ALP students spoke with author Narada Comans via Skype. Comans encouraged students to believe in themselves and to learn.Students in Questar III’s Alternative Learning Program (ALP) studied the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” as part of their English language arts (ELA) classes. They later had the opportunity to connect with one of the book’s authors.
The book, written by the Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell, is a true story of a racially divided ELA class in Long Beach, CA. It follows Gruwell as she makes tolerance the core of her curriculum and connects with at-risk students through journal writing and literature.
Dubbed the “Freedom Writers,” Gruwell and her students compiled the journals into a book, whose sales paid for the college education of all 150 students.
Questar III students not only watched and wrote reviews of the adapted film, but they also had the opportunity to speak with one of the original Freedom Writers. Students connected with Narada Comans, who now works for the Freedom Writers Foundation, via Skype. Royalties from “The Freedom Writers Diary” help to support the foundation.
Comans, who was a disenfranchised, at-risk youth when he arrived in Gruwell’s class, spoke openly to Questar III students about the difficulties of growing up in poverty, surrounded by gang violence and without positive male role models. His father used drugs and left his family when he was nine. Comans was later homeless for a year during high school, a fact he kept from his friends and teachers.
As a Freedom Writer, Comans finally revealed his living situation – a revelation which created a long-lasting bond with his teacher and classmates. This bond provided him with the support and encouragement needed to graduate from high school and go onto college.
During his chat with ALP students, Comans emphasized the importance of believing in yourself and education. He also discussed the power of journal writing, the process behind book publishing and his involvement in the making of the film starring Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey..
Teacher Ronnie Sherburne said her students were inspired by Narada’s character. “Students are currently working on a magazine project centered on the themes of the Freedom Writers Diary,” she said.
Students will send their final product to the Freedom Writers Foundation in Long Beach, according to Sherburne.
