The stories my pupils told me were astonishing. One told how he had witnessed his cousin being shot in the back five times; another how his parents had died of AIDS. Another said that he'd probably been to more funerals… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share
Hoping they'd been inspired by the examples of Anne Frank and other teens who had turned negative experiences into something positive by writing about them, I handed out notebooks for my students to journal about their lives. There was some… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
When you're too robotic and scripted, the students tune you out. So I always tried to use different learning modalities - kinesthetic, auditory, visual,… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
The stories my pupils told me were astonishing. One told how he had witnessed his cousin being shot in the back five times; another how his parents had died of AIDS. Another said that he'd probably been to more funerals than parties in his young life. For me - someone who had had an idyllic, happy childhood - this was… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share
Paying to teach in the trenches was like putting my face through a cutout hole at a carnival while a quarterback threw pies at… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
“Because if they grow up holding on to such terrible feelings, it could lead to another war come time in the future when the… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
I have always been taught to be proud of being Latina, proud of being Mexican, and I was. I was probably more proud of… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
I believe that education is the greatest equalizer; thus, I will continue to fight to equalize the playing field in an educational atmosphere that… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
It's not enough to be tolerant...now we're finally moving towards the idea of acceptance. — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
I grew up in a very progressive family and with a great educational system, and I asked myself, 'Why doesn't everybody have these opportunities… — Erin Gruwell Copy Share Image
