Teaching Hope was published in August of 2009 with the hope of sharing with and helping teachers see how becoming a master teacher is a process that is developed as life is lived. The idea for the book came from Erin Gruwell.
Erin taught English at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Erin’s students were the at-risk teenagers with many issues prevalent in the urban areas of most cities. She was able to breakdown their distrust of each other, establish a community to support each other and improve in their ability to learn. One major method she used was to have the kids write in journals. These journals were published in the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” and it has been a best seller for ten years. The funds from this book were used to provide college scholarships for her students. A foundation was established to continue Erin’s teaching methods by teaching teachers.
Teachers were able to learn the Erin Gruwell’s methods through a five day camp call the Freedom Writer Institute. In the summer of 2008, 150 teachers began work writing their stories in journal form. In August. 2009 the book “Teaching Hope” was published. The book shows great promise is helping educators learn the realities of teaching, encouraging them to strive for excellence in their profession.
With 150 teachers participating, book reviews, media events and book signings were held in many small towns to the major cities all over the United States and Canada. This phenomenon was basically unheard to promote a book. The Freedom Writers Diary Tenth Anniversary Edition was released with Teaching Hope providing two great books for educators to read and to use in the classrooms across the continent.
If you would like to know more about the books and the Freedom Writer Foundation visit the http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org site and look around.
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