The Freedom Writers Diary

一個關於「相信」就能改變，「用心」創造奇蹟的師生故事

　　203教室不只是教室，而是我們的閣樓、地下室與歡樂場……

　　在這裡，我們扭轉了宿命，實現了夢想。有誰能料到問題學生會有今天？但我們做到了！

　　《街頭日記》集結有青年學子發人深省的日記及老師古薇爾的筆記，是一部凸顯努力、勇氣與決心如何扭轉師生未來的動人佳作。

　　初出茅廬、充滿理想的艾琳‧古薇爾，在加州長堤的威爾森高中擔任英文老師，負責教導一堂英文課，包含拉丁裔、墨西哥裔、亞裔、白人等混合的問題學生，家庭問題、幫派、暴力和死亡，是學生每天面對的挑戰。

　　透過閱讀名著以及書寫日記，古薇爾老師帶領學生展開一場消弭偏執和誤解，徹底顛覆人生、大開眼界、啟迪人心的學習之旅，改變這些孩子對人生和種族的看法，變得積極、有自信，對自己的未來懷抱希望，順利自高中畢業上大學，並成立「自由寫手」基金會，鼓勵與他們境遇相似的人，追求希望！

　　★本書集結了艾琳．古薇爾以及150青年學子發人深省的日記，描述這位充滿熱情與理想的年輕老師，如何用閱讀和寫作，扭轉了這150位桀傲不馴中學生的宿命，讓這群曾被放棄的青少年，以自己脫胎換骨的人生作為見證，成為改變世界的力量，是一部適合師生共讀的動人佳作。

　　★派拉蒙電影公司翻拍本書原著，由金獎影后希拉蕊．史旺（Hillary Swank）領銜主演。

　　★本書中譯本由天下雜誌出版。

 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The twentieth anniversary edition of the classic story of an incredible group of students and the teacher who inspired them, featuring updates on the students' lives, new journal entries, and an introduction by Erin Gruwell

Now a public television documentary, Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart

In 1994, an idealistic first-year teacher in Long Beach, California, named Erin Gruwell confronted a room of "unteachable, at-risk" students. She had intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust. She was met by uncomprehending looks--none of her students had heard of one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. So she rebooted her entire curriculum, using treasured books such as Anne Frank's diary as her guide to combat intolerance and misunderstanding. Her students began recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the "Freedom Writers."

Consisting of powerful entries from the students' diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an unforgettable story of how hard work, courage, and determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students. In the two decades since its original publication, the book has sold more than one million copies and inspired a major motion picture Freedom Writers. And now, with this twentieth-anniversary edition, readers are brought up to date on the lives of the Freedom Writers, as they blend indispensable takes on social issues with uplifting stories of attending college--and watch their own children follow in their footsteps. The Freedom Writers Diary remains a vital read for anyone who believes in second chances.

作者簡介

艾琳．古薇爾（Erin Gruwell）

　　1994年開始擔任中學英文老師，帶了一班所謂「放牛班」的學生。她以各種文學作品，如《Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl 安妮的日記》、《Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo 莎拉塔的圍城日記》讓學生看到自己的處境（幫派、暴力威脅、沒有尊嚴），從閱讀中得到激勵。她為了學生募款贊助，使學生有「新書」可讀、能到紐約參訪，開拓他們的視野，並使這群學生個個順利從高中畢業！

Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers continue to share their stories with students and teachers from around the globe through their nonprofit, the Freedom Writers Foundation. They are the subject of the 2019 public television documentary Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart, and the 2007 feature film Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank. Gruwell lives in Long Beach.

Freshman Year

Fall 1994

Entry 1 — Ms. Gruwell

Dear Diary, Tomorrow morning, my journey as an English teacher officially begins. Since first impressions are so important, I wonder what my students will think about me. Will they think I’m out of touch or too preppy? Or worse yet, that I’m too young to be taken seriously? Maybe I’ll have them write a journal entry describing what their expectations are of me and the class.

Even though I spent last year as a student teacher at Wilson High School, I’m still learning my way around the city. Long Beach is so different than the gated community I grew up in. Thanks to MTV dubbing Long Beach as the “gangsta–rap capital” with its depiction of guns and graffiti, my friends have a warped perception of the city, or L B C as the rappers refer to it. They think I should wear a bulletproof vest rather than pearls. Where I live in Newport Beach is a utopia compared to some of neighborhoods seen in a Snoop Doggy Dogg video. Still, TV tends to blow things out of proportion.

The school is actually located in a safe neighborhood, just a few miles from the ocean. Its location and reputation make it desirable. So much so that a lot of the students that live in what they call the “’hood” take two or three buses just to get to school every day. Students come in from every corner of the city: Rich kids from the shore sit next to poor kids from the projects … there’s every race, religion, and culture within the confines of the quad. But since the Rodney King riots, racial tension has spilled over into the school.

Due to busing and an outbreak in gang activity, Wilson’s traditional white, upper–class demographics have changed radically. African Americans, Latinos, and Asians now make up the majority of the student body.

As a student teacher last year, I was pretty naive. I wanted to see past color and culture, but I was immediately confronted by it when the first bell rang and a student named Sharaud sauntered in bouncing a basketball. He was a junior, a disciplinary transfer from Wilson’s crosstown rival, and his reputation preceded him. Word was that he had threatened his previous English teacher with a gun (which I later found out was only a plastic water gun, but it had all the makings of a dramatic showdown). In those first few minutes, he made it brutally clear that he hated Wilson, he hated English, and he hated me. His sole purpose was to make his “preppy” student teacher cry. Little did he know that within a month, he’d be the one crying.

Sharaud became the butt of a bad joke. A classmate got tired of Sharaud’s antics and drew a racial caricature of him with huge, exaggerated lips. As the drawing made its way around the class, the other students laughed hysterically. When Sharaud saw it, he looked as if he was going to cry. For the first time, his tough facade began to crack.