However, literature that addresses violent themes challenges students to grapple intellectually and emotionally with events like gang violence, death, physical and emotional abuse, rape, and suicide – events that are all too familiar to some students. Some may object to violence and profanity in the book. The book has been taught successfully in schools across the country, and has inspired both students and educators alike in its story of the positive effect and transformative power that journal writing can have on students’ lives and education. The Freedom Writers Diary is the true story of an English teacher who reaches out to “at risk” high school students by encouraging them to write personal and candid diaries. There is, in our view, no legitimate pedagogical justification for removing the book. If these facts are correct, the decision to remove the book from students while they were in the process of reading it is puzzling, at best. As we understand the situation, no formal complaint process against the book has been initiated, students’ parents had signed permission slips indicating their approval of the book’s use, and the book is freely available in the high school library. We are deeply concerned by reports that the book, The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell, was removed from English 11 classes at Perry Meridian High School. Metropolitan School District of Perry Townshipĭear Superintendent Nichols and Members of the School Board, for Teachers, Parents, and School Officials.Resources for Authors of Banned and Challenged Books.
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