1. Why do you think Ms. Gruwell refers to the Nazis as the most famous gang in history? Why does this comparison make the students listen to her?
2. Why are the students so unwilling to associate with anyone outside their own ethnic or racial groups? Where does this intolerance come from?
3. Why is trust such an important part of a teacher-student relationship?
4. Respect and trust are not only a problem among the students. Teachers and administrators at Wilson High School don't support Ms. Gruwell's teaching methods. Why do they refuse to trust her?
5. Why are the students so filled with anger at the beginning of the book? Do you think their anger is reasonable?
6. Have you ever kept a diary or journal?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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3 comments:
1. Ms. Gruwell was comparing the mentality of the Nazis to that of other gangs--the mind set that their group is superior and that their goal of taking control overrides any laws or morals. At first, the students didn't seem to know who she was referring to but when they did the impact of the result of the Nazis hatred of others became an analogy that the students could relate to.
2. The students had been labelled by society by their racial/ethnic groups and it was difficult for them to trust those in other groups.
3. If teachers and students don't trust each other, it is difficult to respect each other and for each to realize that the other has something they can learn from.
4. Many of the other teachers and administrators had given up on accomplishing much with the students and they were jealous of Ms. Gruwell's successes.
5. Life had not been good for the students. They were in Ms. Gruwell's class because they were categorized as losers. When stuck with such labels, it is not surprising that most students would be angry and would live down to the expectations.
6. I have kept a diary or journal at certain times in my life. I have seldom gone back and reread them, but the process of writing down my thoughts was helpful. I now keep a summary sheet each year of things that go on in my life and use it when I write our annual Christmas letter. Using the computer makes journalizing much easier.
Hi Book Buddies!
Just wanted to see what's going on. I have been busy. I am finishing a bunch of books I started reading last month so I have not read TFWD. I might squeeze it in somewhere.
What's everyone reading? What are we thinking about reading in October?
I kept a diary when I was young, but stopped for awhile when my brother let it slip that he read it. After teenage years, I called it a journal. A freaky thing happened. When I was 5 years old, I heard my voice in my head saying that at least once a week,at the end of the week, write down what happened during the week. No, I haven't done that, but can you imagine if I did. I would have caught all those interesting moments in time on the page. I still write/draw in a journal, but it's been on & off. Toby
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