English

Year 10 English

This term, Year 10 are studying an adapted film ‘Freedom Writers’ from the autobiography ‘The Freedom Writer’s Diary’, published in 1999 and written by Erin Gruwell and her Wilson High School students from Long Beach, California, USA.

As a new teacher Ms Gruwell, post LA Race Riots, attempts to create a colour and ethnicity-blind environment in the classroom. In a poignant scene, she has students play ‘The Line Game’ where one would step forward onto the line when a personal, social or community prompt applied to them. For example anything from “Stand on the line if you like rap music” to “Stand on the line if you know someone who has died from gang violence.” Ultimately the Freedom Writers commit to focusing only on everyone’s inherent humanity, concluding that there is only one race that matters: the united human race.

My Year 10 Purple class participated in this game with great trust and honesty. I was very humbled by their willingness to genuinely connect with each other as young adults. It was such an effective class bonding experience that we agreed to play it a second time for the newsletter.

A big thank-you to my Year 10 Purple People!

Ms Monette Mason

Below are the visual representations that several year 10 students created to demonstrate their understanding of the context behind the film The Freedom Writers as they examined the context of civil rights movements.

Ms Macbeth

Year 12 English Extension

Students have explored the world of OULIPO poetry, a mathematical approach to creating poetry. The form investigates the possibilities of verse written under a system of structural constraints. Here are some examples of the final pieces. Can anyone guess what the original or base poems are?