ERIN GRUWELLKEYNOTE SPEAKER - Odessa

ERINGRUWELLKEYNOTESPEAKER

ErinGruwellstartedcollegeexpectingto becomealawyer;however,followingthe RodneyKingverdictandthesubsequentLA Riots,Gruwellrealizedthathercallingwasnot inacourtroom,butaclassroom.Gruwellbegan hertenureasanEnglishteacheratWoodrow WilsonHighSchoolinLongBeach,Calif.Her studentswereconsideredunteachable,and theeducationalsystemhadallbutforgotten aboutthem.

Afterinterceptingaracistcaricaturedepicting oneofherstudents,Gruwelltoldherstudents thatitwasdrawingslikethatwhichledtothe Holocaust.ShethenrevampedhercurriculumusingbookslikeAnneFrank's diaryasherguidetocombatintoleranceandmisunderstanding.Herstudents beganrecordingtheirthoughtsandfeelingsintheirowndiaries,eventually dubbingthemselvesthe"FreedomWriters."Theirstoriesbecame"TheFreedom WritersDiary"whichquicklyclimbedtothetopoftheNewYorkTimes Bestsellers list.

Byfosteringaneducationalphilosophythatvaluedandpromoteddiversity, shetransformedherstudents'lives.WithGruwell'ssupport,theychoseto foregoteenagepregnancy,drugs,andviolenceinordertobecomeaspiring collegestudents,publishedwriters,andcitizensforchange.

ErinGruwellcontinuesto ghtforequalityineducationasaprofessorof practicewithBayPathUniversity,asaChapmanUniversityfellow,andby sharingherteachingpracticeswitheducatorsfromaroundtheworldvia FreedomWriterTeachertraininginstitutesthoughtheFreedomWriters Foundation.Gruwellandherstudents'storybecamethebasisforthe2007 feature lm,"FreedomWriters",andthedocumentary,"FreedomWriters:Stories fromtheHeart",whichairednationallyonPBSin2019.InSeptemberof2019, "TheFreedomWritersDiary"wasrepublishedwith20newstoriestocelebrate thebook'stwentiethanniversary.

LEARNMOREAT:

odessa.edu/ochonors

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