Freedom Writers

I've just watched a DVD which I've had among my others for ages, but haven't had the time to get round to watching it. It's called Freedom Writers and is based on a true story about a teacher who had her first job in a rough inner city school where gang violence and racism is all the students care about. In the classroom everyone is separated depending on their colour and no one will mix.

Erin (the teacher, played by Hilary Swank) comes up with ideas on how to teach them, who the other teachers have deemed 'unteachable' based on how they live their lives and things they have experienced. After hearing what they have already experienced in their short lives, she comes up with the idea of having them all keep a diary in which they can write anything they want - about the past, present, future, good, bad, notes, lyrics, poetry and she will only read them if they give permission.

Through this project she gains their trust and respect and goes onto thinking of other ways to keep them engaged, while sacrificing her marriage, and ends up using her own money to buy books and take the students on trips whilst educating them about Anne Frank and the suffering of other people who have lived before them.

In the end they campaign for Erin to stay their teacher for their final 2 years of education by raising money through concerts, fairs and meetings with the education board and get their way. Their diaries are written up into a book and they become a family with each other, even though at the beginning of the school year they wouldn't have thought that possible.

It's a really good film and I enjoyed it. I'd heard and read about it before but had never thought about buying it until I was talking with one of my colleagues at work about my writing and she suggested watching it as she had seen it and enjoyed it as well. I would definitely recommend watching it to anyone as it really makes you think about how people treat each other and sometimes based on the colour of their skin - which they have no choice over and which shouldn't be the basis of what you think of them.

The film is based on a true story and the book that was written by the real freedom writers and their teacher, which I might have to now go and buy!