1. Erin Gruwell was born on August 15,1969 and is an American teacher known for her unique teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.
Erin Gruwell was born in Glendora, California to Stephen Douglass Gruwell, a former baseball scout for the Anaheim Angels, and Sandra Faye Alley.
Erin Gruwell's parents divorced when she was still a young girl.
Erin Gruwell graduated from Bonita High School in La Verne, California, and the University of California, Irvine, where she received the Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award.
Erin Gruwell earned her master's degree and teaching credentials from California State University, Long Beach, where she was honored as Distinguished Alumna by the School of Education.
Erin Gruwell began student teaching in 1994 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.
Erin Gruwell told her students that it was drawings like that which led to the Holocaust.
Erin Gruwell took the students to see Schindler's List, bought new books out of her own pocket and invited guest speakers.
Erin Gruwell had the students read books written by and about other teenagers in times of war, such as The Diary of a Young Girl, Zlata's Diary and Night.
In 1998, after teaching for only four years, Erin Gruwell left Wilson High School and became a Distinguished Teacher in Residence at California State University, Long Beach.
Erin Gruwell later went on to start the Freedom Writers Foundation, which aspires to spread the Freedom Writers method across the country.
Erin Gruwell has written an autobiographical account of her experiences, entitled Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers, published around the same time as the movie's release.
Erin Gruwell has worked regularly with the Anti-Defamation League, the USC Shoah Foundation, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and even the US State Department, to promote religious tolerance.