Erin Gruwell - "Freedom Writers" Inspiration on Her Journey in Education

Change Starts Here host and Thought Leader for FranklinCovey Education Dustin Odham invites noted educator Erin Gruwell, on whom the 2007 film “Freedom Writers” is based, to share her powerful journey shaping the lives of young people through innovative teaching methods.

From her days student teaching in 1994 to her years creating and implementing the Freedom Writers method – which asks students to keep journals, leverages emotional connections to relate to the challenges they face, and spurred the original Freedom Writers on to graduation – and beyond, Gruwell is know for being an inspiring force in driving meaningful change.

In fact, Odham, himself was partly inspired to pursue education thanks to Gruwell’s writings, setting up an in-depth and exploratory conversation that spanned a wide range of topics.

The duo dove into Gruwell’s roots in activism, the inspiration she took from the likes of Hank Aaron and other pioneering Civil Rights voices, and how she made the leap from studying law to embarking on a career in education. That change largely came about in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles race riots, which exposed vast inequities and need in Gruwell’s community.

The conversation also turned to why powerful educators everywhere are relying on their own means to elevate their classrooms, how policymakers and leaders can work to change that dynamic, and working to empower that institutional change.