Freedom Writers Page #5

But we got to practice

'cause this, this got power.

You shoot it, it...

I sat there till the police came.

But when they come, all they see

is a dead body, a gun and a nigga.

They took me to juvenile hall.

First night was the scariest.

Inmates banging on the walls,

throwing up their gang signs, yelling out

who they were, where they're from.

I cried my first night.

Can't never let nobody know that.

I spent the next few years

in and out of cells.

Every day I'd worry,

"When will I be free?"

My brother taught me

what the life is for a young black man.

Do what you have to,

pimp, deal, whatever.

Learn what colors to learn,

gang boundaries.

You can stay on one corner,

you can't stay on another.

Learn to be quiet.

A wrong word can get you popped.

If you look in my eyes,

you'll see a loving girl.

If you look at my smile,

you'll see nothing wrong.

If you pull up my shirt,

you'll see the bruises.

What did I do to make him so mad?

At 16, I've seen more dead bodies

than a mortician.

Every time I step out my door,

I'm faced with the risk of being shot.

To the outside world, it's just another

dead body on the street corner.

They don't know that he was my friend.

During the war in Cambodia,

the camp stripped away

my father's dignity.

He sometimes tries

to hurt my mom and me.

I feel like I have to protect my family.

I was having trouble deciding what

candy I wanted, then I heard gunshots.

I looked down to see

that one of my friends

had blood coming out of

his back and his mouth.

The next day, I pulled up my shirt

and got strapped with a gun

I found in an alley by my house.

I don't even know how this war started.

It's just two sides

who tripped each other way back.

Who cares about the history behind it?

I am my father's daughter.

And when they call me to testify,

I will protect my own no matter what.

Nobody cares what I do.

Why should I bother coming to school?

My friends are soldiers, not of war,

but of the streets.

They fight for their lives.

I hate the cold feeling of a gun

against my skin.

It makes me shiver.

It's a crazy-ass life.

Once you're in, there's no getting out.

Every time I jump somebody in

and make someone a part of our gang,

it's another baptism.

They give us their life,

we give them a new one.

I've lost many friends

who have died in an undeclared war.

To the soldiers and me, it's all worth it.

Risk your life dodging bullets,

pulling triggers.

It's all worth it.

Rum and Coke.

Oh, man.

This is...

Mr. Gruwell? Your table is ready.

Follow me.

- Dad, I got them.

- Okay.

Dad, I don't know what to do with this.

I'm not a social worker.

I'm barely a teacher.

Thank you.

These kids, they're 14, 15 years old,

and if they make it through the day

alive, that's good enough.

And I'm supposed to teach them?

Listen to me.

You're not responsible

for their lives outside that classroom.

- Just do your job the best you can.

- How?

The administration

doesn't give me any resources,

no books, no support.

So, what should I do?

Fulfill your obligation

till the end of the school year,

but line up another position.

Success follows experience.

So, get some more experience.

But no matter what,

you gotta remember, it's just a job.

If you're not right for this one,

get another job.

You're gonna sell bras

at a department store?

Just part-time.

I'm having a little trouble

getting books and things for the kids.

So, a little extra money

will give me a little more freedom

to do what I want.

And this way you can play tennis

with Evan after work.

Okay, let me get my head around this.

You're going to get an extra job

to pay for your job.

It's just temporary. I promise.

Once the kids' grades go up,

I'll get a little more help from the school.

And I get an employee's discount.

Isn't that great?

- Want a new TV?

- Yeah.

Excuse me, if I wanted to order

any books in bulk,

could I get some sort of a discount?

- These books are brand new.

- I know.

Okay, guys, gals. Listen up.

The only problem with this book is

it's about a gang member

and there's violence in it,

so you may not be able to read it

as part of the curriculum.

So, I'm going to try my best

to get permission, all right?

It's been a little difficult

getting their attention.

Up until recently, the only thing they

hated more than each other was me.

Well, you united them and that's a step.

What can I do for you?

I want to do more with them, and I need

the support of someone in power.

You have to take this up with your

department head and your principal.

I can't get involved

in inner school policy.

My principal only listens

to my department head,

And she's not very supportive.

You'll have to find a way to deal with it.

No, I'd rather just deal directly

with someone in power.

Ms. Gruwell, there's a system in place

Based on years of running

an educational facility.

- You have to follow that system.

- No. I won't.

Look, I'm just trying to do my job here.

What's the point

of a voluntary integration program

If the kids making it to high school

have a 5th grade reading level?

I enforced that program.

With all due respect,

All that program is doing

is warehousing these kids

Until they're old enough to disappear.

Look, I appreciate your intentions,

But there's nothing I can do

on a class-by-class basis.

Dr. Cohn, why should they waste

their time showing up

When they know

we're wasting our time teaching them?

We tell them, "Go to school.

Get an education. "

And then we say, "Well, they can't learn,

so let's not waste resources. "

I'm thinking trips.

Most of them have never

been outside of Long Beach.

They haven't been given the opportunity

To expand their thinking

about what's out there for them.

And they're hungry for it. I know it.

And it's purely a reward system.

They won't get anything

they haven't earned

By doing their work

and upping their grades.

But if Ms. Campbell

won't give you books

Because of budget restrictions,

She's not gonna approve school trips.

I'll raise the money.

I just need to know

I won't meet resistance.

See, I can't promise them anything

I can't deliver.

It only proves what they already believe.

All I'm saying is, Ms. Campbell

doesn't need to be bothered.

You're a concierge at the Marriott?

It's just weekends.

You play tennis with Evan on Saturdays.

And you can play golf

with my dad on Sundays.

You want me to play golf?

And the bonus is I get employee rates

On Marriott hotel rooms

all over the world.

I've heard a lot of hyphenates,

But a bra-selling-English-teacher-

hotel-concierge has gotta be a new one.

You told me your part-time job

was temporary.

It is. I just don't know for how long.

- What if I said no?

- No, what?

- But I can make it work, Scott.

- No, that's not the point.

You can do anything!

We know that already.

It's just that I... You...

You didn't even ask me.

- I'm just trying to do my job, Scott.

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