35 Freedom Writers with the highest marks at graduation. Erin Gruwell was able to teach the Freedom Writers during all four years of high school, all the way up to graduation, and they later went on to college, earning credentials, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and even PhD’s. These so-called Freedom Writers changed remarkably from that first day as a freshman.

The founder of this foundation, Erin Gruwell, played an essential part in this organization. She should be commended for the feat she accomplished – to teach the Freedom Writers and, against popular belief, show that these students were, after all, just like all the other students attending school. Overcoming labels and peer pressure from her colleagues, she proved that these teens were normal, not dumb, stupid, idiotic wastes of time. This was a feat that she accomplished, and not only that, but accomplished well.

This remarkable individual had a rather modest background. Erin Gruwell was born on August 15, 1969 in California. She graduated from Bonita High School and the University of California and earned her Master’s Degree and teaching credentials at the California State University. Surprisingly, Gruwell originally wanted to become a lawyer, but after watching footage of the Las Angeles riots in the 1990’s, decided that being a teacher would enable her to leave a more powerful influence in a larger number of lives. Her choice allowed her to accomplish more than she could ever have dreamed of by the time she left Woodrow Wilson High School in 1998. However, that did not bring to an end her living legacy. In 1997, a year before she left Woodrow Wilson, she founded the aforementioned organization and in 2000, she ran for Congress in CA-38. She published an autobiography titled ‘Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers’ in 2007. There is no doubt that she will work more miracles with the Freedom Writers in the future, as well.

The Freedom Writers Foundation was founded in 1997 by Erin Gruwell. Their mission is to (quote their website), ‘positively impact[s] communities by decreasing high school dropout rates through the replication and enhancement of the Freedom Writers Method.’ The Foundation’s purpose is to create opportunities for students to do their best in school, encourage a motto of diversity, and show students their roles in their communities. The organization reaches out to communities in the United States and Canada, holding workshops across these countries to teach other teachers the ‘Freedom Writer method.’ This group is not an NGO in a conventional sense, as although it strives to help, it does not target third-world countries, but rather one that some may think is perfect. This, however, does not make this organization’s purpose any less important than those of other NGOs.

The story of the Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell, and the Freedom Writers Foundation is truly astonishing and remarkable. All children and teens deserve a chance for an education, no matter if they are a former juvenile delinquent or an everyday six-year-old child. As the Foundation shows, it is not impossible to educate an ‘under average’ teen, as long as the teacher is willing to learn. This organization, whose purpose, as mentioned before, is to, basically, help decrease high school drop-out rates and increase actual learning, is doubtlessly not a worthless attempt and waste of time. No matter race or history, all youth should get to experience a caring teacher, a class of interest, a place of hope. Violence is something that will likely not happen if proper education and understanding teachers are present, as well. It is a comparatively simple answer for a comparatively large problem. Although this may be debated, when one considers the previous proof, it is obvious the Freedom Writers Foundation is worthy of thought and support.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net