Freedom Writers

Why is trust such a important component of a teacher-student relationship?

In the class in the movie it's very important because if the students wouldn't trust their new teacher they would never had written about their lives. The student started to open them self and get closer to each other because they trusted Ms. Gruwell. At fist they hated her but all the things she did made them change their minds and they changed to better persons.

Why is Eva so affected by the ending of Anne Frank's diary?

I think that she is so affected because she thinks that Ms. Gruwell is saying that they all are going to end up like the girl in the book. She knows that she is living a dangerous life and she gets angry because she thinks that Ms. Gruwell is saying to her that she is going to die just like Anne Frank. She also gets mad because Ms. Gruwell didn't tell how the book ended.

What similarities are there between Woodrow Wilson High School and Apelskolan? How are they different?

In Woodrow Wilson High School they seem to put the student in classes depending on how good they are and what grades they have. They put all the good students with high grades in the same classes and the “problem students” in classes for themselves. Thats not how they seem to do it in Apelskolan.

In Apelskolan all the classes start their lessons on different times but in the school in the movie all the classes start at the same time I think.

Why are the students so unwilling to associate with anyone outside their ethnic/racial groups? Where does this intolerance come from?

Because they have seen them or their friends killing persons in their gang.

I think that in the beginning all the gangs didn't have anything against each other but then something happened. And after that they have “hated” each other. That is just a theory but they have to have a reason to hate each other.

Do you think it's more important to “protect your own” or do what's right?

I think that it's more important to do whats right. I think that “your own” means your gang and people who are like you. And I know that it's old but everyone is the same and it doesn't matter what colour you are. Of corse I think that you should protect you own if that is the right thing to do. But if you just do it because someone tells you that you always have to protect your own and you feel that it is the wrong thing to do, then you don't need to. No one can tall you what you think is wrong and right.

Why does Ms. Gruwell's students hate and resent her at first?

Because she is white. They hate white people because they have done a lot of things to “their kind”.

They have arrested their friends and things like that so they think that all white people have something against them. So they hate her et first because she is white and they don't like any white people.