1
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:34,731
There have been shots fired.

2
00:00:34,834 --> 00:00:36,825
Total civil unrest is happening throughout the Los Angeles area.

3
00:00:36,936 --> 00:00:37,904
Dozens of police are running down the streets.

4
00:00:37,904 --> 00:00:38,199
Dozens of police are running down the streets.

5
00:00:38,338 --> 00:00:39,464
Smoke reigned over the entire city.

6
00:00:39,606 --> 00:00:42,575
We're telling anybody who's in downtown South Central...

7
00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:44,233
There are 38 dead and more than...

8
00:00:44,377 --> 00:00:46,504
The EMT are having a hard time getting in...

9
00:00:49,349 --> 00:00:52,785
... where truck driver Reginald Denny was pulled from his vehicle...

10
00:00:54,654 --> 00:00:56,417
The city resembles a war zone.

11
00:00:56,523 --> 00:00:58,150
Crowds gathered at Parker Center downtown.

12
00:00:58,258 --> 00:01:01,250
...here in Hollywood, where looters have struck many businesses.

13
00:01:01,361 --> 00:01:03,829
There have been 3, 600 structural fires.

14
00:01:04,564 --> 00:01:06,361
Thick, black smoke rising from the countless fires

15
00:01:06,466 --> 00:01:11,995
in Hollywood, downtown, Compton, Watts and Long Beach...

16
00:01:30,890 --> 00:01:32,187
In America,

17
00:01:33,193 --> 00:01:35,457
a girl can be crowned a princess

18
00:01:36,362 --> 00:01:39,763
for her beauty and her grace.

19
00:01:43,436 --> 00:01:46,098
But an Aztec princess is chosen for her blood...

20
00:01:46,473 --> 00:01:47,565
Eva?

21
00:01:51,077 --> 00:01:53,705
... to fight for her people, as Papi and his father fought

22
00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:56,441
against those who say we are less than they are,

23
00:01:56,549 --> 00:01:59,848
who say we are not equal in beauty and in blessings.

24
00:02:07,627 --> 00:02:09,527
It was the first day of school,

25
00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:12,393
and I was waiting for my father to take me to the bus.

26
00:02:12,499 --> 00:02:13,727
Roberto!

27
00:02:18,304 --> 00:02:19,271
Eva!

28
00:02:20,073 --> 00:02:22,701
And I saw the war for the first time.

29
00:02:23,643 --> 00:02:25,611
Eva! Eva!

30
00:02:25,912 --> 00:02:27,539
Police! Open up!

31
00:02:29,716 --> 00:02:32,014
They took my father for retaliation.

32
00:02:32,418 --> 00:02:33,817
He was innocent, but they took him,

33
00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:36,252
because he was respected by my people.

34
00:02:36,356 --> 00:02:40,486
They called my people a gang because we fight for our America.

35
00:02:40,793 --> 00:02:42,055
On your feet!

36
00:02:43,963 --> 00:02:46,329
When I got my initiation into the gang life,

37
00:02:46,432 --> 00:02:48,559
I became third generation.

38
00:02:49,569 --> 00:02:51,969
They beat you so you won't break.

39
00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:55,303
They are my family.

40
00:03:01,181 --> 00:03:04,480
In Long Beach, it all comes down to what you look like.

41
00:03:04,584 --> 00:03:07,417
If you're Latino or Asian or black,

42
00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:36,316
you could get blasted any time you walk out your door.

43
00:03:36,316 --> 00:03:38,181
We fight each other for territory.

44
00:03:38,284 --> 00:03:41,776
We kill each other over race, pride and respect.

45
00:03:43,056 --> 00:03:45,115
We fight for what is ours.

46
00:03:49,429 --> 00:03:51,795
They think they're winning by jumping me now,

47
00:03:51,898 --> 00:03:54,196
but soon they're all going down.

48
00:03:54,934 --> 00:03:56,834
War has been declared.

49
00:03:58,304 --> 00:04:00,329
-Here's your coffee. -Thank you.

50
00:04:04,077 --> 00:04:06,637
I brought my lesson plans. I'd love it if you'd look them over.

51
00:04:06,746 --> 00:04:10,307
Yes, and these are the classes you'll start with.

52
00:04:10,416 --> 00:04:14,876
Freshman English, four classes, about 150 students in all.

53
00:04:19,592 --> 00:04:21,355
Some of them are just out of juvenile hall.

54
00:04:21,461 --> 00:04:25,295
One or two might be wearing ankle cuffs to monitor their whereabouts.

55
00:04:25,398 --> 00:04:28,367
And you see here, we'll have to revise your lesson plans.

56
00:04:28,501 --> 00:04:32,335
And if you look at their scores, these vocabulary lists

57
00:04:32,438 --> 00:04:36,340
and some of these, the books, Homer's The Odyssey,

58
00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:38,034
they're gonna be too difficult for them.

59
00:04:38,177 --> 00:04:39,144
All right.

60
00:04:39,612 --> 00:04:41,170
Also, for most of them to get here

61
00:04:41,281 --> 00:04:43,545
it takes three buses, almost 90 minutes each way.

62
00:04:43,650 --> 00:04:44,639
My God.

63
00:04:44,751 --> 00:04:46,480
So I wouldn't give them too much of a homework load.

64
00:04:46,586 --> 00:04:49,350
You'll just be wasting a lot of time following up on overdue work.

65
00:04:49,455 --> 00:04:51,252
All right. Thank you.

66
00:04:52,792 --> 00:04:55,659
-You're from Newport Beach? -Yes.

67
00:04:57,697 --> 00:05:00,530
It's too bad you weren't here even two years ago, you know.

68
00:05:01,034 --> 00:05:03,935
We used to have one of the highest scholastic records in the district,

69
00:05:04,037 --> 00:05:07,598
but since voluntary integration was suggested,

70
00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:14,009
we've lost over 75% of our strongest students.

71
00:05:14,113 --> 00:05:17,571
Well, actually, I chose Wilson because of the integration program.

72
00:05:17,684 --> 00:05:20,778
I think what's happening here is really exciting, don't you?

73
00:05:20,887 --> 00:05:23,355
My father was involved in the civil rights movement.

74
00:05:23,456 --> 00:05:26,892
And I remember when I was watching the LA riots on TV,

75
00:05:26,993 --> 00:05:28,756
I was thinking of going to law school at the time.

76
00:05:28,861 --> 00:05:30,590
And I thought, "God, by the time

77
00:05:30,697 --> 00:05:33,131
"you're defending a kid in a courtroom, the battle's already lost."

78
00:05:33,232 --> 00:05:36,861
I think the real fighting should happen here in the classroom.

79
00:05:39,739 --> 00:05:42,037
Well, that's a very

80
00:05:43,042 --> 00:05:45,010
well-thought-out phrase.

81
00:05:47,513 --> 00:05:48,639
Erin,

82
00:05:49,449 --> 00:05:53,579
I think you're a lovely, intelligent woman.

83
00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,681
But you're a first-time teacher.

84
00:05:56,789 --> 00:05:58,984
As head of this department, I have to be confident

85
00:05:59,092 --> 00:06:01,560
you're capable of dealing with what we have to face here.

86
00:06:01,661 --> 00:06:02,855
I am.

87
00:06:03,429 --> 00:06:06,694
I know I have a lot to learn as a teacher, but I'm a really good student.

88
00:06:06,799 --> 00:06:10,963
I am, and I really want to be here.

89
00:06:15,808 --> 00:06:20,336
-Those are lovely pearls. -Thank you. From my father.

90
00:06:21,814 --> 00:06:23,509
I wouldn't wear them to class.

91
00:06:39,098 --> 00:06:40,395
Honey?

92
00:06:43,669 --> 00:06:44,761
What?

93
00:06:46,439 --> 00:06:48,134
Do I look like a teacher?

94
00:07:05,458 --> 00:07:06,516
Hey!

95
00:08:31,043 --> 00:08:33,273
Hey, Chris, yo, what up?

96
00:08:49,495 --> 00:08:51,520
-Hello. -Hello.

97
00:08:52,765 --> 00:08:54,630
Hey, yo, let's sit right here, man.

98
00:09:00,973 --> 00:09:01,997
Hi.

99
00:09:32,038 --> 00:09:34,973
Hey, girl, you wanna give me some fries with that shake?

100
00:09:42,848 --> 00:09:46,750
My name is Erin Gruwell. Welcome to Freshman English.

101
00:09:47,553 --> 00:09:49,248
I give this bitch a week.

102
00:09:49,355 --> 00:09:50,379
Hi.

103
00:09:52,858 --> 00:09:55,725
Okay. Brandy Ross?

104
00:09:55,828 --> 00:09:57,557
Gloria Munez.

105
00:09:59,899 --> 00:10:02,026
Alejandro Santiago.

106
00:10:04,203 --> 00:10:06,000
Andre Bryant.

107
00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,701
Eva Benitez.

108
00:10:09,809 --> 00:10:13,472
Eva, not Eva.

109
00:10:15,881 --> 00:10:17,109
Eva.

110
00:10:18,985 --> 00:10:20,418
I have to go to the bathroom.

111
00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:22,749
-Okay, make sure that you take a... -Yeah, I know.

112
00:10:26,225 --> 00:10:28,022
Ben Samuels?

113
00:10:28,761 --> 00:10:31,127
That white boy hoping he's in the wrong room.

114
00:10:31,230 --> 00:10:32,492
I gotta get out of here.

115
00:10:32,598 --> 00:10:35,658
-Sindy Ngor. -Right here.

116
00:10:35,801 --> 00:10:37,063
Is that correct?

117
00:10:37,570 --> 00:10:40,266
-Jamal Hill? -Man, what am I doing in here?

118
00:10:40,706 --> 00:10:42,503
This whole ghetto-ass class has got people in here

119
00:10:42,608 --> 00:10:44,576
Iooking like a bad rerun of Cops and shit.

120
00:10:44,710 --> 00:10:46,541
You know what I'm saying? It's true.

121
00:10:46,646 --> 00:10:49,206
-Are you Jamal? -Yeah.

122
00:10:49,315 --> 00:10:52,079
Well, for some reason they have you registered in this class.

123
00:10:52,184 --> 00:10:55,210
-Yeah, and that's some bullshit. -It's the dumb class, coz.

124
00:10:55,888 --> 00:10:57,446
It means you're too dumb.

125
00:10:57,757 --> 00:11:00,692
-Man, say it to my face, coz. -I just did.

126
00:11:00,726 --> 00:11:02,489
See what I mean? Dumb.

127
00:11:02,595 --> 00:11:04,927
-Man, I know you ain't talking to me! -Okay...

128
00:11:05,031 --> 00:11:06,589
Look, homey, I'll beat that ass, homeboy.

129
00:11:06,699 --> 00:11:07,757
Can you please sit back down?

130
00:11:07,867 --> 00:11:08,834
Look, I got your spot on the team.

131
00:11:08,968 --> 00:11:10,265
That's why you're over there wagging your tongue.

132
00:11:10,403 --> 00:11:11,631
Please sit back in your seats.

133
00:11:11,771 --> 00:11:14,365
Look, your spot is good as gone. I don't know why you keep wasting your time

134
00:11:14,507 --> 00:11:17,305
coming to practice with them two-year-old Nikes on your feet!

135
00:11:17,410 --> 00:11:19,401
You don't know nothing about me, coz!

136
00:11:20,579 --> 00:11:21,705
Broke down my whole situation.

137
00:11:21,814 --> 00:11:22,872
Jamal?

138
00:11:22,982 --> 00:11:23,949
So, now you're in my face now, right?

139
00:11:24,350 --> 00:11:25,874
Sit your punk ass down! Sit your punk ass down, homeboy!

140
00:11:25,985 --> 00:11:26,974
I will run that ass off the field.

141
00:11:27,086 --> 00:11:28,610
Shut your ass up. What's up, homey?

142
00:11:28,721 --> 00:11:30,279
I mean, what's up? Sit your ass down, homey!

143
00:11:30,456 --> 00:11:32,356
Excuse me, may I please get some help in here?

144
00:11:34,894 --> 00:11:36,589
So do something! Back up!

145
00:11:36,696 --> 00:11:37,685
You touching me now?

146
00:11:37,797 --> 00:11:40,231
Sit down, homeboy. Back up, I'm not gonna tell you again.

147
00:11:40,332 --> 00:11:41,526
You gonna look at my face now, right?

148
00:11:41,667 --> 00:11:42,929
You ain't taking nothing from me, homeboy!

149
00:11:43,302 --> 00:11:44,929
I will run your ass off the field!

150
00:11:45,071 --> 00:11:46,163
Boy, sit your ass back down.

151
00:11:46,305 --> 00:11:47,966
Don't even worry about it, I'm gonna see you.

152
00:11:48,107 --> 00:11:49,369
Tell him. Sit his ass down.

153
00:11:49,475 --> 00:11:50,567
Sit your ass down.

154
00:11:50,676 --> 00:11:52,644
Thank you. Let him out of here, man. That's some bullshit.

155
00:11:59,318 --> 00:12:00,376
Erin?

156
00:12:05,725 --> 00:12:08,193
Erin, this is Brian Gelford.

157
00:12:08,294 --> 00:12:11,092
He teaches Junior English and the Distinguished Honors Classes.

158
00:12:11,197 --> 00:12:13,995
-Hi. Erin Gruwell. Nice to meet you. -Hi. Nice to meet you.

159
00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:18,867
-You saw a little action today, I hear. -Yeah. It happened so fast.

160
00:12:19,405 --> 00:12:20,895
Well, don't be discouraged.

161
00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,203
You put your time in, in a few years, you'll be able to teach juniors.

162
00:12:24,310 --> 00:12:25,504
They're a pleasure.

163
00:12:25,611 --> 00:12:28,273
By then, most of your kids will be gone anyway.

164
00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:33,113
-What do you mean? -Well, eventually, they just stop coming.

165
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:39,084
Well, if I do my job, they might be lining up at the door.

166
00:12:39,692 --> 00:12:40,989
-Right? -Yeah.

167
00:12:43,496 --> 00:12:46,795
-Nice pearls. -Thank you.

168
00:12:59,812 --> 00:13:02,212
If it was up to me, I wouldn't even be in school.

169
00:13:02,314 --> 00:13:04,214
My probation officer threatened me,

170
00:13:04,316 --> 00:13:06,841
telling me it was either school or boot camp.

171
00:13:07,186 --> 00:13:08,312
Dumbass.

172
00:13:08,420 --> 00:13:10,320
He thinks that the problems going on in Long Beach

173
00:13:10,422 --> 00:13:12,549
aren't going to touch me at Wilson.

174
00:13:13,526 --> 00:13:16,552
My PO doesn't understand that schools are like the city,

175
00:13:16,662 --> 00:13:18,721
and the city is just like a prison,

176
00:13:18,831 --> 00:13:23,131
all of them divided into separate sections, depending on tribes.

177
00:13:23,536 --> 00:13:25,299
There's Little Cambodia.

178
00:13:26,305 --> 00:13:27,738
The Ghetto.

179
00:13:28,007 --> 00:13:29,634
Wonder Bread Land.

180
00:13:30,042 --> 00:13:34,103
And us, South of the Border or Little Tijuana.

181
00:13:34,413 --> 00:13:37,246
That's just the way it is, and everyone knows it.

182
00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:41,442
But soon enough, you have little wannabes trying to hit you up at school,

183
00:13:41,554 --> 00:13:43,852
demanding respect they haven't earned.

184
00:13:44,490 --> 00:13:48,688
It looks like this, one tribe drifting quietly to another's territory

185
00:13:48,794 --> 00:13:52,423
without respect, as if to claim what isn't theirs.

186
00:13:53,265 --> 00:13:57,668
An outsider looking in would never see it, but we could feel it.

187
00:14:01,073 --> 00:14:02,802
Something was coming.

188
00:14:18,591 --> 00:14:19,751
Settle down.

189
00:14:19,859 --> 00:14:23,727
Let's go over the first name on the list, Homer.

190
00:14:24,029 --> 00:14:26,725
Homer's The Odyssey.

191
00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:28,527
I know Homer the Simpson.

192
00:14:29,835 --> 00:14:32,497
No, this Homer was an ancient Greek,

193
00:14:32,638 --> 00:14:35,903
but maybe he was bald just like Homer Simpson.

194
00:14:40,246 --> 00:14:41,372
Okay.

195
00:14:51,657 --> 00:14:53,022
What's up?

196
00:15:01,367 --> 00:15:03,358
Quietly, please.

197
00:15:05,337 --> 00:15:07,567
Mrs. Gruwell, he just took my damn bag!

198
00:15:07,673 --> 00:15:09,004
Shut up! Ain't nobody touched your damn bag.

199
00:15:09,108 --> 00:15:10,097
Yeah, I saw you.

200
00:15:10,242 --> 00:15:12,301
Jamal. Jamal. Get her backpack.

201
00:15:12,411 --> 00:15:13,742
I didn't do nothing anyway!

202
00:15:13,846 --> 00:15:15,006
-Jamal. Jamal. -Okay.

203
00:15:31,563 --> 00:15:35,932
Wait! Wait! Please, stay in your seats! Wait! Stay in your seats! Please!

204
00:15:51,383 --> 00:15:53,044
Slanty-eyed bitch!

205
00:15:57,957 --> 00:16:00,118
Return to your classrooms.

206
00:16:01,427 --> 00:16:04,021
Return to the classrooms immediately.

207
00:16:08,300 --> 00:16:09,892
That's all you got?

208
00:16:11,203 --> 00:16:15,037
Clear the school lawn and the recreation field now!

209
00:16:19,411 --> 00:16:22,972
...classrooms, or you will be subject to disciplinary action.

210
00:16:24,316 --> 00:16:27,479
You can best help yourself and your fellow students

211
00:16:27,586 --> 00:16:31,215
and your school by returning to your classrooms now.

212
00:16:31,457 --> 00:16:33,755
Please return to your classrooms.

213
00:16:33,993 --> 00:16:35,620
Get up, bitch!

214
00:16:36,628 --> 00:16:40,155
All students must return to their classrooms immediately.

215
00:16:43,135 --> 00:16:44,193
Erin?

216
00:16:46,805 --> 00:16:47,863
Erin.

217
00:16:49,241 --> 00:16:50,538
Hey, baby.

218
00:16:52,544 --> 00:16:53,841
You okay?

219
00:16:54,113 --> 00:16:55,080
Come here.

220
00:16:58,183 --> 00:17:00,083
Are you sure about this?

221
00:17:00,252 --> 00:17:03,483
Well, it's not exactly how I pictured it.

222
00:17:05,791 --> 00:17:07,520
Don't tell my dad.

223
00:17:08,227 --> 00:17:10,354
Hopefully, he hasn't seen the news.

224
00:17:13,899 --> 00:17:16,493
-So, how's work? -Dad.

225
00:17:17,102 --> 00:17:20,265
-I was asking your husband. -It's good. I mean, for now.

226
00:17:20,406 --> 00:17:21,532
It's a good company.

227
00:17:21,673 --> 00:17:23,607
I pretty much run the computer data department.

228
00:17:23,709 --> 00:17:27,008
-I thought you were an architect. -He is. He's just taking a break.

229
00:17:27,112 --> 00:17:28,807
And the money's good for now.

230
00:17:28,914 --> 00:17:32,518
How much are you making, $27,000 before taxes?

231
00:17:32,518 --> 00:17:34,213
If you know, why are you asking?

232
00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:36,150
So, what's everybody gonna eat?

233
00:17:36,255 --> 00:17:39,281
With your brains, you could run a major corporation.

234
00:17:39,391 --> 00:17:42,087
Instead, I worry all night because you're a teacher at Attica.

235
00:17:42,194 --> 00:17:44,162
Can you hear what you're saying?

236
00:17:44,263 --> 00:17:47,824
How many times have I listened to you about walking civil rights marches?

237
00:17:47,933 --> 00:17:50,731
These gangs are criminals, not activists. You read the papers?

238
00:17:50,869 --> 00:17:52,700
They said the same thing about the Black Panthers.

239
00:17:52,838 --> 00:17:54,772
I'll lay odds your kids don't even know

240
00:17:54,873 --> 00:17:56,932
who Rap Brown or Eldridge Cleaver were.

241
00:17:57,076 --> 00:17:58,737
You're gonna waste your talents on people

242
00:17:58,844 --> 00:18:01,312
who don't give a damn about education.

243
00:18:02,781 --> 00:18:04,510
It breaks my heart.

244
00:18:04,883 --> 00:18:07,010
I tell you the truth.

245
00:18:07,419 --> 00:18:08,511
Well...

246
00:18:10,622 --> 00:18:13,557
I'm sorry. I can't help that.

247
00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:21,129
-You think this is good enough for her? -Yeah, I do.

248
00:18:22,167 --> 00:18:23,634
Look, Steve,

249
00:18:24,236 --> 00:18:27,205
if Erin thinks she can teach these kids, she can.

250
00:18:27,806 --> 00:18:30,741
You telling her she can't is just gonna make her mad.

251
00:18:37,116 --> 00:18:40,711
So he doesn't like your job. So what? Why do you let it get to you?

252
00:18:40,819 --> 00:18:43,922
I don't know, it just does. I'm not used to disappointing him. I...

253
00:18:43,922 --> 00:18:45,150
Just let me know when I can brush my teeth.

254
00:18:45,257 --> 00:18:47,316
-I hate that we don't have our own sinks. -Come in. There's room.

255
00:18:47,426 --> 00:18:48,654
All right. Thank you.

256
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,888
I can't believe he brought up my salary.

257
00:18:52,397 --> 00:18:53,762
What's happened to him?

258
00:18:53,866 --> 00:18:56,130
He was like Atticus Finch to me when I was growing up,

259
00:18:56,268 --> 00:18:59,863
and now he's talking about salaries? I think he's playing too much golf.

260
00:19:00,072 --> 00:19:02,506
In fact, I think he needs an intervention.

261
00:19:03,041 --> 00:19:05,009
Why isn't being a teacher good enough for him?

262
00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:06,839
Honey, just calm down.

263
00:19:06,945 --> 00:19:10,210
You know, except for marrying me,

264
00:19:10,315 --> 00:19:12,875
you never seriously disappoint him. He worships you.

265
00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:14,316
He likes you. He just doesn't...

266
00:19:14,419 --> 00:19:16,614
He just doesn't think I'm good enough for you, which is fine.

267
00:19:16,722 --> 00:19:19,589
That's what fathers do. I'm sure I'll be that way someday.

268
00:19:19,691 --> 00:19:24,151
Look, just, you know, stop worrying about being his perfect daughter.

269
00:19:24,263 --> 00:19:26,823
You don't live in his house, you live in ours.

270
00:19:26,932 --> 00:19:28,559
Or until we find one.

271
00:19:29,568 --> 00:19:31,729
-Or until you build us one. -Yeah.

272
00:19:32,104 --> 00:19:34,197
With extra sinks.

273
00:19:41,013 --> 00:19:43,481
You're a teacher because you say you are.

274
00:20:01,233 --> 00:20:02,894
I have this idea.

275
00:20:03,101 --> 00:20:06,901
We're gonna be covering poetry. Who here likes Tupac Shakur?

276
00:20:07,005 --> 00:20:07,994
It's 2Pac.

277
00:20:08,140 --> 00:20:11,371
2Pac Shakur. Excuse me. Raise your hand.

278
00:20:12,878 --> 00:20:15,574
Really? I thought there'd be more fans.

279
00:20:15,914 --> 00:20:18,314
I have the lyrics to this song printed out.

280
00:20:18,417 --> 00:20:21,147
I want you to listen to this phrase I have up on the board.

281
00:20:21,253 --> 00:20:23,847
It's an example of an internal rhyme.

282
00:20:23,956 --> 00:20:28,450
What he does is very sophisticated and cool, actually.

283
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,495
"Man-child in the promised land couldn't afford many heroes

284
00:20:31,597 --> 00:20:33,963
"Moms was the only one there Pops was a no-show

285
00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:37,365
"And, no, I guess you didn't know that I would grow to be so strong

286
00:20:37,502 --> 00:20:39,936
"You looking kinda pale, was it the ale? Oh, pops was wrong

287
00:20:40,038 --> 00:20:42,404
"Where was the money that you said you would send me?

288
00:20:42,507 --> 00:20:44,805
"Talked on the phone and you sounded so friendly"

289
00:20:44,910 --> 00:20:47,879
-Think we don't know 2Pac? -White girl gonna teach us about rap.

290
00:20:47,980 --> 00:20:50,005
No, it's not that. See, what I was trying to do...

291
00:20:50,115 --> 00:20:52,982
You have no idea what you're doing up there, do you?

292
00:20:53,919 --> 00:20:55,978
You ever been a teacher before?

293
00:20:56,722 --> 00:20:58,451
And teacher gets nailed, y'all!

294
00:20:58,557 --> 00:21:01,958
All right, Jamal, enough. Jamal! That's enough!

295
00:21:02,494 --> 00:21:05,759
You know what? I want you to move to this front seat right here now.

296
00:21:05,864 --> 00:21:08,162
-What? -Come on.

297
00:21:09,368 --> 00:21:12,235
I am sick of these antics in my classroom.

298
00:21:13,272 --> 00:21:15,240
Well, there you are.

299
00:21:15,340 --> 00:21:18,002
I was wondering when you were gonna lose that damn smile.

300
00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:19,407
Switch with Ben.

301
00:21:19,511 --> 00:21:22,036
-Come on. -I can't go back there alone.

302
00:21:22,147 --> 00:21:24,138
-lt'll be fine. -No, it won't.

303
00:21:24,249 --> 00:21:25,341
I'm not sitting near him.

304
00:21:25,450 --> 00:21:26,678
I ain't going up there without my homey.

305
00:21:26,785 --> 00:21:28,116
I'm not sitting back there alone!

306
00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:29,517
-All right. -Shut up.

307
00:21:29,621 --> 00:21:30,713
All right, you know what?

308
00:21:30,822 --> 00:21:33,290
I want you all to move to this side of the room.

309
00:21:33,392 --> 00:21:36,520
You in the back, up here. Sindy and all of you, move to the back.

310
00:21:37,162 --> 00:21:39,790
Come on. Let's go. Now!

311
00:21:43,235 --> 00:21:44,998
Get your ass back to China, all of y'all.

312
00:21:47,706 --> 00:21:51,039
-You're all little midget-ass punks. -Move before I stomp your peanuts.

313
00:21:57,983 --> 00:21:59,109
Boo!

314
00:21:59,851 --> 00:22:01,819
Get your ass to the back, boy.

315
00:22:23,809 --> 00:22:25,208
Get off my desk.

316
00:22:35,153 --> 00:22:36,916
So, everybody happy with the new borders?

317
00:22:44,863 --> 00:22:46,160
Eva?

318
00:22:47,332 --> 00:22:48,959
Where are you going?

319
00:22:49,101 --> 00:22:50,432
Hey! Hey!

320
00:25:05,403 --> 00:25:07,462
This is bull! Come on, man! What the...

321
00:25:09,808 --> 00:25:11,776
What the hell? Damn!

322
00:25:13,578 --> 00:25:15,170
I want my money back!

323
00:25:17,582 --> 00:25:21,143
This shit took my damn money! I want my damn money back!

324
00:25:22,053 --> 00:25:23,748
Look what you putting me through. Shit!

325
00:25:23,922 --> 00:25:26,652
Learn to speak the damn language! You're from this country, aren't you?

326
00:25:26,758 --> 00:25:28,555
I want my money back!

327
00:25:28,927 --> 00:25:29,394
I want my money back!

328
00:25:29,394 --> 00:25:30,884
I want my money back!

329
00:25:53,652 --> 00:25:55,119
Come on! Let's go!

330
00:25:58,823 --> 00:26:00,518
Come on, come on, girl! Let's go!

331
00:26:23,748 --> 00:26:25,375
Paco was scared.

332
00:26:25,617 --> 00:26:27,107
In the car, he said,

333
00:26:27,218 --> 00:26:30,187
'"You can't go against your own people, your own blood. "

334
00:26:30,288 --> 00:26:33,825
The same words my father used so many times.

335
00:26:33,825 --> 00:26:35,452
Only I saw Paco.

336
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,352
The others were turned away.

337
00:26:37,462 --> 00:26:41,660
So when the police questioned me, I knew I had to protect him.

338
00:26:45,637 --> 00:26:49,073
All right, everyone, we need to get started so classes won't be too delayed.

339
00:26:49,174 --> 00:26:51,108
Principal Banning would like to say something

340
00:26:51,209 --> 00:26:53,177
in the light of last night's events.

341
00:26:53,311 --> 00:26:55,074
I've spoken to the police.

342
00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:57,808
As you might already know, there were persons involved

343
00:26:57,916 --> 00:27:01,317
in last night's shooting who are Wilson students.

344
00:27:01,486 --> 00:27:05,388
Grant Rice has been arrested as a prime suspect.

345
00:27:05,423 --> 00:27:06,856
Ms. Gruwell,

346
00:27:06,958 --> 00:27:10,689
apparently one of your students, Eva Benitez...

347
00:27:10,795 --> 00:27:13,889
-Eva. -...has identified him as the shooter.

348
00:27:13,999 --> 00:27:16,399
She's the prime witness in the case.

349
00:27:16,534 --> 00:27:20,664
It is our policy not to discuss the subject inside the classroom.

350
00:27:20,805 --> 00:27:22,773
-Thank you very much. -Thank you.

351
00:27:40,659 --> 00:27:42,286
Hey, Tiny, check this out.

352
00:27:49,267 --> 00:27:52,168
Hey. Hey!

353
00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:09,245
Yes?

354
00:28:11,156 --> 00:28:12,521
All right.

355
00:28:14,192 --> 00:28:15,250
Gloria?

356
00:28:15,860 --> 00:28:17,487
Please read the first sentence on the board.

357
00:28:17,595 --> 00:28:18,584
Why me?

358
00:28:18,697 --> 00:28:20,562
Because I know how much you love to read.

359
00:28:20,665 --> 00:28:22,394
Close the magazine.

360
00:28:25,370 --> 00:28:28,066
"Odysseus had no sense of direction."

361
00:28:28,206 --> 00:28:30,174
Now, none of these sentences are correct.

362
00:28:30,308 --> 00:28:33,766
I'd like you to rewrite these sentences using the proper tenses

363
00:28:33,912 --> 00:28:36,380
and spelling on page four of your workbooks.

364
00:28:42,353 --> 00:28:45,457
I don't have a page four. It got torn out.

365
00:28:45,457 --> 00:28:48,949
Okay, why don't you just use the next blank page?

366
00:28:54,099 --> 00:28:55,726
What's going on?

367
00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:00,900
What is that? Give it to me.

368
00:29:17,789 --> 00:29:20,223
-What is this? -Just leave it alone.

369
00:29:26,464 --> 00:29:28,432
You think this is funny?

370
00:29:29,300 --> 00:29:30,426
Tito?

371
00:29:31,436 --> 00:29:34,098
Would this be funny if it were a picture of you?

372
00:29:34,472 --> 00:29:35,769
It ain't.

373
00:29:45,817 --> 00:29:47,580
Close the workbooks.

374
00:29:55,059 --> 00:29:58,586
Maybe we should talk about art. Tito's got real talent, don't you think?

375
00:29:58,696 --> 00:30:01,597
-Yeah, yeah. -Go, Tito.

376
00:30:02,534 --> 00:30:04,126
You know something?

377
00:30:04,269 --> 00:30:08,000
I saw a picture just like this once in a museum.

378
00:30:08,973 --> 00:30:12,374
Only it wasn't a black man, it was a Jewish man.

379
00:30:12,477 --> 00:30:15,241
And instead of the big lips, he had a really big nose,

380
00:30:15,346 --> 00:30:16,938
Iike a rat's nose.

381
00:30:17,048 --> 00:30:19,073
But he wasn't just one particular Jewish man,

382
00:30:19,184 --> 00:30:21,379
this was a drawing of all Jews.

383
00:30:21,786 --> 00:30:24,016
And these drawings were put in the newspapers

384
00:30:24,122 --> 00:30:26,613
by the most famous gang in history.

385
00:30:27,959 --> 00:30:29,551
That's us, dawg.

386
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:34,528
You think you know all about gangs?

387
00:30:35,900 --> 00:30:37,492
You're amateurs.

388
00:30:38,002 --> 00:30:40,129
This gang would put you all to shame.

389
00:30:40,271 --> 00:30:44,537
And they started out poor and angry, and everybody looked down on them.

390
00:30:44,642 --> 00:30:47,577
Until one man decided to give them some pride,

391
00:30:47,679 --> 00:30:51,137
an identity and somebody to blame.

392
00:30:51,883 --> 00:30:53,851
You take over neighborhoods?

393
00:30:54,853 --> 00:30:59,153
That's nothing compared to them. They took over countries.

394
00:30:59,257 --> 00:31:00,656
And you wanna know how?

395
00:31:01,125 --> 00:31:03,616
They just wiped out everybody else.

396
00:31:03,795 --> 00:31:05,592
-Yeah. -Yeah.

397
00:31:05,697 --> 00:31:08,097
Yeah, they wiped out everybody they didn't like,

398
00:31:08,199 --> 00:31:11,327
and everybody they blamed for their life being hard.

399
00:31:11,469 --> 00:31:14,097
And one of the ways they did it was by doing this.

400
00:31:14,239 --> 00:31:16,730
See, they'd print pictures like this in the newspapers.

401
00:31:16,875 --> 00:31:21,835
Jewish people with big, long noses. Blacks with big, fat lips.

402
00:31:23,214 --> 00:31:25,580
They'd also publish scientific evidence

403
00:31:25,683 --> 00:31:29,915
that proved Jews and blacks were the lowest form of human species.

404
00:31:30,855 --> 00:31:32,584
Jews and blacks were more like animals.

405
00:31:32,690 --> 00:31:34,021
And because they were just like animals

406
00:31:34,125 --> 00:31:36,320
it didn't really matter whether they lived or died.

407
00:31:36,427 --> 00:31:40,659
In fact, life would be a whole lot better if they were all dead.

408
00:31:42,233 --> 00:31:44,531
That's how a holocaust happens.

409
00:31:44,769 --> 00:31:46,134
And that's what you all think of each other.

410
00:31:46,237 --> 00:31:47,261
You don't know nothing, homegirl.

411
00:31:47,405 --> 00:31:49,873
No, I don't, Marcus! So why don't you explain it to me?

412
00:31:50,008 --> 00:31:51,976
I ain't explaining shit to you!

413
00:31:53,611 --> 00:31:55,636
Do you even know how we live?

414
00:31:57,715 --> 00:31:59,273
We was here first, man.

415
00:31:59,884 --> 00:32:01,511
Just shut that shit up, homeboy.

416
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:03,410
All right! All right! All right!

417
00:32:03,521 --> 00:32:05,819
So what you're saying is, if the Latinos weren't here,

418
00:32:05,924 --> 00:32:08,950
or the Cambodians or the blacks or the whites or whoever they are,

419
00:32:09,060 --> 00:32:11,688
if they weren't here, everything would be better for you, isn't that right?

420
00:32:11,796 --> 00:32:13,263
Of course it'd be better!

421
00:32:14,165 --> 00:32:16,292
It'd be better if you weren't here.

422
00:32:17,368 --> 00:32:19,029
Right. Right.

423
00:32:20,405 --> 00:32:22,805
It starts with a drawing like this,

424
00:32:23,441 --> 00:32:26,569
and then some kid dies in a drive-by, never even knowing what hit him.

425
00:32:26,678 --> 00:32:28,578
You don't know nothing!

426
00:32:30,248 --> 00:32:32,216
You don't know the pain we feel.

427
00:32:32,717 --> 00:32:34,412
You don't know what we got to do.

428
00:32:34,519 --> 00:32:36,646
You got no respect for how we living.

429
00:32:36,754 --> 00:32:39,279
You got us in here, teaching us this grammar shit,

430
00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:40,516
and then we got to go out there again.

431
00:32:40,625 --> 00:32:43,116
And what are you telling me about that, huh?

432
00:32:43,227 --> 00:32:46,924
What are you doing in here that makes a goddamn difference to my life?

433
00:32:47,031 --> 00:32:50,262
You don't feel respected. Is that what you're saying, Eva?

434
00:32:50,568 --> 00:32:54,004
Well, maybe you're not. But to get respect, you have to give it.

435
00:32:54,138 --> 00:32:55,696
That's bullshit.

436
00:32:56,874 --> 00:32:57,841
What?

437
00:32:57,942 --> 00:33:00,035
Why should I give my respect to you?

438
00:33:00,178 --> 00:33:01,770
'Cause you're a teacher?

439
00:33:01,879 --> 00:33:03,210
I don't know you.

440
00:33:03,247 --> 00:33:05,715
How do I know you're not a liar standing up there?

441
00:33:05,817 --> 00:33:08,911
How do I know you're not a bad person standing up there?

442
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,580
I'm not just gonna give you my respect because you're called a teacher.

443
00:33:12,690 --> 00:33:16,786
White people always wanting their respect like they deserve it for free.

444
00:33:17,829 --> 00:33:20,855
I'm a teacher. It doesn't matter what color I am.

445
00:33:20,965 --> 00:33:22,796
It's all about color.

446
00:33:23,601 --> 00:33:25,899
It's about people deciding what you deserve,

447
00:33:26,037 --> 00:33:28,301
about people wanting what they don't deserve,

448
00:33:28,406 --> 00:33:30,738
about whites thinking they run this world no matter what.

449
00:33:30,842 --> 00:33:32,742
You see, I hate white people.

450
00:33:34,379 --> 00:33:35,778
-You hate me? -Yeah.

451
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,974
-You don't know me. -I know what you can do.

452
00:33:39,083 --> 00:33:42,883
I saw white cops shoot my friend in the back for reaching into his pocket!

453
00:33:42,987 --> 00:33:44,215
His pocket.

454
00:33:44,722 --> 00:33:47,122
I saw white cops break into my house

455
00:33:47,225 --> 00:33:50,854
and take my father for no reason except because they feel like it!

456
00:33:50,962 --> 00:33:53,055
Except because they can.

457
00:33:54,565 --> 00:33:57,762
And they can because they're white.

458
00:33:59,303 --> 00:34:01,737
So I hate white people on sight!

459
00:34:06,377 --> 00:34:08,777
Ben, do you have anything to say?

460
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:10,643
Can I please get out of here?

461
00:34:10,748 --> 00:34:13,717
Lady, stop acting like you're trying to understand our situation

462
00:34:13,818 --> 00:34:15,251
and just do your little babysitting up there.

463
00:34:15,353 --> 00:34:17,651
-That's all you think this is? -lt ain't nothing else.

464
00:34:17,755 --> 00:34:18,915
When I look out in the world,

465
00:34:19,023 --> 00:34:21,491
I don't see nobody that looks like me with their pockets full,

466
00:34:21,592 --> 00:34:24,083
unless they're rapping a lyric or dribbling a ball.

467
00:34:24,195 --> 00:34:25,526
So what else you got in here for me?

468
00:34:25,630 --> 00:34:28,064
And what if you can't rap a lyric or dribble a ball?

469
00:34:28,166 --> 00:34:31,761
-lt ain't this. I know that much. -Damn right.

470
00:34:31,903 --> 00:34:34,997
And you all think you're gonna make it to graduation like this?

471
00:34:35,139 --> 00:34:36,902
I made it to high school. Ain't nobody stopped me.

472
00:34:37,008 --> 00:34:39,977
Lady, I'm lucky if I make it to 18. We in a war.

473
00:34:40,078 --> 00:34:41,705
We're graduating every day we live,

474
00:34:41,813 --> 00:34:44,111
because we ain't afraid to die protecting our own.

475
00:34:44,215 --> 00:34:48,549
At least when you die for your own, you die with respect, you die a warrior.

476
00:34:48,653 --> 00:34:49,677
That's right.

477
00:34:49,787 --> 00:34:52,483
So when you're dead, you'll get respect? Is that what you think?

478
00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:53,648
-That's right. -That's right.

479
00:34:53,758 --> 00:34:55,282
-Yeah. -Yeah.

480
00:34:57,962 --> 00:35:00,430
You know what's gonna happen when you die?

481
00:35:01,399 --> 00:35:03,560
You're gonna rot in the ground.

482
00:35:03,634 --> 00:35:08,003
And people are gonna go on living, and they're gonna forget all about you.

483
00:35:08,873 --> 00:35:11,341
And when you rot,

484
00:35:11,476 --> 00:35:16,436
do you think it's gonna matter whether you were an original gangster?

485
00:35:17,748 --> 00:35:19,181
You're dead.

486
00:35:20,585 --> 00:35:24,954
And nobody, nobody is gonna wanna remember you,

487
00:35:25,056 --> 00:35:29,186
because all you left behind in this world is this.

488
00:35:47,311 --> 00:35:49,006
You're raising your hand?

489
00:35:51,082 --> 00:35:54,483
That thing that you said before, the Holocause?

490
00:35:54,585 --> 00:35:57,145
-Holocaust, yes. -What is that?

491
00:36:01,459 --> 00:36:04,690
Raise your hand if you know what the Holocaust is.

492
00:36:17,408 --> 00:36:19,239
Raise your hand

493
00:36:19,911 --> 00:36:23,540
if anyone in this classroom has ever been shot at.

494
00:37:28,312 --> 00:37:31,110
What about this? We were discussing the Holocaust.

495
00:37:31,215 --> 00:37:32,682
No, they won't be able to read that.

496
00:37:33,818 --> 00:37:36,286
We can try. The books are just sitting here.

497
00:37:36,387 --> 00:37:38,116
Look at their reading scores.

498
00:37:38,222 --> 00:37:40,486
And if I give your kids these books, I'll never see them again.

499
00:37:40,591 --> 00:37:42,525
If I do, they'll be damaged.

500
00:37:42,893 --> 00:37:46,385
What about these? Romeo and Juliet. That's a great gang story.

501
00:37:46,497 --> 00:37:50,126
No, not the books. This is what we give them.

502
00:37:50,635 --> 00:37:52,865
It is Romeo and Juliet, but it's a condensed version.

503
00:37:53,004 --> 00:37:55,029
But even these, look how they treat them.

504
00:37:55,172 --> 00:37:58,232
See how torn up they are? They draw on them.

505
00:37:59,577 --> 00:38:01,306
Ms. Campbell?

506
00:38:01,479 --> 00:38:02,571
They know they get these

507
00:38:02,613 --> 00:38:04,376
because no one thinks they're smart enough for real books.

508
00:38:04,482 --> 00:38:06,450
Well, I don't have the budget to buy new books every semester

509
00:38:06,550 --> 00:38:07,744
when these kids don't return them.

510
00:38:07,852 --> 00:38:09,581
So, what do I do? Buy their books myself?

511
00:38:09,687 --> 00:38:12,815
Well, that's up to you, but you'd be wasting your money.

512
00:38:13,190 --> 00:38:16,057
Is there someone else I can speak to about this?

513
00:38:16,594 --> 00:38:19,154
-Excuse me? -I'm sorry, but

514
00:38:20,164 --> 00:38:21,222
I don't understand.

515
00:38:21,332 --> 00:38:23,129
Does the Long Beach Board of Ed agree

516
00:38:23,267 --> 00:38:25,827
that these books should just sit here and not be used at all?

517
00:38:25,970 --> 00:38:27,562
Let me explain.

518
00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:31,403
It's called site-based instruction.

519
00:38:31,509 --> 00:38:34,376
It means that I and the principal each have the authority

520
00:38:34,478 --> 00:38:37,345
to make these kinds of decisions without having to go to the Board,

521
00:38:37,448 --> 00:38:41,908
who have bigger problems to solve. Do you understand how it works now?

522
00:38:42,553 --> 00:38:45,021
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep your authority.

523
00:38:45,122 --> 00:38:47,283
I would never do that. I just...

524
00:38:48,893 --> 00:38:51,521
I don't know how to make them interested in reading with these.

525
00:38:51,629 --> 00:38:55,190
You can't make someone want an education.

526
00:38:55,466 --> 00:38:59,527
The best you can do is try to get them to obey, to learn discipline.

527
00:38:59,670 --> 00:39:02,400
That would be a tremendous accomplishment for them.

528
00:39:06,277 --> 00:39:08,871
Since you know Margaret better than I do,

529
00:39:08,979 --> 00:39:11,539
if I could just get some backup from you.

530
00:39:11,649 --> 00:39:16,518
I really think that the stories like The Diary of Anne Frank and...

531
00:39:16,620 --> 00:39:18,349
That they'd be so great for them,

532
00:39:18,456 --> 00:39:21,914
and she doesn't seem to understand that they could relate to these stories

533
00:39:22,026 --> 00:39:23,653
considering all that they face.

534
00:39:23,761 --> 00:39:26,662
Oh, of course. It's a universal story.

535
00:39:26,764 --> 00:39:31,724
I mean, Anne Frank, Rodney King, they're almost interchangeable.

536
00:39:35,506 --> 00:39:37,565
-Are you making fun of me? -Yeah.

537
00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:39,869
God, listen to what you're saying.

538
00:39:39,977 --> 00:39:42,309
How dare you compare them to Anne Frank?

539
00:39:42,813 --> 00:39:43,939
They don't hide.

540
00:39:44,048 --> 00:39:46,539
They drive around in the open with automatic weapons.

541
00:39:46,650 --> 00:39:50,108
I'm the one living in fear. I can't walk out my door at night.

542
00:39:50,721 --> 00:39:52,621
And you blame these kids?

543
00:39:52,723 --> 00:39:55,817
This was an A-list school before they came here.

544
00:39:55,926 --> 00:39:57,826
And look what they turned it into.

545
00:39:58,763 --> 00:40:01,129
I mean, does it make sense

546
00:40:02,099 --> 00:40:04,192
that kids who want an education should suffer

547
00:40:04,268 --> 00:40:07,237
because their high school gets turned into a reform school?

548
00:40:07,338 --> 00:40:09,829
Because kids who don't want to be here, and shouldn't be here,

549
00:40:09,974 --> 00:40:11,236
are forced to be here

550
00:40:11,342 --> 00:40:13,310
by the geniuses running the school district?

551
00:40:15,012 --> 00:40:16,775
Integration's a lie.

552
00:40:16,881 --> 00:40:20,578
Yeah, we teachers, we can't say that or we lose our jobs for being racist.

553
00:40:20,684 --> 00:40:23,778
So, please, stop your cheerleading, Erin. You're ridiculous.

554
00:40:23,888 --> 00:40:26,448
You don't know the first thing about these kids.

555
00:40:26,557 --> 00:40:28,582
And you're not qualified to make judgments about the teachers

556
00:40:28,692 --> 00:40:30,785
who have to survive this place.

557
00:41:11,001 --> 00:41:14,732
We're gonna play a game, all right? It's a lot of fun. I promise.

558
00:41:16,373 --> 00:41:18,807
Look, you can either sit in your seats reading those workbooks,

559
00:41:18,909 --> 00:41:19,898
or you can play a game.

560
00:41:20,044 --> 00:41:21,636
Either way, you're in here till the bell rings.

561
00:41:21,745 --> 00:41:25,647
Okay. This is called the Line Game.

562
00:41:25,749 --> 00:41:27,307
I'm gonna ask you a question.

563
00:41:27,418 --> 00:41:30,615
If that question applies to you, you step onto the line,

564
00:41:30,721 --> 00:41:33,349
and then step back away for the next question.

565
00:41:33,457 --> 00:41:35,152
-Easy, right? -Yeah, whatever.

566
00:41:35,593 --> 00:41:36,924
The first question,

567
00:41:37,161 --> 00:41:40,426
how many of you have the new Snoop Dogg album?

568
00:41:48,472 --> 00:41:49,564
Did you steal it?

569
00:41:50,374 --> 00:41:51,841
Okay, back away.

570
00:41:55,045 --> 00:41:56,137
Next question,

571
00:41:56,247 --> 00:41:59,739
how many of you have seen Boyz n the Hood?

572
00:42:08,425 --> 00:42:10,393
Okay. Next question.

573
00:42:10,494 --> 00:42:13,395
How many of you live in the projects?

574
00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:23,162
How many of you know someone, a friend or relative,

575
00:42:23,307 --> 00:42:26,276
who was or is in juvenile hall or jail?

576
00:42:30,214 --> 00:42:32,375
How many of you have been in juvenile hall

577
00:42:32,483 --> 00:42:34,747
or jail for any length of time?

578
00:42:35,185 --> 00:42:36,152
Detention don't count.

579
00:42:40,024 --> 00:42:41,719
Does a refugee camp count?

580
00:42:42,860 --> 00:42:44,225
You decide.

581
00:42:59,276 --> 00:43:02,006
How many of you know where to get drugs right now?

582
00:43:07,284 --> 00:43:10,151
How many of you know someone in a gang?

583
00:43:18,462 --> 00:43:21,158
How many of you are gang members?

584
00:43:22,366 --> 00:43:24,061
-Nice try. -Nice try.

585
00:43:25,436 --> 00:43:28,234
Okay, that was a stupid question, wasn't it?

586
00:43:28,339 --> 00:43:29,306
Yeah.

587
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,408
You're not allowed gang affiliations in school.

588
00:43:31,508 --> 00:43:33,908
I apologize for asking. My badness.

589
00:43:38,682 --> 00:43:42,448
Okay, now I'm gonna ask you a more serious question.

590
00:43:43,354 --> 00:43:48,155
Stand on the line if you've lost a friend to gang violence.

591
00:44:13,684 --> 00:44:16,619
Stay on the line if you've lost more than one friend.

592
00:44:23,460 --> 00:44:24,654
Three.

593
00:44:38,475 --> 00:44:40,272
Four or more.

594
00:44:50,988 --> 00:44:53,115
Okay, I'd like us to pay respect to those people now.

595
00:44:53,223 --> 00:44:55,748
Wherever you are, just speak their name.

596
00:45:04,802 --> 00:45:05,769
James.

597
00:45:10,574 --> 00:45:11,541
Beatriz.

598
00:45:22,619 --> 00:45:24,416
Thank you all very much.

599
00:45:25,756 --> 00:45:28,384
Now, I have something for each of you.

600
00:45:31,195 --> 00:45:33,356
Everyone has their own story,

601
00:45:33,464 --> 00:45:37,992
and it's important for you to tell your own story, even to yourself.

602
00:45:38,135 --> 00:45:40,695
So, what we're going to do is

603
00:45:40,838 --> 00:45:43,807
we're gonna write every day in these journals.

604
00:45:44,141 --> 00:45:48,703
You can write about whatever you want, the past, the present, the future.

605
00:45:48,812 --> 00:45:52,714
You can write it like a diary, or you can write

606
00:45:52,816 --> 00:45:58,220
songs, poems, any good thing, bad thing, anything.

607
00:45:58,322 --> 00:46:01,018
But you have to write every day.

608
00:46:01,191 --> 00:46:04,683
Keep a pen nearby. Whenever you feel the inspiration.

609
00:46:04,728 --> 00:46:06,787
And they won't be graded.

610
00:46:06,897 --> 00:46:10,560
How can I give an A or a B for writing the truth, right?

611
00:46:10,667 --> 00:46:13,431
And I will not read them unless you give me permission.

612
00:46:13,570 --> 00:46:17,301
I will need to see that you've made an entry, but I'll just do this,

613
00:46:17,407 --> 00:46:18,931
skim to see that you wrote that day.

614
00:46:19,076 --> 00:46:24,343
Now, if you want me to read it, I have... Excuse me. A cabinet over here.

615
00:46:24,448 --> 00:46:28,111
It has a lock on it. I will keep it open during class,

616
00:46:28,218 --> 00:46:31,051
and you can leave your diary there if you want me to read it.

617
00:46:31,155 --> 00:46:34,784
I will lock this cabinet at the end of every class.

618
00:46:36,026 --> 00:46:37,118
Okay?

619
00:46:39,129 --> 00:46:44,999
So, you can each come up, one by one, and take your own journal.

620
00:46:52,442 --> 00:46:54,307
Whenever you're ready.

621
00:47:18,969 --> 00:47:21,437
Eva holds back, but I know she wants to be involved.

622
00:47:21,538 --> 00:47:23,005
She's so stubborn.

623
00:47:23,140 --> 00:47:25,472
Who really surprised me was Brandy, who never says a word,

624
00:47:25,576 --> 00:47:28,306
but she was the first to step up and take a journal. I...

625
00:47:28,412 --> 00:47:30,243
Honey, here. Here, sit down.

626
00:47:30,347 --> 00:47:31,871
-It's all right. No, it's all right. -I'll move this.

627
00:47:31,982 --> 00:47:34,212
I don't mind standing. Food goes straight down.

628
00:47:34,318 --> 00:47:37,253
-How much longer are you gonna be? -I don't know.

629
00:47:37,354 --> 00:47:39,822
-Want to help? -Not really, I'm a terrible drawer.

630
00:47:39,923 --> 00:47:43,791
-You're an architect. -All right, I just don't want to.

631
00:47:45,229 --> 00:47:46,753
What's the matter? Is something wrong?

632
00:47:46,864 --> 00:47:48,491
No, it's nothing.

633
00:47:49,566 --> 00:47:53,093
Well, it's just, you know, I want to hear all this, I do.

634
00:47:53,604 --> 00:47:54,662
It just...

635
00:47:54,805 --> 00:47:56,534
I feel like we haven't talked about anything,

636
00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,700
other than your job, in like forever.

637
00:47:59,843 --> 00:48:01,071
I'm sorry.

638
00:48:01,912 --> 00:48:03,607
-Well, what's going on at work? -Nothing.

639
00:48:03,647 --> 00:48:05,274
I don't want to talk about that, either.

640
00:48:05,382 --> 00:48:08,180
I just want to hang out. I want to be home.

641
00:48:10,621 --> 00:48:13,112
And I want to be with my schoolteacher.

642
00:48:19,730 --> 00:48:22,893
I've always had this fantasy about being kept late after school.

643
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:27,664
Well, I'm sorry I left my dirty erasers at work.

644
00:48:27,804 --> 00:48:30,170
Do all the other teachers put in this much extra effort?

645
00:48:30,274 --> 00:48:33,072
I don't know. I'm kind of making it up as I go along.

646
00:48:33,176 --> 00:48:35,838
And the other teachers don't really talk to me. I mean, Brian and Margaret...

647
00:48:35,946 --> 00:48:37,880
-Honey, I don't want to think. -I'm sorry. Okay, don't think.

648
00:48:37,981 --> 00:48:40,108
-I just wanna... -I'm almost done, okay?

649
00:48:42,085 --> 00:48:43,882
So, how much longer?

650
00:48:45,155 --> 00:48:47,453
Not long. Promise.

651
00:48:51,528 --> 00:48:54,656
Thank you so much for coming. Susan's a terrific student. Thank you.

652
00:48:54,765 --> 00:48:56,392
-Great to see you. -Good night. Take care.

653
00:48:56,500 --> 00:48:58,434
-Jim, thank you so much. -Thanks, Brian.

654
00:48:58,568 --> 00:49:00,661
I appreciate you guys coming to Parents' Night.

655
00:49:00,871 --> 00:49:02,236
Drive safe.

656
00:49:43,113 --> 00:49:45,604
In every war, there is an enemy.

657
00:49:52,756 --> 00:49:55,725
I watched my mother being half beaten to death

658
00:49:56,093 --> 00:49:59,290
and watched as blood and tears streamed down her face.

659
00:50:00,464 --> 00:50:02,299
I felt useless and scared and furious at the same time.

660
00:50:02,299 --> 00:50:04,267
I felt useless and scared and furious at the same time.

661
00:50:05,235 --> 00:50:06,964
Stay there, Brandy. Watch the kids!

662
00:50:07,104 --> 00:50:08,469
-Get my money! -Watch the kids!

663
00:50:09,940 --> 00:50:13,671
I can still feel the sting of the belt on my back and my legs.

664
00:50:14,277 --> 00:50:17,007
One time, he couldn't pay the rent.

665
00:50:17,114 --> 00:50:20,550
And that night he stopped us on the street and pointed to the concrete.

666
00:50:20,650 --> 00:50:22,777
He said, "Pick a spot. "

667
00:50:34,564 --> 00:50:38,227
Clive was my boy. He had my back plenty of times.

668
00:50:38,368 --> 00:50:42,065
We was like one fist, me and him, one army.

669
00:50:42,873 --> 00:50:44,670
-That's heavy. -Y eah.

670
00:50:46,410 --> 00:50:50,369
That's the real shit right here. Nobody'll jump us now.

671
00:50:50,814 --> 00:50:53,544
But we got to practice 'cause this, this got power.

672
00:50:53,650 --> 00:50:55,379
You shoot it, it...

673
00:51:01,725 --> 00:51:04,091
I sat there till the police came.

674
00:51:05,262 --> 00:51:10,131
But when they come, all they see is a dead body, a gun and a nigga.

675
00:51:10,634 --> 00:51:14,570
They took me to juvenile hall. First night was the scariest.

676
00:51:17,274 --> 00:51:19,071
Inmates banging on the walls,

677
00:51:19,176 --> 00:51:23,306
throwing up their gang signs, yelling out who they were, where they're from.

678
00:51:23,713 --> 00:51:27,740
I cried my first night. Can't never let nobody know that.

679
00:51:28,652 --> 00:51:31,177
I spent the next few years in and out of cells.

680
00:51:31,288 --> 00:51:34,086
Every day I'd worry, "When will I be free?"

681
00:51:37,694 --> 00:51:40,561
My brother taught me what the life is for a young black man.

682
00:51:40,664 --> 00:51:44,100
Do what you have to, pimp, deal, whatever.

683
00:51:44,234 --> 00:51:46,634
Learn what colors to learn, gang boundaries.

684
00:51:46,736 --> 00:51:48,931
You can stay on one corner, you can't stay on another.

685
00:51:49,072 --> 00:51:51,768
Learn to be quiet. A wrong word can get you popped.

686
00:51:51,875 --> 00:51:54,969
If you look in my eyes, you'll see a loving girl.

687
00:51:55,078 --> 00:51:57,945
If you look at my smile, you'll see nothing wrong.

688
00:51:58,582 --> 00:52:01,813
If you pull up my shirt, you'll see the bruises.

689
00:52:01,985 --> 00:52:04,112
What did I do to make him so mad?

690
00:52:04,154 --> 00:52:08,056
At 16, I've seen more dead bodies than a mortician.

691
00:52:08,725 --> 00:52:12,422
Every time I step out my door, I'm faced with the risk of being shot.

692
00:52:13,096 --> 00:52:17,226
To the outside world, it's just another dead body on the street corner.

693
00:52:17,801 --> 00:52:19,769
They don 't know that he was my friend.

694
00:52:19,870 --> 00:52:21,201
During the war in Cambodia,

695
00:52:21,304 --> 00:52:23,295
the camp stripped away my father's dignity.

696
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:25,908
He sometimes tries to hurt my mom and me.

697
00:52:26,042 --> 00:52:28,203
I feel like I have to protect my family.

698
00:52:28,311 --> 00:52:33,305
I was having trouble deciding what candy I wanted, then I heard gunshots.

699
00:52:33,416 --> 00:52:35,247
I looked down to see that one of my friends

700
00:52:35,352 --> 00:52:38,378
had blood coming out of his back and his mouth.

701
00:52:39,122 --> 00:52:42,285
The next day, I pulled up my shirt and got strapped with a gun

702
00:52:42,392 --> 00:52:44,656
I found in an alley by my house.

703
00:52:44,761 --> 00:52:47,059
I don't even know how this war started.

704
00:52:47,164 --> 00:52:50,190
It's just two sides who tripped each other way back.

705
00:52:50,300 --> 00:52:52,791
Who cares about the history behind it?

706
00:52:53,603 --> 00:52:55,036
I am my father's daughter.

707
00:52:55,138 --> 00:52:59,507
And when they call me to testify, I will protect my own no matter what.

708
00:52:59,809 --> 00:53:03,370
Nobody cares what I do. Why should I bother coming to school?

709
00:53:03,847 --> 00:53:07,476
My friends are soldiers, not of war, but of the streets.

710
00:53:07,584 --> 00:53:09,415
They fight for their lives.

711
00:53:09,519 --> 00:53:11,953
I hate the cold feeling of a gun against my skin.

712
00:53:12,055 --> 00:53:13,352
It makes me shiver.

713
00:53:13,456 --> 00:53:17,187
It's a crazy-ass life. Once you're in, there's no getting out.

714
00:53:17,294 --> 00:53:18,886
Every time I jump somebody in

715
00:53:18,995 --> 00:53:22,192
and make someone a part of our gang, it's another baptism.

716
00:53:22,299 --> 00:53:24,733
They give us their life, we give them a new one.

717
00:53:24,868 --> 00:53:28,167
I've lost many friends who have died in an undeclared war.

718
00:53:29,439 --> 00:53:31,907
T o the soldiers and me, it's all worth it.

719
00:53:32,442 --> 00:53:36,105
Risk your life dodging bullets, pulling triggers.

720
00:53:37,514 --> 00:53:39,141
It's all worth it.

721
00:53:56,466 --> 00:53:57,455
Rum and Coke.

722
00:53:57,567 --> 00:53:58,829
Oh, man.

723
00:54:00,103 --> 00:54:01,195
This is...

724
00:54:01,338 --> 00:54:04,705
Mr. Gruwell? Your table is ready. Follow me.

725
00:54:05,475 --> 00:54:07,033
-Dad, I got them. -Okay.

726
00:54:08,645 --> 00:54:11,079
Dad, I don't know what to do with this.

727
00:54:11,181 --> 00:54:13,615
I'm not a social worker. I'm barely a teacher.

728
00:54:13,717 --> 00:54:14,684
Thank you.

729
00:54:14,784 --> 00:54:17,981
These kids, they're 14, 15 years old,

730
00:54:18,088 --> 00:54:20,784
and if they make it through the day alive, that's good enough.

731
00:54:20,890 --> 00:54:22,858
And I'm supposed to teach them?

732
00:54:25,762 --> 00:54:27,252
Listen to me.

733
00:54:27,364 --> 00:54:31,357
You're not responsible for their lives outside that classroom.

734
00:54:32,636 --> 00:54:35,605
-Just do your job the best you can. -How?

735
00:54:35,705 --> 00:54:37,969
The administration doesn't give me any resources,

736
00:54:38,074 --> 00:54:39,905
no books, no support.

737
00:54:41,711 --> 00:54:43,338
So, what should I do?

738
00:54:46,683 --> 00:54:49,277
Fulfill your obligation till the end of the school year,

739
00:54:49,386 --> 00:54:51,752
but line up another position.

740
00:54:52,155 --> 00:54:55,556
Success follows experience.

741
00:54:55,659 --> 00:54:57,957
So, get some more experience.

742
00:54:59,796 --> 00:55:03,926
But no matter what, you gotta remember, it's just a job.

743
00:55:04,768 --> 00:55:08,704
If you're not right for this one, get another job.

744
00:55:11,007 --> 00:55:13,032
You're gonna sell bras at a department store?

745
00:55:13,176 --> 00:55:14,370
Just part-time.

746
00:55:14,477 --> 00:55:17,002
I'm having a little trouble getting books and things for the kids.

747
00:55:17,113 --> 00:55:19,240
So, a little extra money will give me a little more freedom

748
00:55:19,349 --> 00:55:20,577
to do what I want.

749
00:55:20,684 --> 00:55:23,084
And this way you can play tennis with Evan after work.

750
00:55:23,186 --> 00:55:25,211
Okay, let me get my head around this.

751
00:55:25,322 --> 00:55:28,553
You're going to get an extra job to pay for your job.

752
00:55:28,958 --> 00:55:31,392
It's just temporary. I promise.

753
00:55:31,494 --> 00:55:33,985
Once the kids' grades go up, I'll get a little more help from the school.

754
00:55:34,097 --> 00:55:37,294
And I get an employee's discount. Isn't that great?

755
00:55:37,434 --> 00:55:40,528
-Want a new TV? -Yeah.

756
00:55:54,484 --> 00:55:56,975
Excuse me, if I wanted to order any books in bulk,

757
00:55:57,087 --> 00:55:59,248
could I get some sort of a discount?

758
00:56:03,460 --> 00:56:05,485
-These books are brand new. -I know.

759
00:56:06,796 --> 00:56:09,560
Okay, guys, gals. Listen up.

760
00:56:09,966 --> 00:56:12,059
The only problem with this book is

761
00:56:12,202 --> 00:56:13,897
it's about a gang member and there's violence in it,

762
00:56:14,037 --> 00:56:16,198
so you may not be able to read it as part of the curriculum.

763
00:56:16,339 --> 00:56:20,139
So, I'm going to try my best to get permission, all right?

764
00:56:22,579 --> 00:56:24,740
It's been a little difficult getting their attention.

765
00:56:24,848 --> 00:56:28,579
Up until recently, the only thing they hated more than each other was me.

766
00:56:28,852 --> 00:56:32,117
Well, you united them and that's a step.

767
00:56:33,757 --> 00:56:35,315
What can I do for you?

768
00:56:36,025 --> 00:56:40,928
I want to do more with them, and I need the support of someone in power.

769
00:56:41,030 --> 00:56:43,863
You have to take this up with your department head and your principal.

770
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:45,968
I can't get involved in inner school policy.

771
00:56:46,008 --> 00:56:48,203
My principal only listens to my department head,

772
00:56:48,344 --> 00:56:50,312
and she's not very supportive.

773
00:56:50,412 --> 00:56:52,141
You'll have to find a way to deal with it.

774
00:56:52,247 --> 00:56:55,045
No, I'd rather just deal directly with someone in power.

775
00:56:55,150 --> 00:56:57,277
Ms. Gruwell, there's a system in place

776
00:56:57,386 --> 00:57:00,219
based on years of running an educational facility.

777
00:57:00,389 --> 00:57:03,483
-You have to follow that system. -No. I won't.

778
00:57:04,526 --> 00:57:07,461
Look, I'm just trying to do my job here.

779
00:57:07,563 --> 00:57:10,464
What's the point of a voluntary integration program

780
00:57:10,566 --> 00:57:13,364
if the kids making it to high school have a 5th grade reading level?

781
00:57:13,469 --> 00:57:15,266
I enforced that program.

782
00:57:15,371 --> 00:57:16,463
With all due respect,

783
00:57:16,572 --> 00:57:18,938
all that program is doing is warehousing these kids

784
00:57:19,074 --> 00:57:20,473
until they're old enough to disappear.

785
00:57:20,577 --> 00:57:22,204
Look, I appreciate your intentions,

786
00:57:22,345 --> 00:57:24,905
but there's nothing I can do on a class-by-class basis.

787
00:57:25,048 --> 00:57:28,575
Dr. Cohn, why should they waste their time showing up

788
00:57:28,685 --> 00:57:31,381
when they know we're wasting our time teaching them?

789
00:57:31,488 --> 00:57:34,218
We tell them, "Go to school. Get an education."

790
00:57:34,324 --> 00:57:38,420
And then we say, "Well, they can't learn, so let's not waste resources."

791
00:57:38,795 --> 00:57:40,285
I'm thinking trips.

792
00:57:40,397 --> 00:57:43,264
Most of them have never been outside of Long Beach.

793
00:57:43,366 --> 00:57:45,834
They haven't been given the opportunity

794
00:57:45,969 --> 00:57:48,460
to expand their thinking about what's out there for them.

795
00:57:48,571 --> 00:57:49,970
And they're hungry for it. I know it.

796
00:57:50,073 --> 00:57:52,200
And it's purely a reward system.

797
00:57:52,375 --> 00:57:54,138
They won't get anything they haven't earned

798
00:57:54,277 --> 00:57:56,370
by doing their work and upping their grades.

799
00:57:56,514 --> 00:57:57,811
But if Ms. Campbell won't give you books

800
00:57:57,915 --> 00:57:58,973
because of budget restrictions,

801
00:57:59,116 --> 00:58:00,242
she's not gonna approve school trips.

802
00:58:00,418 --> 00:58:01,817
I'll raise the money.

803
00:58:01,919 --> 00:58:04,547
I just need to know I won't meet resistance.

804
00:58:04,955 --> 00:58:07,048
See, I can't promise them anything I can't deliver.

805
00:58:07,158 --> 00:58:09,592
It only proves what they already believe.

806
00:58:11,529 --> 00:58:15,363
All I'm saying is, Ms. Campbell doesn't need to be bothered.

807
00:58:18,869 --> 00:58:20,632
You're a concierge at the Marriott?

808
00:58:20,771 --> 00:58:21,897
It's just weekends.

809
00:58:22,006 --> 00:58:23,940
You play tennis with Evan on Saturdays.

810
00:58:24,074 --> 00:58:25,974
And you can play golf with my dad on Sundays.

811
00:58:26,076 --> 00:58:27,100
You want me to play golf?

812
00:58:27,244 --> 00:58:29,508
And the bonus is I get employee rates

813
00:58:29,613 --> 00:58:31,877
on Marriott hotel rooms all over the world.

814
00:58:31,983 --> 00:58:32,972
I've heard a lot of hyphenates,

815
00:58:33,118 --> 00:58:36,554
but a bra-selling-English-teacher- hotel-concierge has gotta be a new one.

816
00:58:36,688 --> 00:58:39,179
You told me your part-time job was temporary.

817
00:58:39,291 --> 00:58:41,657
It is. I just don't know for how long.

818
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:44,294
-What if I said no? -No, what?

819
00:58:44,396 --> 00:58:46,830
No, I don't want you working three jobs.

820
00:58:46,932 --> 00:58:48,957
-But I can make it work, Scott. -No, that's not the point.

821
00:58:49,067 --> 00:58:51,467
You can do anything! We know that already.

822
00:58:51,570 --> 00:58:54,596
It's just that l... You...

823
00:58:55,273 --> 00:58:57,036
You didn't even ask me.

824
00:58:58,143 --> 00:59:01,544
-I'm just trying to do my job, Scott. -By getting two more jobs?

825
00:59:02,380 --> 00:59:04,041
I don't understand, Erin.

826
00:59:05,150 --> 00:59:07,710
Scott, this is our time to go after what we want,

827
00:59:07,820 --> 00:59:11,119
when we're young, before we have a family.

828
00:59:11,357 --> 00:59:13,552
Maybe this is the perfect time for you to go back to school,

829
00:59:13,659 --> 00:59:15,786
get your architect's degree.

830
00:59:15,895 --> 00:59:17,795
Wouldn't that be great?

831
00:59:20,867 --> 00:59:22,334
What?

832
00:59:24,003 --> 00:59:25,300
Nothing.

833
00:59:32,078 --> 00:59:33,978
So, I'll call you with a list of venues.

834
00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:36,173
I've scheduled a PTA board meeting for next week.

835
00:59:36,315 --> 00:59:37,304
So, it should be no problem.

836
00:59:37,450 --> 00:59:38,542
-Thank you so much. -You're welcome.

837
00:59:38,684 --> 00:59:40,311
-Lovely to see you, Paula. -Good to see you, too.

838
00:59:40,419 --> 00:59:42,182
-Hi. -Hello.

839
00:59:42,589 --> 00:59:45,717
Principal Banning received a call from Dr. Cohn at the school board.

840
00:59:45,826 --> 00:59:48,056
Apparently you're taking your students on a trip?

841
00:59:48,161 --> 00:59:51,619
Yes, but it's over the weekend, so it won't affect any test schedules.

842
00:59:51,732 --> 00:59:53,427
I know how busy you are,

843
00:59:53,534 --> 00:59:56,970
and since I'm paying for it myself, I didn't want to bother you.

844
01:00:19,260 --> 01:00:20,386
I'll be right back.

845
01:00:20,495 --> 01:00:23,157
Oh, no. No, no, no. Erin?

846
01:00:23,665 --> 01:00:26,566
-Get back in the car. -Dad, he lives right here.

847
01:00:26,668 --> 01:00:29,694
I'll get him. Get back in the car and lock your door.

848
01:00:31,839 --> 01:00:34,330
-What's his name? -Andre Bryant.

849
01:00:34,442 --> 01:00:35,409
Andre.

850
01:00:39,347 --> 01:00:43,511
Since my pop split, my mom can't even look at me, 'cause I look like my dad.

851
01:00:44,018 --> 01:00:45,815
And with my brother in jail,

852
01:00:45,920 --> 01:00:48,889
she looks at me and thinks that's where I'm going, too.

853
01:00:49,223 --> 01:00:50,850
She doesn't see me.

854
01:00:51,459 --> 01:00:53,484
She doesn't see me at all.

855
01:00:58,100 --> 01:00:59,590
I'm going out.

856
01:01:05,040 --> 01:01:06,064
-What up? -Hey.

857
01:01:06,175 --> 01:01:08,075
Where you going? I need you.

858
01:01:08,544 --> 01:01:11,479
No, man, I can't now. I got something to do.

859
01:01:11,614 --> 01:01:13,206
T onight. I'll do it tonight.

860
01:01:13,349 --> 01:01:16,443
I gotta go do something, and I can't carry that around with me.

861
01:01:16,852 --> 01:01:18,683
Forget it, man, I'll get somebody else.

862
01:01:18,787 --> 01:01:20,846
I can't be waiting all day on you.

863
01:01:21,490 --> 01:01:22,582
Hey.

864
01:01:24,059 --> 01:01:27,460
Sorry about your brother, man. I hear he going away for life.

865
01:01:27,763 --> 01:01:30,197
They won't get it. The guy he was with confessed.

866
01:01:30,300 --> 01:01:32,427
To who? Your brother?

867
01:01:33,136 --> 01:01:35,536
Hey. You Andre?

868
01:01:47,017 --> 01:01:48,484
-What up? -Hey.

869
01:01:54,357 --> 01:01:56,757
-What? -Put on your seat belt.

870
01:02:00,130 --> 01:02:01,927
You, too, young lady.

871
01:02:05,403 --> 01:02:07,963
You kids ever been to Newport Beach before?

872
01:02:08,172 --> 01:02:11,801
What? We went there last year on our way to Paris.

873
01:02:18,082 --> 01:02:19,549
Paris.

874
01:02:23,954 --> 01:02:24,921
It's good.

875
01:02:25,256 --> 01:02:26,917
I brought you something.

876
01:02:31,028 --> 01:02:33,656
It's a good book. I read it in school.

877
01:02:33,764 --> 01:02:37,564
It's about a gang kid, and I thought you might like to read it.

878
01:02:45,777 --> 01:02:48,610
He told me what I had to say when I'm on the stand.

879
01:03:44,437 --> 01:03:48,498
At the beginning of the tour, they give you a card with a child's picture on it.

880
01:03:48,674 --> 01:03:51,837
You could find out who they were and what camp they were sent to.

881
01:03:51,945 --> 01:03:55,745
And at the end of the tour, you could find out if they survived.

882
01:03:56,617 --> 01:03:58,881
I got a little girl from Italy.

883
01:04:13,200 --> 01:04:15,327
Tito, your hat.

884
01:04:45,300 --> 01:04:48,929
Kristallnacht, they called it. The Night of Broken Glass.

885
01:04:49,037 --> 01:04:51,369
Hundreds of synagogues looted and burned.

886
01:04:51,472 --> 01:04:54,236
More than 7, 000 Jewish stores destroyed.

887
01:04:54,342 --> 01:04:56,435
Over 1 00 Jews killed.

888
01:05:09,225 --> 01:05:14,629
A small center for children in Isieux in the French province of Ain.

889
01:05:15,331 --> 01:05:18,232
Among the children deported that day to Birkenau

890
01:05:18,334 --> 01:05:21,701
was 1 1-year-old Liliane Berenstein,

891
01:05:21,804 --> 01:05:25,706
who, before leaving, left behind a letter to God.

892
01:05:31,547 --> 01:05:36,177
My little boy died. He got off the train and they killed him.

893
01:05:36,685 --> 01:05:38,846
I don't know why it bothered me so much.

894
01:05:38,989 --> 01:05:41,116
I've seen death all my life.

895
01:05:41,391 --> 01:05:46,055
But this little boy was only five.

896
01:06:06,950 --> 01:06:10,477
Ms. G had a beautiful dinner for us at the hotel where she works.

897
01:06:11,187 --> 01:06:15,146
She invited real Holocaust survivors from the museum to meet us.

898
01:06:16,327 --> 01:06:18,124
There was Elisabeth Mann.

899
01:06:18,229 --> 01:06:22,767
I had my parents, my sister, my two brothers.

900
01:06:22,767 --> 01:06:22,960
I had my parents, my sister, my two brothers.

901
01:06:23,067 --> 01:06:24,534
Gloria Ungar.

902
01:06:24,635 --> 01:06:27,229
If any of you have seen someone with a number on their arm,

903
01:06:27,338 --> 01:06:29,329
these were the lucky people.

904
01:06:29,440 --> 01:06:31,874
The people who, when we came to Auschwitz,

905
01:06:31,976 --> 01:06:35,776
when they tattooed the people they took us to do the slave work.

906
01:06:35,880 --> 01:06:39,509
Not the others, and that included many of my family.

907
01:06:39,617 --> 01:06:41,881
So, we ran away, some of the young kids.

908
01:06:41,986 --> 01:06:44,420
I was at that time 1 1 -and-a-half years old.

909
01:06:44,522 --> 01:06:45,546
Eddie Ilam.

910
01:06:45,690 --> 01:06:47,658
And where to go, I didn't know,

911
01:06:47,758 --> 01:06:51,489
but I remember one place where I used to live.

912
01:06:51,596 --> 01:06:53,962
So when I ran there, there was not one Jew left.

913
01:06:54,066 --> 01:06:57,263
I was in the worst camp. I was in Auschwitz.

914
01:06:57,369 --> 01:06:58,836
And Renee Firestone.

915
01:06:58,937 --> 01:07:02,839
When I arrived, my parents were immediately taken away from me.

916
01:07:03,275 --> 01:07:06,574
My little sister, who was then 1 4 years old,

917
01:07:06,611 --> 01:07:09,341
stayed with me for a little while.

918
01:07:09,815 --> 01:07:13,012
And then later on, I was separated from her also.

919
01:07:13,118 --> 01:07:15,746
She lost her whole family at the camps.

920
01:07:16,588 --> 01:07:20,684
She came to this country with $4 in her pocket and a newborn baby.

921
01:07:21,760 --> 01:07:23,921
I'll never forget these people.

922
01:07:24,062 --> 01:07:26,860
And then she was killed because they didn't want...

923
01:07:26,966 --> 01:07:29,867
I can't believe Ms. G did all of this for us.

924
01:07:37,410 --> 01:07:39,002
Hi, honey, it's me.

925
01:07:39,112 --> 01:07:41,706
Look, we're still at the restaurant, if you wanted to drop by.

926
01:07:41,814 --> 01:07:43,441
We haven't even ordered dessert yet,

927
01:07:43,549 --> 01:07:45,915
and the kids are having such an incredible time.

928
01:07:46,019 --> 01:07:47,782
You have to see them.

929
01:07:47,887 --> 01:07:50,947
If you get in soon, come by. It's only 9:30 now.

930
01:07:52,358 --> 01:07:56,795
Okay, I'll see you later. Love you. Bye.

931
01:08:28,328 --> 01:08:30,262
How many times I gotta tell your ass again?

932
01:08:30,364 --> 01:08:32,491
Get your butt in here!

933
01:09:04,799 --> 01:09:07,267
So, you had all summer to read and consider this book.

934
01:09:11,406 --> 01:09:15,172
And you know, I thought it would be most valuable

935
01:09:15,878 --> 01:09:21,282
to begin with Victoria to give us the black perspective.

936
01:09:22,852 --> 01:09:24,149
Victoria?

937
01:09:24,954 --> 01:09:26,945
Do I have a stamp on my forehead that says,

938
01:09:27,056 --> 01:09:29,616
"The National Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People"?

939
01:09:29,859 --> 01:09:33,022
How the hell should I know the black perspective on The Color Purple?

940
01:09:33,162 --> 01:09:36,598
That's it, if I don't change classes, I'm gonna hurt this fool.

941
01:09:36,699 --> 01:09:38,758
Teachers treat me like I'm some kind of Rosetta stone

942
01:09:38,901 --> 01:09:40,334
for African-Americans.

943
01:09:40,436 --> 01:09:42,199
What? Black people learn how to read,

944
01:09:42,304 --> 01:09:45,000
and we all miraculously come to the same conclusion?

945
01:09:45,107 --> 01:09:48,702
At that point, I decided to check out my friend Brandy's English class.

946
01:09:48,812 --> 01:09:50,279
-Good to see you, man. -Hey, yeah.

947
01:09:50,380 --> 01:09:52,439
-How was your summer? -Great.

948
01:09:56,953 --> 01:09:58,921
You're still white, I see.

949
01:09:59,556 --> 01:10:01,421
Okay, everybody. Ready?

950
01:10:01,591 --> 01:10:02,717
-Hey, Ms. G. -Hi.

951
01:10:02,826 --> 01:10:04,157
-Hi, Ms. G. -Hi.

952
01:10:13,603 --> 01:10:17,095
Okay, guys, gals, listen up! This is what I want you to do.

953
01:10:17,340 --> 01:10:21,436
I want each of you to step forward and take one of these Borders bags,

954
01:10:21,545 --> 01:10:24,446
which contain the four books we're gonna read this semester.

955
01:10:24,549 --> 01:10:25,777
All right!

956
01:10:26,517 --> 01:10:28,815
They're very special books,

957
01:10:28,920 --> 01:10:33,380
and they each remind me, in some way, of each of you.

958
01:10:37,295 --> 01:10:40,560
But, before you take the books,

959
01:10:41,199 --> 01:10:44,999
I want you to take one of these glasses of sparkling cider,

960
01:10:45,102 --> 01:10:48,902
and I want each of you to make a toast.

961
01:10:50,208 --> 01:10:53,700
We're each gonna make a toast for change.

962
01:10:54,145 --> 01:10:58,707
And what that means is, from this moment on

963
01:10:59,283 --> 01:11:04,619
every voice that told you "You can't" is silenced.

964
01:11:05,757 --> 01:11:11,024
Every reason that tells you things will never change, disappears.

965
01:11:12,564 --> 01:11:15,701
And the person you were before this moment,

966
01:11:15,701 --> 01:11:19,501
that person's turn is over. Now it's your turn.

967
01:11:20,439 --> 01:11:21,736
Okay?

968
01:11:22,841 --> 01:11:26,800
Okay, you ready to get this party going on?

969
01:11:29,781 --> 01:11:31,408
-What? -Stop doing that, man.

970
01:11:31,516 --> 01:11:33,074
What's the dealio?

971
01:11:41,327 --> 01:11:44,353
Man, I've had boyfriends since I was, like, 1 1, you know.

972
01:11:45,064 --> 01:11:47,828
-I believe you. -Shut up.

973
01:11:48,234 --> 01:11:51,362
Okay, well, I was always the person

974
01:11:51,504 --> 01:11:54,940
that was gonna get pregnant before I turned 1 6 and drop out.

975
01:11:55,842 --> 01:11:57,207
Like my mom.

976
01:12:01,180 --> 01:12:02,613
Ain't gonna happen.

977
01:12:02,849 --> 01:12:05,044
Nobody ever listens to a teenager.

978
01:12:05,785 --> 01:12:09,414
Everybody thinks you should be happy just because you're young.

979
01:12:09,522 --> 01:12:12,548
They don't see the wars that we fight every single day.

980
01:12:13,327 --> 01:12:15,158
And one day, my war will end.

981
01:12:15,629 --> 01:12:17,392
And I will not die.

982
01:12:18,866 --> 01:12:22,302
And I will not tolerate abuse from anyone.

983
01:12:25,839 --> 01:12:27,170
I am strong.

984
01:12:27,274 --> 01:12:30,505
My moms kicked me out when I got jumped into the gang life.

985
01:12:31,679 --> 01:12:33,977
But I'd like her to see me graduate.

986
01:12:35,582 --> 01:12:37,379
I'd like to be 18.

987
01:12:41,689 --> 01:12:45,216
Ms. G? Can I read something from my diary?

988
01:12:45,326 --> 01:12:46,793
That'd be great.

989
01:12:50,765 --> 01:12:52,426
Who is he?

990
01:12:52,567 --> 01:12:54,660
Man, he's been with us from freshman year, fool.

991
01:12:54,803 --> 01:12:57,704
-What's his name? -I don't know.

992
01:12:59,274 --> 01:13:03,734
"This summer was the worst summer in my short 14 years of life.

993
01:13:04,446 --> 01:13:06,641
"lt all started with a phone call.

994
01:13:07,082 --> 01:13:09,516
"My mother was crying and begging,

995
01:13:09,617 --> 01:13:14,577
"asking for more time as if she were gasping for her last breath of air.

996
01:13:15,590 --> 01:13:18,650
"She held me as tight as she could and cried.

997
01:13:18,760 --> 01:13:24,198
"Her tears hit my shirt like bullets and told me we were being evicted.

998
01:13:24,600 --> 01:13:28,559
"She kept apologizing to me. I thought, 'l have no home.

999
01:13:28,671 --> 01:13:32,471
"'l should have asked for something less expensive at Christmas.'

1000
01:13:32,575 --> 01:13:36,443
"On the morning of the eviction, a hard knock on the door woke me up.

1001
01:13:36,545 --> 01:13:39,173
"The sheriff was there to do his job.

1002
01:13:40,082 --> 01:13:43,609
"l looked up at the sky, waiting for something to happen.

1003
01:13:45,454 --> 01:13:49,015
"My mother has no family to lean on, no money coming in.

1004
01:13:49,592 --> 01:13:53,255
"Why bother coming to school or getting good grades if I'm homeless?

1005
01:13:53,896 --> 01:13:57,764
"The bus stops in front of the school. I feel like throwing up.

1006
01:13:57,867 --> 01:14:02,634
"I'm wearing clothes from last year, some old shoes and no new haircut.

1007
01:14:03,373 --> 01:14:05,705
"l kept thinking I'd get laughed at.

1008
01:14:05,742 --> 01:14:08,210
"lnstead, I'm greeted by a couple of friends

1009
01:14:08,311 --> 01:14:10,643
"who were in my English class last year.

1010
01:14:10,747 --> 01:14:13,648
"And it hits me, Mrs. Gruwell,

1011
01:14:13,750 --> 01:14:16,014
"my crazy English teacher from last year,

1012
01:14:16,119 --> 01:14:18,781
"is the only person that made me think of hope.

1013
01:14:19,856 --> 01:14:23,314
"Talking with friends about last year's English and our trips,

1014
01:14:23,427 --> 01:14:25,452
"l began to feel better.

1015
01:14:26,062 --> 01:14:31,022
"l receive my schedule and the first teacher is Mrs. Gruwell in Room 203.

1016
01:14:31,368 --> 01:14:34,504
"l walk into the room and feel as though

1017
01:14:34,505 --> 01:14:38,134
"all the problems in life are not so important anymore.

1018
01:14:38,776 --> 01:14:40,243
"l am home."

1019
01:14:42,246 --> 01:14:43,713
Yes, you are.

1020
01:15:04,335 --> 01:15:06,166
But you're an honors student.

1021
01:15:06,237 --> 01:15:07,829
If you transfer to Ms. Gruwell's class,

1022
01:15:07,972 --> 01:15:09,997
think how that will reflect on your records.

1023
01:15:10,142 --> 01:15:13,339
It doesn't matter to me. My grades will still be the same.

1024
01:15:13,645 --> 01:15:15,510
Look, Ms. Campbell.

1025
01:15:15,614 --> 01:15:19,209
When I first transferred to the school, I had a 4.0 average.

1026
01:15:19,551 --> 01:15:23,009
But when I applied for advanced placement at English and Math,

1027
01:15:23,121 --> 01:15:26,056
I was told it would be better for me to be in a class with my own kind.

1028
01:15:26,158 --> 01:15:29,093
Now, when I did get in, my teacher said,

1029
01:15:29,194 --> 01:15:32,823
"Victoria, it's not every day one finds an African-American student

1030
01:15:32,931 --> 01:15:36,799
"in A.P. and honors courses." As if I didn't notice.

1031
01:15:36,902 --> 01:15:39,302
And when I asked another honors teacher

1032
01:15:39,438 --> 01:15:42,066
why we don't read more black literature, she said,

1033
01:15:42,341 --> 01:15:44,309
"We don't read black literature because of all the sex,

1034
01:15:44,443 --> 01:15:46,604
"drugs, cussing and fornication!"

1035
01:15:48,748 --> 01:15:53,378
I thought a simple "It's inappropriate" would have sufficed.

1036
01:15:57,590 --> 01:15:59,524
Erin can't do that!

1037
01:15:59,792 --> 01:16:02,192
Distinguished Honor Students are mine.

1038
01:16:02,795 --> 01:16:05,286
She's not allowed to teach them. She's only been here a year.

1039
01:16:05,331 --> 01:16:06,923
The student requested it.

1040
01:16:07,033 --> 01:16:09,627
And Gruwell has got Cohn in her back pocket.

1041
01:16:10,904 --> 01:16:15,841
What gets me is they're violent, they break laws, they destroy school property

1042
01:16:16,075 --> 01:16:21,114
and in the end we make them special. We reward them like...

1043
01:16:21,115 --> 01:16:23,481
I just don't see what that teaches them.

1044
01:16:24,218 --> 01:16:26,618
Hi! Sorry I'm late.

1045
01:16:26,987 --> 01:16:29,080
Did you eat? I'm ordering in. Are you hungry?

1046
01:16:29,189 --> 01:16:31,054
What question do you want me to answer first?

1047
01:16:31,158 --> 01:16:34,059
Did I eat or am I hungry? I ate. I'm not hungry.

1048
01:16:34,161 --> 01:16:37,426
Something really cool happened today. I got an honors student.

1049
01:16:37,531 --> 01:16:39,431
-Congratulations. -lsn't that great?

1050
01:16:39,533 --> 01:16:41,467
She actually requested my class.

1051
01:16:41,569 --> 01:16:43,537
Can you teach an honors student?

1052
01:16:43,904 --> 01:16:44,928
What do you mean?

1053
01:16:45,039 --> 01:16:47,837
Well, I mean, you're used to teaching your kind of kids.

1054
01:16:47,975 --> 01:16:50,443
Can you teach somebody who's smart?

1055
01:16:51,078 --> 01:16:52,238
Of course I can.

1056
01:16:52,379 --> 01:16:54,244
Yeah, but it's not like you have, right?

1057
01:16:54,348 --> 01:16:57,579
I mean, you don't really teach what everybody else teaches.

1058
01:16:59,154 --> 01:17:00,849
My kids' grades are up to B's.

1059
01:17:01,022 --> 01:17:03,456
Yeah, but the point is, that's according to you.

1060
01:17:03,558 --> 01:17:06,356
It's not like they're really learning what normal kids have to learn.

1061
01:17:06,394 --> 01:17:08,259
Normal kids? Yes, they are.

1062
01:17:08,363 --> 01:17:09,853
They're reading The Diary of Anne Frank.

1063
01:17:09,965 --> 01:17:12,331
They're learning vocabulary, grammar, writing, poetry.

1064
01:17:12,434 --> 01:17:14,732
All right. Okay, I apologize. Sorry.

1065
01:17:15,670 --> 01:17:17,228
Congratulations.

1066
01:17:25,313 --> 01:17:26,371
What is wrong with you?

1067
01:17:26,514 --> 01:17:28,505
You know, at Deb's party, I heard you telling people

1068
01:17:28,650 --> 01:17:31,016
that I was an architect and that my job was temporary.

1069
01:17:31,119 --> 01:17:34,145
I want you to stop that, all right? I like my job.

1070
01:17:34,256 --> 01:17:35,348
Fine.

1071
01:17:36,325 --> 01:17:38,418
You're the one who said you were gonna be an architect.

1072
01:17:38,527 --> 01:17:40,552
Yeah, four years ago, before we got married.

1073
01:17:40,663 --> 01:17:42,255
What, I'm gonna go back to school now

1074
01:17:42,365 --> 01:17:44,265
for two years and intern for three?

1075
01:17:44,367 --> 01:17:45,857
I'll be over 40.

1076
01:17:45,968 --> 01:17:47,993
All right. I thought you still wanted it.

1077
01:17:48,104 --> 01:17:52,131
It doesn't matter if I want it, Erin. It doesn't mean it's going to happen.

1078
01:17:54,310 --> 01:17:55,572
Why not?

1079
01:18:04,787 --> 01:18:08,780
"Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me.

1080
01:18:08,925 --> 01:18:11,655
"I mean, not only because I've never written anything before,

1081
01:18:11,795 --> 01:18:14,093
"but also because it seems to me that later on,

1082
01:18:14,197 --> 01:18:16,995
"neither I nor anyone else will be interested

1083
01:18:17,100 --> 01:18:18,931
"in the musings of a 1 3-year-old schoolgirl. "

1084
01:18:19,036 --> 01:18:20,970
"Terrible things are happening outside.

1085
01:18:21,071 --> 01:18:22,470
"At any time of day,

1086
01:18:22,572 --> 01:18:25,040
"poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes.

1087
01:18:25,142 --> 01:18:26,166
"Families are torn apart. "

1088
01:18:26,276 --> 01:18:29,040
"If only I can be myself, I'll be satisfied.

1089
01:18:29,146 --> 01:18:30,875
"I know that I'm a woman with inner strength

1090
01:18:30,981 --> 01:18:32,744
"and a great deal of courage.

1091
01:18:32,849 --> 01:18:36,478
"If God lets me live, I'll achieve more than Mother ever did. "

1092
01:18:36,586 --> 01:18:39,646
"Anti-Jewish decrees followed in quick succession.

1093
01:18:40,157 --> 01:18:44,457
"Jews must wear a yellow star. Jews must hand in bicycles.

1094
01:18:45,029 --> 01:18:47,691
"Jews are banned from trams and forbidden to drive. "

1095
01:18:47,832 --> 01:18:49,732
"Jews are forbidden to visit theaters,

1096
01:18:49,834 --> 01:18:51,859
"cinemas and other places of entertainment. "

1097
01:18:51,969 --> 01:18:54,062
"Jews may not take part in public sports.

1098
01:18:54,172 --> 01:18:56,902
"Swimming baths, tennis courts, hockey fields

1099
01:18:57,008 --> 01:18:59,602
"and other sports grounds are all prohibited. "

1100
01:19:00,645 --> 01:19:04,979
"I can't tell you how oppressive it is never to be able to go outdoors.

1101
01:19:05,783 --> 01:19:10,482
"Also, I'm very afraid that we will be discovered and be shot. "

1102
01:19:11,923 --> 01:19:16,223
"No one can keep out of the conflict. The entire world is at war.

1103
01:19:16,427 --> 01:19:18,588
"And even though the Allies are doing better,

1104
01:19:18,730 --> 01:19:20,357
"the end is nowhere in sight. "

1105
01:19:22,568 --> 01:19:23,535
Hi.

1106
01:19:24,703 --> 01:19:26,967
When is Anne gonna smoke Hitler?

1107
01:19:27,573 --> 01:19:30,633
-What? -You know. T ake him out?

1108
01:19:30,743 --> 01:19:35,339
Eva, this is The Diary of Anne Frank, not Die Hard.

1109
01:19:36,215 --> 01:19:37,682
Keep reading.

1110
01:19:40,219 --> 01:19:42,414
"We talked about the most private things,

1111
01:19:42,521 --> 01:19:45,922
"but we haven't yet touched upon the things closest to my heart.

1112
01:19:46,024 --> 01:19:48,549
"I still can't make heads or tails of Peter.

1113
01:19:48,660 --> 01:19:50,423
"Is he superficial?

1114
01:19:50,562 --> 01:19:53,963
"Or is it shyness that holds him back, even with me?"

1115
01:19:59,606 --> 01:20:03,201
-Are Anne and Peter gonna hook up? -I'm not telling you.

1116
01:20:04,577 --> 01:20:07,637
"It's utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation

1117
01:20:07,680 --> 01:20:10,547
"of chaos, suffering and death.

1118
01:20:11,351 --> 01:20:14,980
"I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness.

1119
01:20:15,088 --> 01:20:18,888
"I feel the suffering of millions, and yet when I look up at the sky

1120
01:20:19,259 --> 01:20:22,990
"I somehow feel that everything will change for the better. "

1121
01:20:27,867 --> 01:20:31,234
-Eva, what's wrong? -Why didn't you tell me she dies?

1122
01:20:31,505 --> 01:20:33,769
Why you didn't tell me she gets caught in the end?

1123
01:20:34,175 --> 01:20:36,302
I hate you and I hate this book.

1124
01:20:36,410 --> 01:20:37,377
Eva.

1125
01:20:37,478 --> 01:20:41,710
If she dies, then what about me? What are you saying about that?

1126
01:20:42,917 --> 01:20:45,545
-Anne Frank died, but she... -I can't believe they got her!

1127
01:20:45,653 --> 01:20:48,281
That ain't supposed to happen in the story! That ain't right!

1128
01:20:48,389 --> 01:20:50,118
-'Cause it's true? -I ain't talking to you!

1129
01:20:50,224 --> 01:20:52,920
You're talking around me. That's the same thing.

1130
01:20:53,027 --> 01:20:54,858
See, to me, she ain't dead at all.

1131
01:20:54,962 --> 01:20:57,658
How many friends did you know that are dead now that got killed?

1132
01:20:57,798 --> 01:20:59,129
Too many to count.

1133
01:20:59,233 --> 01:21:01,667
How many have you read a book about?

1134
01:21:01,936 --> 01:21:04,905
Have you seen them on TV or even in the newspaper?

1135
01:21:04,972 --> 01:21:06,599
That's why this story's dope.

1136
01:21:06,708 --> 01:21:08,471
She was our age, man.

1137
01:21:08,610 --> 01:21:12,102
Anne Frank understands our situation, my situation.

1138
01:21:12,214 --> 01:21:15,149
And that Miep Gies lady, the one that helped hide them?

1139
01:21:15,250 --> 01:21:16,478
I like her.

1140
01:21:16,585 --> 01:21:19,019
I got all these other books about her from the library.

1141
01:21:19,120 --> 01:21:21,987
Wow. You used your library card?

1142
01:21:23,925 --> 01:21:24,983
No.

1143
01:21:27,262 --> 01:21:32,029
Okay, listen up. Marcus has given me an idea.

1144
01:21:32,534 --> 01:21:36,026
Instead of doing a book report on The Diary of Anne Frank,

1145
01:21:36,171 --> 01:21:40,107
for our assignment I want you to write a letter to Miep Gies,

1146
01:21:40,208 --> 01:21:42,472
the woman who helped shelter the Franks.

1147
01:21:42,578 --> 01:21:46,036
She's still alive and she lives in Europe.

1148
01:21:46,148 --> 01:21:48,912
In the letter, I want you to tell her how you feel about the book.

1149
01:21:49,018 --> 01:21:51,509
Tell her about your own experiences. Tell her anything you like.

1150
01:21:51,621 --> 01:21:53,782
But I want the letters to be perfect,

1151
01:21:53,890 --> 01:21:56,324
so be prepared to do more than one draft, okay?

1152
01:21:56,425 --> 01:21:57,892
Is she gonna read the letters?

1153
01:21:57,994 --> 01:22:00,394
Well, right now it's a writing assignment. I'll read them.

1154
01:22:00,563 --> 01:22:02,121
We should get her to read them.

1155
01:22:02,265 --> 01:22:05,325
-Yeah, you can do that, right, Ms. G? -Well, I don't know.

1156
01:22:05,401 --> 01:22:06,766
Maybe we should get her to come and speak.

1157
01:22:06,869 --> 01:22:08,700
Yeah, and have a big dinner again.

1158
01:22:10,473 --> 01:22:12,304
Wait. Guys.

1159
01:22:15,511 --> 01:22:19,106
Guys! Everyone! Listen! She's elderly!

1160
01:22:19,216 --> 01:22:21,684
I don't know how to contact her. I don't even know if she travels.

1161
01:22:21,785 --> 01:22:23,412
And it would be really expensive.

1162
01:22:23,520 --> 01:22:25,215
We could raise the money.

1163
01:22:26,156 --> 01:22:27,214
Ms. G?

1164
01:22:27,324 --> 01:22:31,283
When Miep Gies come, can l, like, be the one to escort her in?

1165
01:22:51,148 --> 01:22:52,445
Five.

1166
01:23:05,863 --> 01:23:07,262
Hi, I'm trying to get the number

1167
01:23:07,365 --> 01:23:09,856
for the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, Switzerland.

1168
01:24:24,644 --> 01:24:26,202
Come in, Margaret.

1169
01:25:12,827 --> 01:25:15,625
Ms. G sent our letters all the way to Amsterdam

1170
01:25:15,730 --> 01:25:17,527
to Miep Gies, herself.

1171
01:25:17,732 --> 01:25:19,927
When Ms. G made up her mind about something,

1172
01:25:20,035 --> 01:25:22,526
there was no stopping her, man, for real.

1173
01:25:29,845 --> 01:25:33,975
And after we raised the money to bring her to Long Beach, there she was.

1174
01:25:36,384 --> 01:25:40,184
But, damn, I didn't expect her to be so small.

1175
01:25:58,841 --> 01:26:02,368
The bounty on a Jew was about $2.

1176
01:26:03,246 --> 01:26:06,511
Someone desperate for money told the Gestapo.

1177
01:26:06,549 --> 01:26:10,417
On August 4th, they stormed into my office,

1178
01:26:11,120 --> 01:26:17,491
and a man pointed a gun at me and said, "Not a sound.

1179
01:26:17,994 --> 01:26:19,621
"Not one word."

1180
01:26:20,763 --> 01:26:23,391
And then they went straight upstairs to the attic.

1181
01:26:23,933 --> 01:26:26,367
I felt so helpless.

1182
01:26:26,469 --> 01:26:29,029
I could hear Anne screaming, objects being thrown around.

1183
01:26:29,173 --> 01:26:31,903
So, I ran back to my house.

1184
01:26:32,042 --> 01:26:34,772
I looked for an earring or knick-knacks, you know,

1185
01:26:34,878 --> 01:26:37,642
anything I could take back with me to bribe them.

1186
01:26:37,781 --> 01:26:41,080
So I took this back with me, all these things,

1187
01:26:41,185 --> 01:26:45,485
and the soldier there took out his gun

1188
01:26:46,123 --> 01:26:48,318
and put it against my head.

1189
01:26:52,896 --> 01:26:57,492
You could be shot for hiding a Jew or go to a camp.

1190
01:26:58,202 --> 01:27:02,161
So, another soldier recognized my accent.

1191
01:27:02,372 --> 01:27:06,069
He was Austrian, and so was l,

1192
01:27:06,511 --> 01:27:09,275
but I had been adopted by a Dutch family.

1193
01:27:09,380 --> 01:27:13,180
So, he told the soldier with the gun to let me go.

1194
01:27:15,086 --> 01:27:19,614
There isn't a day that I don't remember August 4th

1195
01:27:20,925 --> 01:27:24,759
and I think about Anne Frank.

1196
01:27:27,332 --> 01:27:28,424
Yes?

1197
01:27:36,307 --> 01:27:38,400
I've never had a hero before.

1198
01:27:39,311 --> 01:27:40,778
But you are my hero.

1199
01:27:41,247 --> 01:27:44,944
Oh, no. No, no, young man, no.

1200
01:27:45,050 --> 01:27:47,746
I am not a hero. No.

1201
01:27:47,853 --> 01:27:54,383
I did what I had to do, because it was the right thing to do.

1202
01:27:54,793 --> 01:27:56,192
That is all.

1203
01:27:58,230 --> 01:28:01,063
You know, we are all ordinary people.

1204
01:28:01,767 --> 01:28:08,605
But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager

1205
01:28:10,009 --> 01:28:15,914
can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light

1206
01:28:18,418 --> 01:28:20,215
in a dark room.

1207
01:28:20,787 --> 01:28:21,947
Ja?

1208
01:28:26,159 --> 01:28:29,720
I have read your letters,

1209
01:28:29,829 --> 01:28:34,596
and your teacher has been telling me many things about your experiences.

1210
01:28:36,736 --> 01:28:39,534
You are the heroes.

1211
01:28:40,840 --> 01:28:44,469
You are heroes every day.

1212
01:28:51,352 --> 01:28:54,788
Your faces are engraved in my heart.

1213
01:29:14,475 --> 01:29:15,840
You hungry?

1214
01:29:20,281 --> 01:29:23,045
You know what you're gonna say in that courtroom?

1215
01:29:23,684 --> 01:29:25,652
I know what I have to say.

1216
01:29:27,356 --> 01:29:28,448
Yeah.

1217
01:29:29,124 --> 01:29:31,388
-You know how that is. -I know.

1218
01:29:32,761 --> 01:29:35,389
And that man that put your father in prison,

1219
01:29:35,497 --> 01:29:38,159
he knew he was sending an innocent man.

1220
01:29:38,533 --> 01:29:39,830
But, you know,

1221
01:29:41,770 --> 01:29:43,362
he was just

1222
01:29:45,440 --> 01:29:47,169
protecting his own.

1223
01:29:53,382 --> 01:29:56,078
What the hell does everybody want from me?

1224
01:30:22,879 --> 01:30:24,847
Hey, Mama. Mama.

1225
01:30:30,453 --> 01:30:32,853
What the hell are you doing here?

1226
01:30:39,163 --> 01:30:43,099
I want to come home. I don't want to be in the streets no more.

1227
01:30:43,200 --> 01:30:44,497
I'm sorry.

1228
01:30:47,004 --> 01:30:50,132
I want to change. I can't do it alone.

1229
01:30:52,042 --> 01:30:53,669
I need you, Mama.

1230
01:30:55,479 --> 01:30:56,946
I need you.

1231
01:31:34,619 --> 01:31:36,382
And what time was that?

1232
01:31:37,255 --> 01:31:39,553
I told you, 9:00, 9:30.

1233
01:31:40,225 --> 01:31:41,692
And you had a clear view of the defendant,

1234
01:31:41,793 --> 01:31:43,658
Grant Rice, in the store?

1235
01:31:44,863 --> 01:31:47,229
I told you he was playing the video game.

1236
01:31:47,833 --> 01:31:50,301
Then what happened? What did you see?

1237
01:31:50,736 --> 01:31:52,829
Well, he got all whacked because he lost the game,

1238
01:31:52,972 --> 01:31:56,567
and then he started shouting and all, threatening everybody.

1239
01:31:56,675 --> 01:31:59,872
He threatened everyone? He threatened you?

1240
01:32:00,980 --> 01:32:03,414
No. The guy who ran the store.

1241
01:32:03,549 --> 01:32:05,574
He wanted his money back for the game.

1242
01:32:05,618 --> 01:32:07,643
And what did the store owner do?

1243
01:32:08,487 --> 01:32:11,786
He shouted back. And they were fighting.

1244
01:32:12,057 --> 01:32:16,323
Then he, the defendant, knocked something over and left the store.

1245
01:32:16,896 --> 01:32:19,387
And then what happened? What did you see?

1246
01:32:23,570 --> 01:32:25,197
I saw...

1247
01:32:37,384 --> 01:32:38,851
I saw...

1248
01:32:54,134 --> 01:32:55,601
Paco did it.

1249
01:32:59,774 --> 01:33:01,503
Paco killed the guy.

1250
01:34:27,130 --> 01:34:29,621
My father won't talk to me anymore.

1251
01:34:32,001 --> 01:34:37,371
And I have to lay low for a little while because there's word out to jump me.

1252
01:34:38,775 --> 01:34:41,073
So I'm gonna be living with my aunt.

1253
01:34:42,545 --> 01:34:47,505
See, my aunt lives even further away,

1254
01:34:49,586 --> 01:34:53,886
so I was just wondering if I could, like,

1255
01:34:57,027 --> 01:34:58,696
stay here late with you

1256
01:34:58,696 --> 01:35:00,596
stay here late with you

1257
01:35:02,466 --> 01:35:06,960
so I can get my homework done, 'cause it's late by the time I get home.

1258
01:35:09,440 --> 01:35:12,409
You can stay as late as you want.

1259
01:35:13,777 --> 01:35:17,736
And I can even drive you to your aunt's, if it gets too late.

1260
01:35:20,984 --> 01:35:22,815
Ms. G, let's not get nuts.

1261
01:35:58,591 --> 01:36:00,525
I think I got your color.

1262
01:36:47,207 --> 01:36:49,198
Just come by the concierge on your way out,

1263
01:36:49,309 --> 01:36:52,073
I'll have the directions for you. Yep, that's fine.

1264
01:36:59,119 --> 01:37:02,919
Stop! That's it! Now, now! Hey!

1265
01:37:04,658 --> 01:37:07,126
You get an extra three seconds. Go!

1266
01:37:13,301 --> 01:37:15,565
...enraged them and provoked them into acts of violence.

1267
01:37:15,670 --> 01:37:19,936
In 1961, an interracial civil rights group traveled by bus through the South

1268
01:37:20,041 --> 01:37:21,770
to challenge segregation.

1269
01:37:21,876 --> 01:37:24,743
Blacks sat in the front, whites in the back.

1270
01:37:25,213 --> 01:37:28,740
They were attacked, firebombed, but they kept going.

1271
01:37:29,350 --> 01:37:33,514
In Montgomery, Alabama, Jim Zwerg offered to be the first off the bus,

1272
01:37:33,621 --> 01:37:35,987
knowing there was a mob waiting for them.

1273
01:37:36,123 --> 01:37:39,092
He was almost beaten to death so the others could get away.

1274
01:37:39,193 --> 01:37:42,685
That kind of courage is unbelievable to me.

1275
01:37:42,830 --> 01:37:46,197
I was afraid of just being in this class, and I was ashamed

1276
01:37:46,301 --> 01:37:50,067
because I've always been the dumb kid in school, even with my friends.

1277
01:37:50,239 --> 01:37:51,604
But not anymore.

1278
01:37:51,773 --> 01:37:53,297
And I must have some kind of courage,

1279
01:37:53,408 --> 01:37:57,139
because I could have lied to get out of here, but I stayed.

1280
01:37:58,213 --> 01:37:59,510
I stayed.

1281
01:37:59,948 --> 01:38:01,245
Hi, I'm home!

1282
01:38:01,850 --> 01:38:06,787
Sorry, it got late. I drove the kids home. I didn't want them taking buses.

1283
01:38:07,322 --> 01:38:09,688
You're never gonna believe what happened.

1284
01:38:11,059 --> 01:38:12,720
I'm so tired.

1285
01:38:13,228 --> 01:38:16,095
It's so cute, though. They never want to go home.

1286
01:38:16,765 --> 01:38:19,996
We have such a good time together. I'm gonna take a shower.

1287
01:38:39,622 --> 01:38:42,716
If you have another glass, you're gonna have a headache.

1288
01:38:43,493 --> 01:38:47,896
Your bags are packed and you think the wine's gonna give me a headache?

1289
01:38:49,899 --> 01:38:51,662
Why are you doing this?

1290
01:38:51,768 --> 01:38:55,033
Because I don't pay enough attention to you?

1291
01:38:55,138 --> 01:38:57,106
No. That's not it.

1292
01:38:59,476 --> 01:39:03,537
I just... I feel like I'm living a life I just did not agree to.

1293
01:39:05,883 --> 01:39:07,510
Erin, it's just...

1294
01:39:08,752 --> 01:39:10,242
It's too hard.

1295
01:39:10,854 --> 01:39:13,015
Your life is too hard?

1296
01:39:13,524 --> 01:39:16,049
I think what you're doing is noble.

1297
01:39:16,660 --> 01:39:20,221
And it's good. And I'm proud of you.

1298
01:39:20,831 --> 01:39:22,128
I am.

1299
01:39:24,468 --> 01:39:27,767
I just want to live my life and not feel bad about it.

1300
01:39:27,871 --> 01:39:31,034
-I'm not trying to make you feel bad. -You don't have to try.

1301
01:39:31,141 --> 01:39:33,939
I didn't plan on becoming responsible for these kids.

1302
01:39:34,045 --> 01:39:36,070
-Well, who asked you to? -No one asked me to!

1303
01:39:36,181 --> 01:39:37,170
They're not even your kids!

1304
01:39:37,282 --> 01:39:41,082
Why do I have to be asked? Scott...

1305
01:39:45,223 --> 01:39:50,126
I finally realized what I'm supposed to be doing and I love it.

1306
01:39:50,261 --> 01:39:54,925
When I'm helping these kids make sense of their lives,

1307
01:39:55,567 --> 01:39:58,400
everything about my life makes sense to me.

1308
01:40:01,940 --> 01:40:04,306
How often does a person get that?

1309
01:40:07,613 --> 01:40:11,709
-Then what do you need me for? -You're my husband.

1310
01:40:11,817 --> 01:40:16,720
Why can't you stand by me and be part of it, the way wives support husbands?

1311
01:40:16,822 --> 01:40:18,687
Because I can't be your wife.

1312
01:40:25,998 --> 01:40:28,296
I wish I could make that sound less awful.

1313
01:40:30,469 --> 01:40:31,629
Erin?

1314
01:40:33,239 --> 01:40:35,799
You know, if you had to choose between us

1315
01:40:37,309 --> 01:40:38,936
and the class,

1316
01:40:40,746 --> 01:40:42,179
who would you pick?

1317
01:40:44,217 --> 01:40:47,675
If you love me, how could you ever ask me that?

1318
01:40:48,655 --> 01:40:50,282
Erin, look at me.

1319
01:40:53,794 --> 01:40:55,955
This is all there's ever been to me.

1320
01:40:56,329 --> 01:41:00,698
This is it. I'm not one of those kids. I don't have any more potential.

1321
01:41:02,536 --> 01:41:04,060
See? You don't want to be here either,

1322
01:41:04,204 --> 01:41:07,537
'cause if you did, would you be in the classroom every night?

1323
01:41:08,875 --> 01:41:13,505
That's not true. I want to be here. I love you.

1324
01:41:14,681 --> 01:41:16,649
You love the idea of me.

1325
01:41:22,190 --> 01:41:24,488
But it's such a great idea.

1326
01:41:28,162 --> 01:41:29,459
I know.

1327
01:41:57,526 --> 01:41:59,323
Dad? Hi.

1328
01:42:01,930 --> 01:42:05,127
You know, I was actually trying to call someone else,

1329
01:42:05,267 --> 01:42:07,235
and I automatically dialed you. I'm sorry.

1330
01:42:07,269 --> 01:42:09,829
Look, I'm gonna call you tomorrow, okay?

1331
01:42:09,972 --> 01:42:13,271
I need to make this call. I love you.

1332
01:42:26,321 --> 01:42:28,812
Ms. G made us read Twelve Angry Men.

1333
01:42:28,924 --> 01:42:32,561
It's all about how this one juror helped to turn the hearts of 1 1 jurors.

1334
01:42:32,562 --> 01:42:34,427
It made me feel hopeful.

1335
01:42:34,964 --> 01:42:38,229
At 2:00 today, my brother was given a verdict on his own trial.

1336
01:42:38,368 --> 01:42:40,996
No O.J. Dream Team, just a court-appointed attorney

1337
01:42:41,137 --> 01:42:43,105
who probably thought his ass was guilty.

1338
01:42:43,239 --> 01:42:46,868
And I realized Twelve Angry Men was just a book and nothing more.

1339
01:42:47,210 --> 01:42:49,940
My brother got 1 5 years to life.

1340
01:42:50,046 --> 01:42:52,776
Justice don't mean the bad guy goes to jail.

1341
01:42:52,882 --> 01:42:55,077
It just means somebody pays for the crime.

1342
01:43:00,924 --> 01:43:02,448
So, you got time now?

1343
01:43:09,333 --> 01:43:10,925
Anyone know where Andre's been?

1344
01:43:11,068 --> 01:43:12,330
I haven't seen him on the bus.

1345
01:43:12,469 --> 01:43:13,936
Yeah, I haven't talked to him either.

1346
01:43:22,846 --> 01:43:24,370
Ms. G?

1347
01:43:24,748 --> 01:43:27,080
Are we gonna have this same room next year, again?

1348
01:43:27,184 --> 01:43:30,312
I don't know. You're gonna be juniors next year.

1349
01:43:31,855 --> 01:43:33,379
What do you mean?

1350
01:43:33,490 --> 01:43:36,186
Well, I teach freshman and sophomore years.

1351
01:43:36,293 --> 01:43:39,421
You mean, we're not gonna be with you next year?

1352
01:43:42,133 --> 01:43:43,498
Well, l...

1353
01:43:45,370 --> 01:43:49,101
I don't teach juniors. I thought you guys understood that.

1354
01:43:49,608 --> 01:43:50,734
What? What are you talking about?

1355
01:43:52,944 --> 01:43:54,571
You don't wanna be our teacher next year?

1356
01:43:54,679 --> 01:43:57,204
Of course I do. I can't.

1357
01:43:57,315 --> 01:43:59,806
-Why not? -It's the Board of Ed.

1358
01:43:59,918 --> 01:44:01,852
It's regulations.

1359
01:44:04,589 --> 01:44:07,387
Ms. G hasn't been here long enough to have seniority.

1360
01:44:07,425 --> 01:44:08,756
Who cares about seniority?

1361
01:44:08,893 --> 01:44:11,453
Shit! They can't do that! They don't have the right!

1362
01:44:13,565 --> 01:44:16,363
-Ms. G, this is our kick-it spot. -Yeah.

1363
01:44:16,501 --> 01:44:19,937
Everybody's cool with everybody. Everybody knows everybody.

1364
01:44:20,072 --> 01:44:23,508
This is the only place where we really get to be ourselves.

1365
01:44:23,643 --> 01:44:25,668
There's no place like this out there for us.

1366
01:44:25,945 --> 01:44:27,344
That's true.

1367
01:44:27,847 --> 01:44:30,407
I'm not allowed to teach junior and seniors.

1368
01:44:30,549 --> 01:44:31,516
You're not allowed?

1369
01:44:33,552 --> 01:44:37,181
Ms. G, we can fight this, you know, like the Freedom Riders.

1370
01:44:37,290 --> 01:44:39,053
Yeah, yeah, we'll all drive around on a bus.

1371
01:44:39,158 --> 01:44:41,149
Only this time, they try and bust us up,

1372
01:44:41,260 --> 01:44:43,057
we bust a few of them board members' heads.

1373
01:44:43,696 --> 01:44:44,685
Marcus.

1374
01:44:44,797 --> 01:44:48,426
Or we can go to the newspapers, media. That'll get their attention.

1375
01:44:48,668 --> 01:44:50,135
Or we can paint the administration building

1376
01:44:50,269 --> 01:44:52,737
with the word "assholes" in various colors.

1377
01:44:54,474 --> 01:44:56,169
Hey, it's something. We can do this.

1378
01:45:01,615 --> 01:45:02,582
What?

1379
01:45:02,683 --> 01:45:06,244
These are my books, not Scott's. I'm packing the wrong books.

1380
01:45:06,353 --> 01:45:08,048
Honey, take a break.

1381
01:45:11,992 --> 01:45:13,459
Sit down.

1382
01:45:16,630 --> 01:45:19,224
I can't believe I'm getting divorced.

1383
01:45:20,701 --> 01:45:23,135
I never thought this would happen.

1384
01:45:27,107 --> 01:45:29,200
What do I do now?

1385
01:45:30,178 --> 01:45:32,646
Next year, I won't even have my kids.

1386
01:45:33,047 --> 01:45:35,345
You think you should stay with them?

1387
01:45:36,217 --> 01:45:38,515
Or is it better they move on?

1388
01:45:38,853 --> 01:45:40,320
I don't know.

1389
01:45:44,125 --> 01:45:46,593
It's just a job, like you said.

1390
01:45:46,694 --> 01:45:48,321
Yeah, it is.

1391
01:45:49,263 --> 01:45:51,231
But is the job finished?

1392
01:45:53,568 --> 01:45:55,160
Listen to me now.

1393
01:45:55,436 --> 01:45:57,961
What you've done with those kids...

1394
01:46:00,375 --> 01:46:02,673
I don't even have words for it.

1395
01:46:04,413 --> 01:46:09,373
But one thing's for sure, you are an amazing teacher.

1396
01:46:11,253 --> 01:46:12,618
Special.

1397
01:46:13,389 --> 01:46:17,792
You have been blessed with a burden, my daughter.

1398
01:46:19,762 --> 01:46:21,730
And I envy you that.

1399
01:46:24,433 --> 01:46:26,060
And I admire you.

1400
01:46:28,570 --> 01:46:32,563
And how many fathers ever get to say that to their daughters

1401
01:46:32,708 --> 01:46:34,676
and really mean it?

1402
01:46:38,547 --> 01:46:41,641
What she is suggesting is in violation of our union charter.

1403
01:46:41,751 --> 01:46:44,914
She may not move on with her students to teach them junior year.

1404
01:46:45,021 --> 01:46:47,012
She's only been here two years.

1405
01:46:47,123 --> 01:46:49,216
There are teachers here who have tenure,

1406
01:46:49,325 --> 01:46:51,589
who have worked and committed themselves for far longer

1407
01:46:51,694 --> 01:46:53,594
to attain a position of seniority.

1408
01:46:53,696 --> 01:46:57,655
Not to mention their experience in teaching students of a higher caliber.

1409
01:46:57,767 --> 01:47:00,565
The Distinguished Scholars Program is under our jurisdiction.

1410
01:47:00,737 --> 01:47:03,501
I don't want to replace the Distinguished Scholars Program.

1411
01:47:03,640 --> 01:47:05,540
I just want to stay with my kids next year.

1412
01:47:05,642 --> 01:47:07,837
She can't. I have the juniors.

1413
01:47:07,911 --> 01:47:09,936
The Board of Education will not allow this.

1414
01:47:10,079 --> 01:47:12,013
Teaching rotations will be disrupted,

1415
01:47:12,115 --> 01:47:14,413
retirement schedules will be reevaluated,

1416
01:47:14,517 --> 01:47:17,953
disrespecting teachers who have earned their way far longer

1417
01:47:18,055 --> 01:47:20,216
and who focus on the classroom,

1418
01:47:20,324 --> 01:47:23,157
not on public relations and newspaper articles.

1419
01:47:23,260 --> 01:47:25,251
I didn't ask for those articles to be written.

1420
01:47:25,362 --> 01:47:26,852
She's in the middle of a divorce.

1421
01:47:26,964 --> 01:47:29,455
Note, they stay late in her class, they're eating, they're playing games!

1422
01:47:29,567 --> 01:47:32,661
All right, let's all just take a breath here. All right?

1423
01:47:34,104 --> 01:47:36,197
Now I had hoped that we could talk this out,

1424
01:47:36,340 --> 01:47:38,035
maybe come to some kind of arrangement.

1425
01:47:38,175 --> 01:47:40,643
-There is no arrangement... -Margaret.

1426
01:47:41,512 --> 01:47:42,979
Carl, look.

1427
01:47:43,581 --> 01:47:46,641
Putting aside all obvious resentments for the moment,

1428
01:47:46,750 --> 01:47:48,149
even if an arrangement were made

1429
01:47:48,252 --> 01:47:52,382
and she could teach them as juniors, there isn't an accredited course

1430
01:47:52,491 --> 01:47:54,857
in the curriculum for her to teach.

1431
01:47:55,494 --> 01:47:59,157
Unless Brian trades one of his junior classes for a sophomore.

1432
01:47:59,264 --> 01:48:00,322
No.

1433
01:48:02,100 --> 01:48:04,330
Then there's nothing I can do.

1434
01:48:07,873 --> 01:48:09,170
So that's it?

1435
01:48:10,308 --> 01:48:11,775
Believe it or not, Ms. Gruwell,

1436
01:48:11,877 --> 01:48:14,607
there are other capable teachers in this school.

1437
01:48:14,746 --> 01:48:16,737
If you've made the progress you say you have,

1438
01:48:16,882 --> 01:48:18,543
your students should be ready to move on.

1439
01:48:18,650 --> 01:48:21,312
They might even gain something from more experienced teachers.

1440
01:48:21,419 --> 01:48:24,684
You can't teach them. You don't even like them.

1441
01:48:24,789 --> 01:48:26,620
What does that have to do with teaching?

1442
01:48:26,726 --> 01:48:29,320
I've been an educator for over 30 years.

1443
01:48:29,729 --> 01:48:31,424
I have students that still remain in touch with me.

1444
01:48:31,531 --> 01:48:33,965
I know what it is to be loved by a classroom!

1445
01:48:34,066 --> 01:48:37,035
You have no idea how many battles I've had

1446
01:48:37,136 --> 01:48:38,797
fighting to be a better teacher,

1447
01:48:38,905 --> 01:48:42,272
and now, what, suddenly I'm incapable of educating your students?

1448
01:48:42,375 --> 01:48:45,037
You know, if they move on to our classes and they fail,

1449
01:48:45,177 --> 01:48:47,236
it'll be because they weren't prepared!

1450
01:48:47,380 --> 01:48:50,076
It'll be because you failed, not them!

1451
01:49:08,669 --> 01:49:11,331
Andre? Wait a minute before you go in.

1452
01:49:24,585 --> 01:49:27,053
I heard about your brother's conviction. I'm sorry.

1453
01:49:27,187 --> 01:49:29,382
Is that why you've missed class so much?

1454
01:49:29,489 --> 01:49:31,286
I had things to do.

1455
01:49:34,561 --> 01:49:36,358
About this.

1456
01:49:36,830 --> 01:49:37,990
The evaluation assignment

1457
01:49:38,099 --> 01:49:39,566
was to grade yourself on the work you're doing.

1458
01:49:39,667 --> 01:49:42,101
You gave yourself an F. What's that about?

1459
01:49:42,503 --> 01:49:45,700
-It's what I feel I deserve. That's all. -Oh, really?

1460
01:49:47,275 --> 01:49:48,970
You know what this is?

1461
01:49:49,277 --> 01:49:53,270
This is a "Fuck you" to me, and everyone in this class!

1462
01:49:53,414 --> 01:49:56,679
I don't want excuses. I know what you're up against.

1463
01:49:57,018 --> 01:49:59,248
We're all of us up against something.

1464
01:50:00,221 --> 01:50:03,588
So you better make up your mind, because until you have the balls

1465
01:50:03,691 --> 01:50:06,489
to look me straight in the eye and tell me this is all you deserve,

1466
01:50:06,594 --> 01:50:08,152
I am not letting you fail,

1467
01:50:08,196 --> 01:50:10,255
even if that means coming to your house every night

1468
01:50:10,365 --> 01:50:12,060
until you finish the work.

1469
01:50:12,166 --> 01:50:13,963
I see who you are.

1470
01:50:14,503 --> 01:50:16,630
Do you understand me?

1471
01:50:17,640 --> 01:50:19,608
I can see you.

1472
01:50:21,477 --> 01:50:23,411
And you are not failing.

1473
01:50:26,849 --> 01:50:31,786
So, take a minute. Pull yourself together and come inside.

1474
01:50:32,321 --> 01:50:34,346
I want a new evaluation.

1475
01:50:39,561 --> 01:50:42,359
An F. What, are you tripping?

1476
01:50:48,037 --> 01:50:51,495
I want you all to know that Dr. Cohn and I tried very hard.

1477
01:50:54,277 --> 01:50:57,144
But it's been decided we can't continue with each other junior year.

1478
01:50:57,280 --> 01:50:58,372
-What? -What?

1479
01:51:00,016 --> 01:51:01,916
You... Wait.

1480
01:51:02,652 --> 01:51:04,620
Wait. Guys. Everyone.

1481
01:51:06,022 --> 01:51:08,490
No! That don't fly, Ma!

1482
01:51:10,060 --> 01:51:13,723
Look, first of all, I'm not anyone's mother in here, okay?

1483
01:51:13,830 --> 01:51:16,025
No, it doesn't mean mother.

1484
01:51:16,733 --> 01:51:19,065
It's a sign of respect for you.

1485
01:51:33,284 --> 01:51:34,683
Listen to me.

1486
01:51:34,919 --> 01:51:36,216
All of you.

1487
01:51:36,987 --> 01:51:41,617
Don't use me as another excuse for why you can't make it.

1488
01:51:43,527 --> 01:51:46,826
You made it to your junior year.

1489
01:51:47,631 --> 01:51:50,429
Think about how you did that.

1490
01:51:51,802 --> 01:51:55,465
Everyone in this room has a chance to graduate.

1491
01:51:56,507 --> 01:51:59,067
For some, you'll be the first in your family.

1492
01:51:59,176 --> 01:52:01,940
The first with a choice to go to college.

1493
01:52:02,948 --> 01:52:05,746
Some may move faster than others.

1494
01:52:07,352 --> 01:52:09,650
But you'll each have the chance.

1495
01:52:10,722 --> 01:52:13,691
And you did that. Not me.

1496
01:52:20,766 --> 01:52:24,429
Now, I have one

1497
01:52:26,471 --> 01:52:28,063
final project in mind.

1498
01:52:28,173 --> 01:52:30,368
-Ms. G. -Yeah?

1499
01:52:32,210 --> 01:52:37,170
Ms. G wanted us to put our diaries together in a book, just like Anne Frank.

1500
01:52:37,917 --> 01:52:39,942
She got this businessman, John Tu,

1501
01:52:40,086 --> 01:52:42,919
to donate 35 computers so we could work.

1502
01:52:47,994 --> 01:52:51,395
She told us we have something to say to people.

1503
01:52:51,564 --> 01:52:51,664
We weren't just kids in a class anymore.

1504
01:52:51,664 --> 01:52:53,962
We weren't just kids in a class anymore.

1505
01:52:54,066 --> 01:52:57,763
We were writers with our own voices, our own stories.

1506
01:52:57,870 --> 01:52:59,929
And even if nobody else read it,

1507
01:53:00,039 --> 01:53:03,634
the book would be something to leave behind that said we were here,

1508
01:53:04,243 --> 01:53:07,337
this is what happened, we mattered.

1509
01:53:07,814 --> 01:53:12,080
Even if it was just to each other. And we won't forget.

1510
01:53:13,787 --> 01:53:16,153
Ms. G didn't promise it would get published or anything,

1511
01:53:16,256 --> 01:53:19,123
but we could get it out there ourselves.

1512
01:53:19,860 --> 01:53:22,090
She asked us to come up with a title,

1513
01:53:22,629 --> 01:53:24,597
something to call ourselves.

1514
01:53:42,382 --> 01:53:44,247
I just received a call from Karin Polacheck

1515
01:53:44,384 --> 01:53:45,476
at the Board of Education.

1516
01:53:45,619 --> 01:53:47,610
There's to be a meeting with Dr. Cohn about your classes.

1517
01:53:47,755 --> 01:53:51,191
-Do you know anything about this? -No.

1518
01:53:59,000 --> 01:54:04,461
These students, this class, they've become a family.

1519
01:54:05,373 --> 01:54:06,965
To who? To you?

1520
01:54:07,642 --> 01:54:09,269
To each other.

1521
01:54:10,078 --> 01:54:13,411
Room 203 is a kind of a home for them.

1522
01:54:13,948 --> 01:54:17,281
Their trust is all wrapped up in us being together as a group.

1523
01:54:17,719 --> 01:54:18,845
Once they're out of her class,

1524
01:54:18,987 --> 01:54:21,421
believe me they'll slip back into their old habits.

1525
01:54:21,522 --> 01:54:25,481
Their reading scores, their writing has markedly improved, Ms. Campbell.

1526
01:54:25,628 --> 01:54:29,120
On paper. But what has she accomplished in reality?

1527
01:54:29,231 --> 01:54:30,858
What about new students that come in next year?

1528
01:54:30,966 --> 01:54:32,957
Can she repeat this process every year?

1529
01:54:33,068 --> 01:54:34,467
Her methods are impractical,

1530
01:54:34,570 --> 01:54:37,198
impossible to implement with regularity.

1531
01:54:37,306 --> 01:54:39,797
What if every teacher performed in this way?

1532
01:54:40,409 --> 01:54:41,637
We have millions of children

1533
01:54:41,744 --> 01:54:43,473
to get through the education system in this country,

1534
01:54:43,579 --> 01:54:45,410
and we need a means of accomplishing that

1535
01:54:45,514 --> 01:54:48,415
which allows as many students to benefit as possible,

1536
01:54:48,517 --> 01:54:50,451
not just special cases.

1537
01:54:51,954 --> 01:54:55,412
And you honestly think you can create this family in every classroom,

1538
01:54:55,557 --> 01:54:58,526
for every grade, for every student you teach?

1539
01:55:03,099 --> 01:55:04,566
I don't know.

1540
01:55:10,774 --> 01:55:12,105
Thank you.

1541
01:55:32,495 --> 01:55:35,396
Hey, there go Ms. G. Hey, there go Ms. G!

1542
01:55:44,308 --> 01:55:45,707
What happened?

1543
01:55:46,510 --> 01:55:50,310
So? Are we gonna be together for junior year?

1544
01:55:56,153 --> 01:55:57,450
No.

1545
01:55:58,389 --> 01:56:00,254
-What? -What?

1546
01:56:04,862 --> 01:56:08,229
We're gonna be together junior and senior year.

1547
01:56:09,667 --> 01:56:10,725
Yes!