Freedom writers' diary

I would like to invite Nelson Mandela because he's a great activist for black civil rights and because he has a nice first name.
We would learn about the situation of black people in South Africa.

When you read a book you can learn a lot of things you can't learn in your background. You can see that different people have the same experiences as you. The freedom writers learned that they're not the only people who have a hard and dangerous life.

When there are stereotypes, people who don't agree with these stereotypes are excluded. Different people are juged based on stereotypes and not for what they really are.



Freedom writers are Black, Asian, Latino, Caucasian.
The hood is dangerous and poor. There are gang wars and there aren't any ways out.

As usual, the students' parents don't care about their children. Example: diary 22: "noone, including my dad, pays attention to me."

Diary 12: "Juvenile homes are scary. I cried the first night."

In diary 13, the writer says: "we began to understand the true meaning of not judging a book by its cover." I think this sentence can be applied to people. "Not judging somebody by his apparence." "L'habit ne fait pas le moine."

There are racial tensions, gang wars, school problemes and drug problems. People are poor.


In diary 6, the writer talks about his experience about death: "A couple of days ago, one of my friend was laid to rest." It's a strong passage, I didn't feel good when I read it, I was shocked. I learned that a lot of people are killed in the "hood" without reason.

I think Mrs Gruwell questions everything because there are answers. However, the students can't accept these answers

My Daily Life

In my neighborhood, there are a lot of concrete buildings. The buildings are rather big, they have usually more than 7 floors but they are grey and uncolored. They look like they are sad. There are som parks, but they are really dilapidated. There are a lot of alcoholics in these parks. It's too bad. When I was a child, I went everyday in these parks, they were great. But now, I stay away form the parks. There are also a lot of shops, where you can buy everything you want.

I live in a bulding, it has 7 floors. I live on the 6th floor. My building isn't jammed between other buildings. So there is a great view. My aooartment has 5 rooms; 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a living-room. have my own beedroom and it's big. That's great! I'm really happy. In my bedroom, there is my bed, my new computer on my desk and 4 bookcases with my books and my CDs. I clean my bedroom every Sunday. There is a gret pizzeria next to my bulding, so I est pizza every week. In this pizzeria, pizzas are not expensive. I love pizza!



My daily life: I get up at 7:20 am, I take a shower. I put my clothes on and I take my breakfast. After that,, I brush my teeth and I go to school for 8:05 am. It takes me ten minutes to walk form my home to school. I walk rather fast. On Tuesday, I start school at 10:00 am so I can sleep more. For me, Tuesday is the best day of the week, because I can sleep. I think 8:05 am is too early to start school; I need to sleep in the morning, but not at night.

At school, classes last 45 minutes and we have two breaks of 5 minutes and on break of 20 minutes. Lunch break starts usually at 11:30 am. I go back home and I have lunch at 12:30 pm. My parents cook very well. I love everything they cook. I think they could be really great cooks. After lunch, I go to school for 13:25 . I go out of school at 17:00 . When I go back home, I take a little taste, I usually eat chocolate or hazek biscuits, and I drink ice tea. After that, I relax. I work on my computer and I go on the Internet, I check some websites that I visit everyday. After that, I work for school, I do all my homework and I revise for my tests. I have dinner at 20:30. After dinner, I watch TV. I like to watch AMerican series, like "Prison Break". After that, I go to sleep. On the weekend, I sleep late and I get up late, I take my breakfast at 12 and lunch at 16. I love weekends, but they are too shorts, just like vacations.

Mississippi Burning

In 1964, three civil rights activists disappeared. Two FBI agents, Rupert Anderson and Alan Ward, arrived in Mississippi to investigate. They discover black segregation. The Klu Klux Klan kills black people. Everybody is corrrupted in the town, so members of th Klan can't be arrested for their crimes. FBI agents fight against the Klu Klux Klan and finally they find the 3 activists'bodies. They even manage to arrest Klu Klux Klan members.



I found this movie very interesting. I knew about the situation in the south of the USA, but I didn't think it was so "strong". In the movie, the violence schocked because I know it was like that in real life. This movie is based on a true story and this element is really frightening. However, I think a strong message is given though the movie. It's a good way to inform people about the situation.