My Thoughts on "Teach with Your Heart"

First I have to say- as usual, the book is far superior to the film!! I have found myself choked up so many times, crying in the coffee shop reading. I think Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writer's story is so inspiring! She is a very gutsy gal, and I greatly admire her determination, her drive, and her caring nature.

I saw Gruwell questioning some of the same things we are questioning currently in this course- she says, " What did I believe in? Did I have convictions of my own? I'd spent my life studying other people's beliefs, never really formulating my own" (p.10). We all are searching for meaning in what we do- a purpose. I found myself also questioning- "What do I believe? What do I stand for?"

When I saw how Melvin was reacting to her efforts in the classroom, all of the outside knowledge she was gathering so that she could relate to her students and form a connection with them, I was inspired. I became excited to do the same- to relate to my students, to learn about them, to uncover how best to help them learn and help them become the people they want to be. Gruwell says, "As I became familiar with my student's idiosyncrasies, I began to subtly infuse them into my lessons" (p.31). I see this as being the sign of a successful, teacher who wants to make a difference and who truly wants her students to learn.

Can I just say, as an aside, I laughed out loud when she dropped the F-bomb in front of Stephen Spielberg! :)

This may sound a bit defeatist, but so much of what Gruwell did in her classroom seems almost impossible and fictional. How could she meet all of these people, do all of the things, make such a difference in so many kids lives? It is amazing! And overwhelming! I feel that I can only pale in comparison when I get in the teaching field. Who can compete with her?? I too hope to make a difference, but I know that it will be on a much smaller scale. If I can reach a handful of students when I begin- help them believe in themselves and show them that learning can be fun and exciting, I will see that as a success and a nice foundation to build on.

Something that really struck me when I was reading the middle of this book, when her marriage was failing, but her classroom was thriving, was the need for balance. BALANCE. It is crucial, with any job- but especially teaching. It is so easy to get caught up in the students' lives, to work long hours, to get little sleep, and to ignore things you once deemed important in your life. This is one model I will not follow. Gruwell threw herself into her work so much that it became her life- she had no balance. My family is extremely important to me- they come first. I think it will be so important to start off my career with a goal of being a balanced person. I want to be the best teacher, the best mother, the best wife, and the best person I can be- in order to do this I must find balance, I must not let one area stifle the others. I know this will be difficult, but I do know that I do not want my personal/home life to fall apart as a result of striving to be the best teacher I can be.

In closing, I want to say that I see this book as being a great resource for philosophical purposes and as a teaching model- there are a lot of activities and ideas we can actually take from this book and use in our classrooms. A couple of my favorite activities that she did with the students were the Shakespeare lessons, in which she allowed the students to translate the plays into slang so that they could better understand them, and when she put Romeo and Juliet in the context of inner city gangs, also the assignment leading up to the dinner with Zlata really jumped out at me- she asked her students to teach their parents and family members all they knew about the Holocaust and Bosnia, what a great way to further their learning and to introduce their family members to some knowledge they may not possess.

I'm loving this book and am a bit saddened that I am nearing the end.