‘Freedom Writers’ Inspiration to Speak

11/04/2014 

Educator and writer Erin Gruwell, the author of a book that inspired the academy award-winning movie, “Freedom Writers,” aims to be a catalyst for change.

She will share her experiences as a teacher and how she influenced 150 of her students to overcome social, racial and educational problems to succeed in graduating on Monday, Nov. 10, at SUNY Cortland.

Presented by the College’s Student Activities Board (SAB), the talk begins at 7 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room. The event is free and open to the public.

A widely known advocate both for teachers and students, Gruwell aims to encourage the audience to become role models of tolerance and gain respect for at-risk youth.

The film “Freedom Writers,” starring Academy Award-winning actor Hilary Swank, is based on Gruwell’s The

Erin Gruwell

Freedom Writers Diary, a New York Times bestseller, which exposes both the journey and transformation of students who had originally been written off by the education system.

When Gruwell entered Woodrow Wilson High School on her first day of teaching, she didn’t know what she was getting herself into.

Many of her students from this tough, racially divided school were deemed unteachable.

“In the beginning I was pretty naïve and did not know a lot about at-risk teens,” Gruwell noted in a web biography “I knew I could see past color and culture, but I did not know how to get to the hearts of these young people. So I gave them a pen and told them to share their experiences through the art of writing. Through writing, my students discovered tolerance and respect for one another.”

Gruwell is credited with encouraging her students to re-think rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decisions, and ultimately re-chart their futures. With Gruwell’s support, they chose to forego teenage pregnancy, drugs and violence to become aspiring college students, published writers and citizens for change. Her former students dubbed themselves the “Freedom Writers” — in homage to civil rights activists the Freedom Riders — and published a book.

Gruwell’s story received far-reaching media coverage on shows such as Oprah, The View and Good Morning America.

She founded the Freedom Writers Foundation, through which she helps other teachers incorporate her strategies and lesson plans in their own classrooms. She also has written a memoir Teach with Your Heart, which continues to emphasize the power of teaching and how she affected these students.

Gruwell received the Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, University of California at Irvine. She earned her master’s degree and teaching certification from California State University Long Beach, where she was honored as Distinguished Alumna by the School of Education.

For information about Gruwell, visit her website.

For more information about the talk, contact Mary Kate Boland, assistant director of campus activities, at 607-753-2034.

Prepared by Public Relations Office intern Victoria Lewis