B6L1 Reading (pp.8-9)
Class:
No:
Name:
Pre-reading: Labelling ourselves as victims? Dealing with injustice?
The foreword(前言) to Freedom Writers Diary was written by Zlata Filipovic. Filipovic urged(力勸) the
freedom writers to continue(繼續) to use their voice to "write, create, to fight stereotypes(刻板印象), and
live up to(達到；實踐) the name of true Freedom Writers."
 Zlata Filipovic, the author
Filipovic paralleled(相比) her experience during the Bosnian war
with the everyday experience of each of the Freedom writers. She did
this by stating(敘述) that because of circumstances(情勢) beyond their
control(無法控制), both Filipovic and the writers could label(把…定義)
themselves as "victims(受害者、犧牲者).” She said it would be "easy to
become a victim of our circumstances and continue feeling sad, scared,
or angry; or instead, we could choose to deal with injustice(不公不義)!”
of Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life
in Sarajevo. Zlata's Diary
chronicled(記述) Zlata's life
from an innocent, young girl
to a wizened(枯瘦的)
teenager after living through
some of the Bosnian war.
While-reading: How Much You Know about the Reading
I. Erin Gruwell’s big ambition
Erin Gruwell’s amition
the difficulty
Erin Gruwell’s attitude
toward the difficulty
When Erin Gruwell met her new class, she hoped
.
She quickly found that
.
(1)She didn’t want
.
(2)Instead, she started
.
Erin Gruwell
Erin Gruwell was a first-year English teacher. Because she didn’t have any seniority(年資) in the school
system(系統) yet, she was given the tough students, the "unteachable" ones. Other teachers told her to let
them slide by, wait until she had more seniority, then begin her teaching career once she has "good
students." Ms. Gruwell decided on a different strategy(策略).
While teaching at Wilson High, she discovered(發現) that her students were unacquainted(不熟悉)
with the Holocaust(種族大屠殺). She embarked on(從事) transforming(改造) her teaching style(風格) to
one that her students could better relate(連結). This caused her to choose books with characters(特質) in
similar situations as her students. Her theme(話題) became not one of teaching English, but using English
to teach tolerance(包容、寬容).
She quickly learned that she wouldn’t receive(接收) any financial(財務上的) backing(支援) to
purchase(購買) books for these students, so she became a weekend concierge(旅館櫃台職員) at a local
Marriott Hotel.
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II. The publication of Freedom Writers Diary
Erin Gruwell’s students’ One day, Erin asked her students whether
background (背景)
how Erin felt about
their stories
After listening to
that
.
her students said, she was so
by
.
(1) She began to
how Erin helped her
students
.
(2) Twelve months later, she helped them
.
the success of the book
Their book
quickly became
The Freedom Writers Diary. It
.
III. The success of Erin’s students
great changes in the
(1)
Erin’s help, her students
students’ lives
(2) Most of them even
what we can learn
from Erin Gruwell
Teachers can help
as long as they
.
.
.
Post-reading: Discuss tolerance
(1) In what ways does discrimination(歧視) occur(發生) in everyday life? Have you ever experienced any
discrimination?
(2) What did you react(回應) to discrimination or how did you feel about it?
(3) Does reverse discrimination exist? If so, give examples of how it occurs in daily life.
(reverse discrimination：逆差別待遇，反向歧視。意指因過度改善歧視黑人、婦女等政策，而使白
人、男人蒙受不利的情況)
priotity seats on the MRT(捷運上的博愛座)；can’t get a job because of being pregnant(因為懷孕而得不到工作)；the age
limit for a qualified person
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