77 pages • 2 hours read
Erin Gruwell and Freedom WritersThe Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Students in Ms. Gruwell’s class frequently describe the violence they encounter at home and on the streets. How does this violence affect their classroom work? How has their approach to handling life outside of school changed by the end of the book?
The diary entries in The Freedom Writers are anonymous rather than attributed to any particular student. Why do you think the book is structured this way? What affect does this structure have? How would the novel be different if the entries were not anonymous?
How are the Freedom Writers able to use writing to connect with one another and the outside world?
Throughout the book, Ms. Gruwell and the Freedom Writers receive many donations from individuals and businesses. Do you think it’s fair that only Ms. Gruwell’s students benefited from these donations, and not the entire school?
When the Freedom Writers return from Washington, D.C., they find TV cameras at their school. They think perhaps the media is there to cover their trip, but instead, they have come to report on a student who raped and murdered a young girl. Discuss the significance of this moment. Compare and contrast this media moment with another moment in the book, such as when the students appear on ABC’s Prime Time Live with Connie Chung, or when Nancy Wride writes her feature about them in the L.A. Times.
Ms. Gruwell’s students sometimes say that she tries to “give meaning to everything.” What are some examples of how she gives “meaning” to things? How does this “meaning” making come across in the diary entries?
The school administration and other teachers are often represented as being skeptical of Ms. Gruwell. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment—what concerns might these other educators have about Ms. Gruwell’s classroom approach?
At first, Ms. Gruwell’s students consider her an outsider, but by the end of the book, they call her family. How does Ms. Gruwell represent family for these students? What does having a family enable the students to do?
Many of the Freedom Writers feel like outsiders at the beginning of the book, certain that they are alone in their difficult experiences. How has their perception of themselves changed by the end of the book? What prompts this change?
The Freedom Writers have become dedicated to change, but some of the entries recall moments where the students did not stand up for something they knew was wrong. Compare and contrast the external circumstances surrounding two decision moments with different outcomes. What factors make it harder or easier for the Freedom Writers to stand up for their beliefs?
