young boy of color sitting at a desk with an open notebook on it

The Freedom Writers Diary

by Erin Gruwell

Start Free Trial

Section 2 Summary

Download PDF PDF Page Citation Cite Share Link Share

Freshman Year: Spring 1995

Ms. Gruwell is frustrated with students who do not want to read, write, or do homework. She is even more frustrated with a system that labels students “remedial,” “stupid,” or “basic.” She is then surprised that students believe the label. Even their parents seem to have given up on them. In fact, they may not be “smart” in the conventional sense, but they are quite savvy. Ms. G is preparing to teach Shakespeare to her class of particularly difficult freshmen. To do that, she will have to get “down and dirty,” proving to them she is not a stereotypical Beverly Hills girl. She has to make them see that Shakespeare has modern applications, so she plans to compare the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet to modern-day rival gangs. If all goes well this semester, she will take them to another film. John Tu, a self-made millionaire, heard about their last experience at a movie showing and has offered to support them.

Just as the students are giving up on the complexities of Shakespeare, Ms. G asks if the class thinks the feud is stupid—and the quick answer is yes. Upon reflection, one student sees that it is no different than today’s gang warfare. No one knows how the rivalries started, and they only continue because of tradition and habit.

One girl in class thinks of her own running away with a boy, just as Juliet wanted to do with Romeo. Juliet woke up next to a dead Romeo; this girl got caught before anything so dire happened. Her parents beat her and dragged her home, forbidding her to see her boyfriend until she turned fifteen. By that time, their “love” wore off, and she is now glad she was not as desperate for love as Juliet. Shakespeare is relevant to them, they discover.

When Ms. G asks her class to describe a peanut, inside and out, one student reflects that the outside shell is not much to look at but the peanut inside is a wonderful thing. She is an overweight girl, and she wishes the other girls on the bus would see her that way. Instead, they beat her up and spit in her face. Another student thinks it is foolish to care about what a peanut looks like and then has an epiphany. He wonders why the world cares so little about what a peanut looks like but is obsessed with labeling other people simply by how they look.

The class goes to a private showing of Higher Learning, followed by a panel discussion about overcoming adversity. All of the panelists survived great adversity and went on to experience great success. The Asian students are inspired by a man who survived an internment camp; the Latino students are encouraged by the successful Latino panelist; and the Holocaust survivor inspires them all. She reminds them that they must never “judge people collectively,” for that is what happened to the Jews and others in the Holocaust. After the seminar, Ms. G arranges for them to have a dinner with the panelists, and the entire experience makes the books the students have been reading more meaningful and helps reaffirm the idea that “anything is possible.”

As the end of the year approaches, many students look back and see the changes in themselves since the beginning of the year. One girl began the year with a 0.5 GPA, but Ms. Gruwell told her something she had never heard before: Ms. G told her she had potential. These words will change her life forever, and she is thrilled that she will have Ms. Gruwell as her teacher again next year.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Previous

Section 1 Summary

Next

Section 3 Summary

Loading...