The girls go through different exercises in class before two or three girls volunteer to read from their journals. Usually they learn new vocabulary. They all agree not to judge each other and to show empathy. They also agree not to share anyone's secrets.
Gibson said she is not grading them on grammar or correcting errors - yet. For now, Gibson flips through the journals to ensure that the girls have written in them every week, but she promises not to read anything on pages the girls have folded over. None of them do, Gibson said.
Once the girls "feel good about writing," she will work more on the mechanics of syntax, Gibson said. That way, the girls will learn to hone their skills. "They're going to be more articulate," she said. "They're going to be writing all the time."
FOR THE RECORD - In an article on Freedom Writers in Sunday's Anne Arundel section, Lee'Aisa Simms' name was misspelled. Also, in a caption with a related photograph, Rayven Richardson's name was misspelled.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the errors.
Leonard Massie, the new principal of Van Bokkelen, saw the movie and was open to the technique. He said he wants to see how well it works for the girls before expanding it to more students. So far, he is pleased with Gibson's weekly reports.
"We've gotten nonwriters writing and writers writing more," Massie said.
In California, Gruwell had a hard time convincing administrators that the line game or other sharing exercises had anything to do with learning English. Students who have distractions at home for whatever reason don't feel inclined to pay attention to Shakespeare's stories if no one cares about their own, she said.
"So much of my process is really embracing the literacy process," Gruwell said in a phone interview before a speech in Boston last week. "You have to engage those kids first before you throw that rigor at them."
Gruwell said Van Bokkelen is lucky to have Gibson.
"She is an amazing dynamo, and we feel so fortunate to have her be a part of our organization," Gruwell said.
