Follow-up on today's homework Tuesday, May 19, 2009

For today I asked you to read the final diaries of The Freedom Writers Diary.

In class I divided you into four groups where you had to come up with four questions each on the diaries that you were assigned. The questions were then passed on for another group to answer.

We were a bit short of time for the presentation, but here are some of the discussion questions and answers that the groups came up with:

Diaries 82, 92 and 102:
What made the student in diary 102 realize that his/her mother only wanted the best for her children? - He/she realized that the mother wanted the children to have a future, and the student realized that while reading the book The Joy Luck Club.

Why did the student feel that standing outside the monument was a special moment? - Because it was the same place where Martin Luther King had stood and made a wish that black and white kids would be able to stand as one and be friends. The Freedom Writers made his wish come true when they held each other's hands at that very same place.

Diary 132:
The student in diary 132 has a dilemma about signing or not signing up to be able to play baseball. To sign or not to sign, what do you think? - Since it is a once in a life time opportunity, he will regret not signing the contract. If he takes the chance to play baseball, but fails, at least he tried and can say "I did it and I don't regret my decision".

Diaries 141 and 142:
Why do you think that the Freedom Writers did not give up on themselves? - Because they were inspired by their teacher.

If you had a disease like the student who had Cystic Fibrosis, would you have done the same thing that he/she did? - Yes, it's the right thing to do to have a successful future.

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On Tuesday May 26th we will watch the movie Freedom Writers in class. Since you have a test that morning and will finish after the test, English class will start at 11:30, after you have had lunch. The movie is about 2 hours and we will finish around 1:30 pm like we normally do.

There will be a final written assignment where you will be asked to compare the diaries that we have read to the movie.