Reflections From a Freedom Writer: Creating Freedom Writer Teachers

In an idealistic world long ago, Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers had a dream of one day opening a school filled with teachers trained in the Freedom Writers (FW) Method, who would understand how to connect with their students and provide light to otherwise "hopeless" cases. Over the years it seemed that we moved further and further from this goal, but over the last few months I have reached a great and validating realization.

That validation comes in knowing that while there may not be a Freedom Writers school, there are still teachers in our nation's classrooms equipped to with an arsenal of tools and a supportive network of like-minded peers. The Foundation has created a message board for participants past and present to share experiences, offer encouragement, and brainstorm solutions for their teaching challenges.

In summer 2006 the Freedom Writers Foundation invited teachers from all over the country to Long Beach, California for a whirlwind workshop, the aim of which was to teach these passionate educators the methods Gruwell used to reach her students so effectively. The training was intense and emotional, like so many other things involving the Freedom Writers. This first group of select teachers left feeling empowered, re-energized, armed to handle the complex issues they dealt with in their classrooms, and best of all, prepared to create the next generation of Freedom Writers. The workshop was dubbed Freedom Writers Institute and continues to this day as the staple program of the Freedom Writers Foundation's 5 core missions.

As with all new programs there were - and are - some teachable moments, both for the attendees and the Foundation; the Foundation has learned to improve upon many of the activities. During one Institute session, Gruwell gave the teachers a "Dear Freedom Writer" activity, and when the teachers did not return with what she was expecting, Gruwell realized that she needed to be more specific about what she expected the teachers to do - in other words, model for the teachers what she wanted by providing specific examples. This modeling theory is a major part of the teacher training, and teachers are encouraged to provide their students with a template of their expectations of the end results of each activity. Since the first Institute session, teacher training seminars have become standarized and operate as a well-oiled machine, though there will always be teachable moments to help Gruwell and the Foundation improve the Institute.

The result of the Institute is an ever-growing community of Freedom Writers Teachers similar to the community of Freedom Writers Students Gruwell created in room 203. The Freedom Writers Institute does not supply your typical teacher training. Instead, it is an interactive, emotionally intense 5 day retreat in which teachers experience activities that may likely be included in the Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide - a guide full of powerful ideas and activities the teachers are encouraged to implement into their classrooms' curricula when they return home. Although the focus is to learn the "Freedom Writers Method," the teachers must personally go through the process of being engaged and connecting in much same way that they hope to engage and connect their students.

At the most recent August Institute, I extended my participation into the next phase - the curriculum/field trip day where teachers get to visit the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance, see a private screening of the "Freedom Writers" movie, and meet Holocaust survivor Rene Firestone. Even after years of hearing Mrs. Firestone speak briefly about her story of survival, somehow hearing it this past Monday was more powerful for me than ever before. I was shaken to the core with the harrowing and horrific details of her account, but it was in the midst of these feelings that I realized how very lucky and blessed each teacher was to be selected to participate in the Freedom Writer Institute.

As I bid the teachers farewell – they on their way to Paramount Studios to see the movie, me on my way home – I reflected on my own initial experience as a Freedom Writer student and how surreal the last few days must have been for the teachers. Were they really prepared for the responsibility they had taken on (possibly unwittingly) when they accepted the title of Freedom Writers Teacher? Were they prepared to truly become a team with their students, refusing to fail or accept failure the way Gruwell did with the original Freedom Writers students? The concept and possibilities seem almost too grandiose to imagine, but I am certainly hopeful.

Now I see how a small seed of hope can ripple out around the world, creating radical changes in unsuspecting communities. The battle will be hard-fought and at times discouraging, but as long as we have each other to depend on, we will succeed.

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