Freedom Writers

I liked this movie. It was inspirational, if a little cliché. Heroism? Certainly. Erin Gruwell risked everything for her students in 90's. Today she heads the Freedom Writers Foundation.

Administrator Margaret Campbell's attitude toward Woodrow Wilson's "at-risk" students in the movie somewhat reminded me of the situation in Albion, MI. Although most the teachers in the Albion schools I've volunteered in are great, there are a handful that half-ass it because they think their kids are disadvantaged and, therefore, unteachable.

Also, although this film is set in the wake of the Rodney King incident in L.A, the racial tension depicted is not completely unlike that of Albion. Albion is uniquely diverse compared to other small towns in this state. The population is about evenly split between African Americans and whites, with smatterings of other races and ethnicities. Many people from the community and from the college would like to have you believe that Albion's a completely peaceful place and that racial conflict is passé; that people are totally accepting and nonjudgmental about the town's diversity. I can say from observation that this is not always the case. My 11-year-old mentee has a brother, 17, who had to leave Albion High because he kept getting jumped by the same group of boys. They're black and he's white. Violence at the high school is not at all uncommon, and I've heard (from fifth-graders) that it's often racially fueled. My mentee has told me that she's afraid to go to high school. Clearly, the issue of race and violence there is prevelant enough to trickle down to the elementary schoolers.

There are a lot of kids in Albion with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Although Albion's a small community with "small community concerns", I think its students could benefit from an environment similar to the one Erin Gruwell provided for her Freedom Writers in Los Angeles 14 years ago.