Writing is powerful. Whether it's a little girl hiding from the Nazis in an attic, or Amnesty International writing letters on behalf of political prisoners, the power of telling stories is usually what causes change. Erin Gruwell More Quotes by Erin Gruwell More Quotes From Erin Gruwell 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 staggering. Erin Gruwell me childhood happy life Some teachers feel that if they ask for emotional help, they're a failure. But teaching is a team sport. Erin Gruwell teachers feel failure team I believe that everyone has a story, and it is important that we encourage all students to tell theirs. Erin Gruwell story important students believe That's the beauty of education, kids taking lessons out of the classroom and back into their own world where they can positively affect their family, their friends, and their greater community. Erin Gruwell family community education beauty I believe that all students, when asked to be accountable for their actions and to be socially aware citizens, will become agents for change! Erin Gruwell will change students believe When you're too robotic and scripted, the students tune you out. So I always tried to use different learning modalities - kinesthetic, auditory, visual, whatever might bring learning to life. Erin Gruwell you always learning life I was going to show my kids that no matter what happened with their parents, parole officers and other teachers, I wouldn't give up on them. I let them know it matters to me that you come to class, it matters to me that you try, it matters to me when you succeed. Erin Gruwell teachers parents me you Schools are not equal. There are still the haves and the have-nots. Erin Gruwell schools still equal I think a lot of teachers feel like they're teaching to a test. Our response is you teach to a student, you really teach to the kid. Erin Gruwell teachers feel think you 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 initial resistance. But then the stories poured out of them, full of anger and sadness. Erin Gruwell sadness anger positive negative Paying to teach in the trenches was like putting my face through a cutout hole at a carnival while a quarterback threw pies at me. At least with a carnival, I'd see it coming. Erin Gruwell face see me teach
