National School Reform Faculty

NY Times Article/Myths of Hero Teachers
Date: January 22-25, 2007
Listserv: Coaches

Monday, January 22, 2007 3:26 PM
This is a link to an op-ed piece that appeared in the New York Times last week. It is one teacher's response to the recent movie, Freedom Writers. Think it could be a rich text to use with CFGs.
Frances, GA

Classroom Distinctions - Tom Moore NY Times Op-Ed January 19, 2007
In the past year or so I have seen Matthew Perry drink 30 cartons of milk, Ted Danson explain the difference between a rook and a pawn, and Hilary Swank remind us that white teachers still can’t dance or jive talk. In other words, I have been confronted by distorted images of my own profession — teaching. Teaching the post-desegregation urban poor, to be precise.

Although my friends and family (who should all know better) continue to ask me whether my job is similar to these movies, I find it hard to recognize myself or my students in them.

So what are these films really about? And what do they teach us about teachers? Are we heroes, villains, bullies, fools? The time has come to set the class record straight.
At the beginning of Ms. Swank’s new movie, “Freedom Writers,” her character, a teacher named Erin Gruwell, walks into her Long Beach, Calif., classroom, and the camera pans across the room to show us what we are supposed to believe is a terribly shabby learning environment. Any experienced educator will have already noted that not only does she have the right key to get into the room but, unlike the seventh-grade science teacher in my current school, she has a door to put the key into. The worst thing about Ms. Gruwell’s classroom seems to be graffiti on the desks, and crooked blinds.

I felt like shouting, Hey, at least you have blinds! My first classroom didn’t, but it did have a family of pigeons living next to the window, whose pane was a cracked piece of plastic. During the winter, snowflakes blew in. The pigeons competed with the mice and cockroaches for the students’ attention.

This is not to say that all schools in poor neighborhoods are a shambles, or that teaching in a real school is impossible. In fact, thousands of teachers in New York City somehow manage to teach every day, many of them in schools more underfinanced and chaotic than anything you’ve seen in movies or on television (except perhaps the most recent season of “The Wire”).

Ms. Gruwell’s students might backtalk, but first they listen to what she says. And when she raises her inflection just slightly, the class falls silent. Many of the students I’ve known won’t sit down unless they’re repeatedly asked to (maybe not even then), and they don’t listen just because the teacher is speaking; even “good teachers” are occasionally drowned out by the din of 30 students simultaneously using language that would easily earn a movie an NC-17 rating.

When a fight breaks out during an English lesson, Ms. Gruwell steps into the hallway and a security guard immediately materializes to break it up. Forget the teacher — this guy was the hero of the movie for me.

If I were to step out into the hallway during a fight, the only people I’d see would be some students who’d heard there was a fight in my room. I’d be wasting my time waiting for a security guard. The handful of guards where I work are responsible for the safety of five floors, six exits, two yards and four schools jammed into my building.

Although personal safety is at the top of both teachers’ and students’ lists of grievances, the people in charge of real schools don’t take it as seriously as the people in charge of movie schools seem to.

The great misconception of these films is not that actual schools are more chaotic and decrepit — many schools in poor neighborhoods are clean and orderly yet still don’t have enough teachers or money for supplies. No, the most dangerous message such films promote is that what schools really need are heroes. This is the Myth of the Great Teacher.

Films like “Freedom Writers” portray teachers more as missionaries than professionals, eager to give up their lives and comfort for the benefit of others, without need of compensation. Ms. Gruwell sacrifices money, time and even her marriage for her job.

Her behavior is not represented as obsessive or self-destructive, but driven — necessary, even. She is forced into making these sacrifices by the aggressive neglect of the school’s administrators, who won’t even let her take books from the bookroom. The film applauds Ms. Gruwell’s dedication, but also implies that she has no other choice. In order to be a good teacher, she has to be a hero.

“ Freedom Writers,” like all teacher movies this side of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” is presented as a celebration of teaching, but its message is that poor students need only love, idealism and martyrdom.

I won’t argue the need for more of the first two, but I’m always surprised at how, once a Ms. Gruwell wins over a class with clowning, tears, rewards and motivational speeches, there is nothing those kids can’t do. It is as if all the previously insurmountable obstacles students face could be erased by a 10-minute pep talk or a fancy dinner. This trivializes not only the difficulties many real students must overcome, but also the hard-earned skill and tireless effort real teachers must use to help those students succeed.

Every year young people enter the teaching profession hoping to emulate the teachers they’ve seen in films. (Maybe in the back of my mind I felt that I could be an inspiring teacher like Howard Hesseman or Gabe Kaplan.) But when you’re confronted with the reality of teaching not just one class of misunderstood teenagers (the common television and movie conceit) but four or five every day, and dealing with parents, administrators, mentors, grades, attendance records, standardized tests and individual education plans for children with learning disabilities, not to mention multiple daily lesson plans — all without being able to count on the support of your superiors — it becomes harder to measure up to the heroic movie teachers you thought you might be.

It’s no surprise that half the teachers in poor urban schools, like Erin Gruwell herself, quit within five years. (Ms. Gruwell now heads a foundation.)

I don’t expect to be thought of as a hero for doing my job. I do expect to be respected, supported, trusted and paid. And while I don’t anticipate that Hollywood will stop producing movies about gold-hearted mavericks who play by their own rules and show the suits how to get the job done, I do hope that these movies will be kept in perspective.

While no one believes that hospitals are really like “ER” or that doctors are anything like “House,” no one blames doctors for the failure of the health care system. From No Child Left Behind to City Hall, teachers are accused of being incompetent and underqualified, while their appeals for better and safer workplaces are systematically ignored.

Every day teachers are blamed for what the system they’re just a part of doesn’t provide: safe, adequately staffed schools with the highest expectations for all students. But that’s not something one maverick teacher, no matter how idealistic, perky or self-sacrificing, can accomplish.

Monday, January 22, 2007 5:25 PM
There are also a number of interesting letters in response to this column in today's NY Times that I think would add to the conversation.
Nissa, VT

Monday, January 22, 2007 7:32 PM
This has been a weekend hot topic on the Teacher Leader Network (think a virtual NSRF). The strand has been called "The Myth of the Super Teacher" and will likely be archived soon on www.teacherleader.org. The article may be linked there as well.
The questions at the heart of the discussion have centered around how helpful/harmful movie portrayals of "super teachers" are, as well as books by people who throw their entire themselves into their classrooms, then leave to write books and take a different career path. Interesting ideas on both sides of the issue.
Thanks for the link, Francis.
Linda, FL

Monday, January 22, 2007 8:15 PM
Just thought I would add my 50 Cents...As a person who is unapologetically black, I take exception to the notion of yet another dominant culture "super teacher" going into poor neighborhoods to save the "poor," "outrageous." children of color. Some of the editorial comments in today's Times offer that perspective.
I look forward to seeing you in a few days. Peace,
Camilla, CT

Monday, January 22, 2007 8:30 PM
Camilla and others, I’ll send the link to today's NY Times editorial comments to the listserv. Thanks for pointing us to them. I haven't had a chance to read the Times today. See you in Seattle.
Frances, GA

Monday, January 22, 2007 8:37 PM
We have been having a similar conversation on the Phila. Writing project list serve. There are many who agree with you, Camilla. It is also felt that this sends a message that it is solely the responsibility of teachers, which lets everyone else off the hook in terms or educational reform.
Lana, PA

Monday, January 22, 2007 10:14 PM
Thanks for the posting, Frances. I’ll read and respond tomorrow…my spirit is willing but my eyes are weak…

Camilla, I did see the film. It might be interesting for us to compare/ contrast the great white hero theme of this film with the African American community based support of Akeelah and the Bee, just a thought, more tomorrow.
’ night,
Debbie, PA

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 5:01 AM
Dear Debbie, I like the idea of comparing and contrasting "Akeelah and the BEE" with "Freedom Writers” Peace,
Camilla, CT

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:40 AM
Good Morning,
I woke up thinking about why I was so uncomfortable while I watched much of Freedom Writers. I just read the article and the letters and there’s much to be reflected upon there as well. I need to get ready for my school visit but wanted to spend a few minutes writing before I go.

I think I need to spend some time thinking about the ways some of my own “self-sacrificing” practice as a white teacher revealed a tendency to underestimate my students of color and their families as well as my colleagues and their commitment. I did not completely ignore the need to build alliances with other teachers, I was in a CFG and I built community in my classroom, but I need to reflect upon whether I/we really questioned the fundamentally reproductive nature of our schools. So I leave this morning with lots of questions about my practice, and about the Hollywood treatment of students, teachers and our communities. Erin Gruenwald created a space for her students to use their voices and she helped them get to college through the marketing and sale of their writing, the movie didn’t give you much sense of that reality, but I heard one of her students on the radio and she asserted her own agency in the process. Student agency, especially the agency of students of color, isn’t something that Hollywood sells. White heroes and deficient, even hostile students and communities of color is the norm.

I’ll try and watch Akeelah and the Bee tonight after I pack for WM. I know the sense of support from the entire community vs. the support of one teacher, was a big part of what made me enjoy that movie so much more than Freedom Writers. Thanks, for starting this conversation, Frances. I hope we’ll continue it after Winter Meeting…maybe we can get folks to write about it in Connections???
Debbie, PA

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 7:33 AM
Linda -
Even before I saw the movie I was upset with the ending of the freedom writers. I read the book when it first came out and then realized she had left and gone into higher ed. (not that there is anything wrong with higher ed but...) the wonderful "ness" seemed to be shadowed by the thought that this was done not for the needs of the students but for her own self. I then saw she had hired an agent and is now on the speaker route also - asking for thousands of dollars to tell people how to teach when she left only after a few short years. I am sure there is a whole lot more to the story and in personal motives but from my perspective I felt the whole thing left me mad.
Michaelann, TX

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 8:09 AM
"Every day teachers are blamed for what the system they’re just a part of doesn’t provide: safe, adequately staffed schools with the highest expectations for all students. But that’s not something one maverick teacher, no matter how idealistic, perky or self-sacrificing, can accomplish."

Those are the last lines of the piece.

So what needs to be done to set the record straight?

How do a small group of people (relatively speaking) do what Margaret Mead espoused." Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

So there are two fronts. One to counter miss-information of Hollywood and the other is the corruption of the educational system that allows it to happen.
See you tomorrow in Seattle,
Bill, NJ

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:56 AM
Bill,
I totally agree with M. Mead so the last line kinda bothered me. I am probably romantic or liberal enough to think that one hero can create change. I agree with the blame comment, like paying a dentist for the number of avoided cavities. Teachers should not be punished for parents who don't adequately feed or read to their children, but they can provide a safe, nurturing environment and strive to help students rise above and achieve. That's what our group got out of that article.
David, WA

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 4:55 PM
Rafe Esquith didn't bail out on his students and leave after writing the book. He continues to teach his fifth graders for over 20 plus years then wrote a book of advice and reflection. He is a teacher and not a journalist. His book of tips would be a great gift for a first year teacher. Have any of you read it? Do you think it would also be a good read opposite the recent Hollywood version? I heard him on NPR today and he has rejected offers from filmmakers.
Bill, NJ

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 5:19 PM
Good Afternoon All,
Thanks to each of you for the continued stretching of the conversation and of my thinking. Though I did not see Freedom Writers, I have seen a documentary on Erin Gruenwald and had read about her work. In the conversations set forth by the op-ed piece and the letters to the editor, I have been struck by the language and the filters employed to describe the experiences folks have had in their own lives and in response to the film. Commentary like “real schools” and “white hero” seem to evoke deep feelings about film and self and self in relationship to portrayal. It continues to remind me of the complexity of systems like education and communities, not to mention the complexity of any individual who is flavored with race, culture, gender, class, history, professional identity and a thousand more elements. Though I do not expect that others push my thinking around seeing things like a film from different perspective and lenses, I am very appreciative of it.

My first read on Erin’s story when I heard it several years ago was, “what a tremendous cost to an individual to do such work.” I went immediately to system issues, replication difficulties, and the personal penalties of such acts in teaching. In hearing the commentary from folks now with the film, I am engaging in a more personal set of questions as a white teacher and administrator who’s worked for years in poor and impacted, though not urban, settings most of my professional career. Compounding the reflection is that on a much smaller scale, I have seen myself in Erin’s shoes. I have approached teaching and administration as a personal challenge to achieve results, relationships and success in ways that is better than the standard way (whatever that might be). Screw the system; I’ll do it my way. My quest has been to see poor and Hispanic students graduate, to help otherwise unwilling students flourish, to take the toughest, most challenging classes and schools in our district and turn them around. How noble…or how naïve, precocious, and condescending? I don’t know. Is it in the intent or the results?

What much of your thinking and our relationships have done for me is help me seek the power of alliances as a way to be bigger and more considerate than myself. You’ve also led me to question that which I might call success in our system and our culture…based on who, based on what? No answers yet, but lots of really good questions!
Scott, CO

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:47 PM
Excellent idea!
I agree that this is magnified by the idea of a "white savior teacher hero" riding in to save the day, and riding out again with lovely book and movie deal. (Does that sound cynical?) I'm thinking "Freedom Writers", "The Essential 55", and "My Posse Don't do Homework" which became the film "Dangerous Minds".

Not that the students who encountered these teachers didn't have life-changing experiences - they did.

Think also about Jaime Escalante and his calculus students - and he was of their neighborhood. AND he almost killed himself with heart disease and stress, leaving his wife and children to feel neglected for the students who ate up his time. It's a really complicated issue, I think.

And, of course, most of you that I know in NSRF are serious workers. We joke that it almost doesn't matter where we meet because we work such long hours. When there is so much to be done, how do we pace ourselves in ways that model healthy living for our students? And the young teachers we often mentor.

We have lots to think and talk about and I can't wait!
Already at this lovely Seattle hotel!!!
Linda, FL

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:14 PM
There is this story about a woman (Gene Bauer) who decided in 1958 to plant some daffodil bulbs on a mountainside near San Bernardino (CA). 40 years later, she had planted over 50,000 bulbs, all on her own, one at a time. The mountainside is completely covered every spring in a cascade of colorful blooms. The Bauers call it "The Daffodil Garden." And the idea, that one person could change the landscape in tiny increments on a daily basis, is called the Daffodil Principle.

I think the Daffodil Principle applies to this conversation in two ways. First, there are many dedicated, wonderful people who plug away at educating the next generation on a daily basis for their whole careers (or a big chunk). And where in the world would we be without them? Not many books get written (nor movies produced) about the change in the landscape due to their efforts, because it is a long slow process, not necessarily flashy or noticeable. But the hindsight view is very worthwhile, and the effort is not in vain.

Then there are the Escalantes, the Johnsons, the Gruwells, who come along and meet a desperate need at an accelerated pace, changing the landscape markedly in a short period of time. Yes, they burn out and move on to other things, and it is likely that no human being could keep up that pace for an entire career. But if you look back at the flowers you can't tell if they have been there for 4 years or for 40. It doesn't matter if you plant all the bulbs in 4 years or over the course of a career. What matters is that you plant the bulbs...as many as you can, and in the best way you know how.

And for me, CFG plays a critical role in helping me stay motivated to plant, in helping me see better ways to plant and cultivate the flowers, and to "work smart." Who knows, maybe if Jaime or Louanne, or Erin had been part of a CFG they would have found the energy to stay on. It is so hard to stay motivated sometimes in the face of all the obstacles and attitudes that work against us. It is nothing short of miraculous that we attract and retain good people in this demanding profession. Something about Parker Palmer's awesome book The Courage to Teach sticks with me, that the heart of a teacher is slow to harden and full of hope for the future.

So we go on planting in the best way we know how. I am so grateful for the support and collegiality of like-minded (and like-hearted) people, no matter how fast they plant or how long they stay.

I hope you folks in Seattle have an amazing conference! Looking forward to reading about it on the list.
Sincerely,
Angela, CA

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:40 PM
My experience with the Freedom Writers Diary goes like this:
(1) I bought and read the book the summer after it came out. This was back in 2000.

(2) Last year, a presenter (who works with Michael Fullan) at the annual ATLAS Principals' Institute showed the 20/20 segment with Connie Chung on the Freedom Writers as part of her work with the principals on creating collegial teacher communities that support teachers' practice and student learning. We analyzed what was happening/what was missing/what a leader's role is. I work with Ron Walker every year on this institute so I saw the segment, and I subsequently bought the dvd.

(3) We (in Brookline) used the 20/20 segment with the leadership team of our system wide equity project (principals and teachers from all schools) last spring to get at the issue of it being important to institute anti-racist teaching practices (language we use as a result of our involvement with Empowering Multi-cultural Initiatives, which was begun in eastern Massachusetts by Beverly Daniel Tatum) while also dealing with (1) school/system-wide institutional racism and (2) supported work on understanding our own individual racial identities.

(4) Coincidentally, the planning committee for the annual MSAN (Minority Student Achievement Network, a national organization we belong to and are intimately involved with) Student Leadership Conference decided to read The Freedom Writers' Diary and to invite Erin Gruwell and some of her former students to speak. The other keynote speaker this year was Jamie Almanzan. The planning committee is comprised of students of color – this year, from Madison, WI - and the conference is exclusively for high school students of color from the 24 MSAN districts around the country. It was, by all accounts, an empowering and informative experience.

(5) I went two weeks ago to see the movie, Freedom Writers.

After reading the NY Times opt ed pieces, and the postings on this and other listservs, I am left thinking about the following:

Who are we most angry with - the movie industry for not realistically or helpfully portraying the issues we care so much about, or Erin Gruwell - for living her life the best she knows how? I hope it is the former.

I have many issues with Hollywood and the movie industry - way too many to go into here. As good as it was, I even had issues with Akeelah and the Bee - and made sure I saw that movie with my then 6th grade daughter so we could have an extended conversation about the many racial and ethnic stereotypes portrayed (in my opinion). I did the same with Freedom Writers - the difference being, of course, that Freedom Writers plays at the edge of being a documentary without quite going there - so the conversation was even more layered and complicated. But in the end, both are just movies, useful for what they are - but only if one thinks critically and understands that movies are not the "truth." It would be nice if just one movie would portray teaching more carefully and realistically, but I don't see that happening, not if money and the entertainment factor are what counts.

I don't know Ms. Gruwell; I don't know her motivations; I don't know if she received money personally from the movie or what she has done with it if she did. I don't know why she left the classroom, and embarked on a career managing a foundation to raise money for college scholarships, speaking, and offering (with her former students) teacher training workshops. I can only imagine she thought this was the best use of her life - the best way for her to have an impact. I am loath to judge her for the choices she has made. Many of us on this listserv have made a similar decision to leave our schools and classrooms and to put our efforts and talents to use in a different way in the service of young people. As a director of professional development, I don't have to engage her services. I know there are countless people out there who offer professional development for teachers who have never done the things they teach others to do. With Ms. Gruwell, at least I do know that hundreds of young people are leading different lives because of her work - and that for many of them - it was literally a matter of life and death.

I, too, heard the author of Teach As If Your Hair Is on Fire: The Methods and Madness of Room 56 on NPR last evening. The interviewer asked him questions about why he didn't leave his 5th grade classroom to teach other teachers his methods, since he could have a much greater impact that way. He was also asked about other teachers' decisions to leave their classrooms - what did he think about that? What I admired most in him was his refusal to judge. I sometimes wonder why in education we have such a hard time rooting for each other. (Roland Barth recently wrote about this in Improving Relationships in the Schoolhouse). He essentially said that what we need most is each of us, working in synergy, to do the work we are most suited to do. I agree.

So, the movie was complicated - just like real life - and in this instance, truth just might be stranger than fiction. But no one I know thinks as a result of seeing this movie that if only we had more young, white female heroines in teaching all would be right with the world (although I would posit that we do need more white people who are willing to have "courageous conversations" if we are going to change ourselves and the system). Nor has anyone suggested to me that if I were really committed to my work and to my values, I would give up everything – my marriage, my family life, or my interests outside of work.

So, I have been reading the posts on this (and other) listservs. I am just glad my life and work isn't up there, for all the world to see and judge. I can only imagine how I would fare.
Gene, MA

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:38 PM
Thanks Gene, I needed that.
Lisa, AZ

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:09 AM
Thank you, Gene, for your clarity of thought and expression, and your commitment to looking carefully from multiple perspectives.
Debbi, CA

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 6:00 AM
Good Morning,
I have to catch an early flight to Seattle but again I find myself focused on questions and imagery related to metaphors for teaching. I just got my 10-minute warning from my ride so I'll have to be quick. Parker Palmer writes about the need for a movement in education and he asks us to consider our own metaphors along with their positive and negative power. Metaphors of maverick sheroes and bridge builders across difference will occupy my thoughts as I head to WM today. I will also be mulling over flowers that struggle to grow in the cracks where soil and sunlight are not readily accessible...

I am preoccupied with reflections about my choices and my practice and the ways my biases and practice are shaped by my experiences, experiences that Hollywood and the media have a hand in developing. Most of all I am thinking about the ways my practice does or doesn't support young people to grow not out of their communities but in support of them.
Safe travel,
Debbie, PA

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:55 AM
Friends,
I have been following this conversation with great interest.

" Who are we most angry with - the movie industry for not realistically or helpfully portraying the issues we care so much about, or Erin Gruwell – for living her life the best she knows how?"

" I have been struck by the language and the filters employed to describe the experiences folks have had in their own lives and in response to the film."

" Though I do not expect that others push my thinking around seeing things like a film from different perspective and lenses..."

Gene's question and Scott's comments above reminded me of a paper that had a profound impact on my understanding of the world and my place in it. The paper was written by Robert G. Hanvey, Professor and Global Educator from Indiana University. Written over 30 years ago, "An Attainable Global Perspective" provided teachers with a conceptual framework that schools might use to help students develop a global perspective. (The complete paper can be downloaded at: http://www.globaled.org/An_Att_Glob_Persp_04_11_29.pdf.

One key element in this framework is "Perspective Consciousness: the recognition or awareness on the part of the individual that he or she has a view of the world that is not universally shared, that this view of the world has been and continues to be shaped by influences that often escape conscious detection, and that others have views of the world that are profoundly different from one's own."

The realization in this for me was that our perspectives are SHAPED BY INFLUENCES THAT OFTEN ESCAPE CONSCIOUS DETECTION and are thus, inherently distorted and limited.

This is not an argument for moral relativism, but rather, an invitation to consider the limitations of how individuals come to understand a complex and controversial issue and be willing to engage those who we trust, respect, and may strongly disagree with in dialogue that helps us to "polish" our own perceptual lenses a bit so that we can all see reality more clearly.
Looking forward to being with you all,
Pete, FL

Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:09 PM
As Pedro is reminded of an article allowing for a new sense of perspective, I am also reminded of the idea of currere as it relates to curriculum development. It seems that this is, in essence, becoming an area of discussion and study, or, curriculum for us. Through currere, we are led to look at our past, in relationship to the topic, and then find the true essence of the issue. This allows us to use our autobiographical experiences and biases as an external lens and an acknowledged perspective to get at the root of the matter.

At the same time, we all are looking at our past experiences and biases, then coming back to the table in the present with the essence and all of our biases, and then looking into the future to see how we can change similar experiences for ourselves and others.

I have similar questions to those others have raised--and I wonder how/why my past experience makes me feel such knee-jerk reactions when teachers leave teaching so soon and write about their limited experiences. I hope we can continue to explore these issues together.
Elissa, NY

Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:10 PM
Perhaps a bit ironic, but today I received the following link for free tickets to Freedom Writers for teachers: http://www.amctheatres.com/promos/freedomwriters/
Elissa, NY

Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:44 PM
I recieved this today

I have some amazing news to share with you!

AMC Theaters and Paramount Pictures have agreed to let teachers across the country see "Freedom Writers" for free for one week!

Between January 26 and February 1, AMC Theaters will be celebrating teachers and spreading the Freedom Writers' message by allowing teachers nationwide to see "Freedom Writers!"

I urge everyone to tell a teacher to go see "Freedom Writers" at an AMC Theater near them! I also encourage teachers to bring their class, their co-workers, or even their families to this special film that is touching the lives of millions.

Please help the Freedom Writers and me encourage educators everywhere to take advantage of this very unique opportunity!

Please see AMC's press release for more information and be sure to forward this email to everyone you know (especially teachers!)

For further details, go to: http://www.amctheatres.com/promos/freedomwriters/.

Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the movie!

Michaelann, TX