The first five chapters of Erin Gruwell’s Teach With Your Heart describe her experience as a student teacher in one of the most culturally diverse high schools in the country. On her first day of school, she finds herself having to teach every class because her supervising teacher has basically “checked out” for an early retirement. Erin’s first attempt at reading the syllabus and “Guidelines for Student Behavior” did not go as planned because they were far from what these apathetic students wanted to hear. After the first day, she found herself too young, too dressed up, and too white. Erin was determined to find a way to reach her students, and her first attempt was to reach the toughest students first in hopes the rest would follow their footsteps. Her first teachable moment came when a caricature in the form of a note was passed around the room, and reminded her of those from the Holocaust. When asked if anyone had ever heard about the Holocaust, Erin was surprised at what she heard. Most of the students in her class were in the middle of a war in their own backyards, which soon became evident by automatic seating arrangement and the markings on desks.
After reading the first few chapters, Erin Gruwell is already an inspirational teacher. She wasn’t the perfect teacher on the first day, but she never gave up on her students. It seems as though she had so much on her plate with working two jobs and getting married at the same time as taking classes. Woodrow Wilson High School sounds like one of the hardest places to teach in, especially if you are placed with “lower level” students like Erin was. I like how this book builds off of The Freedom Writer’s Diary, and now we get to hear more of Erin’s story.
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