abuse, Drug discrimination, homelessness, criminal behavior, violence, incarcerated family members and gang activity are only some of the troubles the students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California faced on a daily basis. When Erin Gruwell appeared as a firstyear high school English teacher, she fostered an educational philosophy that valued acceptance, tolerance, diversity, communication and perseverance. Her philosophy and commitment changed her students lives. The educational philosophy illustrated in Freedom Writers draws many parallels to the five Marianist Characteristics of Education: Educate for Formation in Faith, Provide an Integral, Quality Education, Educate in the Family Spirit, Educate for Service, Justice and Peace and Educate for Adaption and Change. According to the Marianist Characteristics of Education, the foundation of an education is based on a formation of faith. Similarly, in Freedom Writers, the students of Wilson High needed to have faith in Erin before they took her seriously; Erin needed to establish herself as a reliable source and trustworthy teacher. In order to do that, she asked questions and prepared lessons that related to her students. While remaining true to herself and who she was, she tweaked her lessons to accommodate the students in her classroom. Once her students realized that she was not just another teacher who did not set expectations and accept less than what they were capable of, they began to let their guards down. As Erins faith in the students grew, the students faith in Erin grew. Another part of the Marianist Characteristics of Education is to Provide an Integral, Quality Education. This characteristic calls for a well-informed, professional administration, faculty and staff. Unfortunately, Erin and the students did not have this vital support. Convinced that the students at Wilson High School were unteachable, the administration and faculty were reluctant to help Erin make a difference. Two of those less-than-optimistic people were Advanced Placement teacher Brian Gelford and Department Head Margaret Campbell. Mr. Gelford thought integration had ruined Wilson High Schools reputation and standing and stated that Wilson was an A-list school before integration. Meanwhile, Ms. Campbell believed Erin was better off teaching discipline rather than learning and reading. Additionally, Ms. Campbell restricted the use of textbooks in fear that the troubled kids would damage, lose or steal them. Another teacher claimed that the reason the reason African American literature was not part of the curriculum was because it was filled with sex, drugs, cussing and fornication. Despite her reluctant superintendent and pessimistic co-workers, Erin took part-time jobs at a hotel and department store to subsidize new books that related to her students lives. With her new resources, she constructed a new learning paradigm that emphasized confidence, tolerance and participation. In order to allow her students to develop a sense of individuality for themselves and an interior self-knowledge, she inspired her students to write daily in a diary. Each student was free to record anything, whether it was lyrics, poems, feelings or events. After Erin read their stories and saw that they faced poverty and violence everyday, she realized that homework and showing up on time took a back seat to surviving one more day. Reading her students journal entries made her realize that while most of her students cared about protecting their own, many did not have a family support system. Erins concern turned into dedication and she began to care for her students the way parents care for children. She started to Educate in the Family Spirit. The Marianist Characteristics of Education calls to Educate in the Family Spirit. The first part of that is to create an environment that favors education and learning. Erins first attempt to provide a favorable environment was introducing Tupac as a connection to poetry and internal rhymes. Next, she went to the Board of Education to clear a book about gang violence for the curriculum. The book to seemed reach students. One
student, Eva, even passed it along to her father in prison. Outside the classroom, Erin organized a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance, where the students learned about the true impact of the Holocaust. Afterwards, Holocaust survivors Renee Firestone, Eddie Ilam, Elisabeth Mann, and Gloria Ungar joined Erin, her father and the students for a dinner at the Marriott Hotel where they heard first-hand experiences and stories. The response Erin received was positive. She continued the lesson by giving the students a writing assignment. They were each responsible for writing a letter to Miep Gies, who courageously hid the Frank family from the Nazis during World War II. Her method worked so well that the students began raising funds to bring Ms. Gies to the classroom. They planned fundraisers, requested school funding and organized a dance concert in order to put the funds together. When Ms. Gies arrived, she shared her story and said that she did what she had to do because it was the right thing to do. She wanted the students to know that what she did was not heroic and that anyone can make a difference: We are all ordinary people but even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can within their own small ways turn on a small light in a dark room. The students began to realize that their futures were not predetermined; they began to realize that they had control over themselves. When Erins students returned their sophomore year, they started in an unconventional manner. Erin asked each of them to make a toast to change. Each student made a vow to make a positive difference, whether it was to avoid pregnancy before age 16 or refuse violence. During their freshman year, Erin created an environment where the students felt safe, where it felt like home, as one student put it in his toast to change. Her efforts created interpersonal relationships that allowed students to be open and respect one another despite differences. They became a family. Another characteristic of the Marianist educational philosophy was to Educate for Service, Justice and Peace. Erin made several attempts to accomplish this. In order to promote solidarity in her classroom, she re-assigned the seating. When the students first entered room 203, they transformed the room into territories by turning their desks to form groups. By doing that, they imposed segregation on themselves; they created territories based on gang affiliation and race. By re-assigning seats, Erin broke those groups and forced students to sit next to different students. The next way she promoted unity and peace was by playing the line game. She asked her students a variety of questions, including who had the new Snoop Dog album, which students had access to drugs, where they lived, if they knew someone in jail and if they had lost a friend to gang violence. These questions made her students realize that they had more in common than they thought. Boundaries began to break down. The final characteristic in the Marianist educational philosophy is to Educate for Adaption and Change. Throughout the movie, Erin worked towards getting her students to accept and respect differences. She made them realize that despite skin color, everyone feels pain for the loss of a friend due to gang violence. She gave them the opportunity to critically think about the past, the present and the future by giving them freedom of speech through journal writing. Just like in the Marianist educational philosophy, Erin wanted to teach her students to appreciate diversity. She wanted them to understand that everyone has a story and a future to share. The Marianist Characteristics of Education calls for a partnership between the student and teacher. It believes in faith, openness, diversity, community and respect. Erin Gruwell demonstrated these same educational philosophies during her time with the students at Wilson High School. The success this philosophy had not only in Erins classroom, but also in Catholic classrooms all over, says that it is an educational philosophy deemed worthy of repeating.