11/12 English: Teaching Tolerance through Freedom Writers, Day 2

Teaching Tolerance: Day 2
Respond to the questions below in the comments section with at least 3-5 sentences.

Note: please read over your post and check spelling, punctuation, and grammar before you hit "publish." This is a summative exercise on L2, "I can demonstrate grade-appropriate command of the English language including spelling, capitalization, and punctuation."

L2 Rubric (click here)

Discussion Questions:
Think about your own school or out-of-school activities. Are youth respectful of each other’s differences? Are there problems similar to those in Wilson High? If so, what steps can you take to initiate change?

11/12 English: Freedom Writers and Intolerence

Instructions:
Rewatch the powerful scene in which Mrs. Erin Gruwell teaches her students about the "most famous gang in history," the Nazis.

Then, pick one question below and respond in the comments section in at least 3-5 sentences.  Note: please read over your post and check spelling, punctuation, and grammar before you hit "publish!" This is a summative exercise on L2, "I can demonstrate grade-appropriate command of the English language including spelling, capitalization, and punctuation."

L2 Rubric (click here)

Discussion Questions:
At the beginning of the school year, Erin is deeply disturbed by a racial caricature of one of her students that she finds being passed around the room.

1. Why does Erin compare this drawing of an African-American student to the drawings of Jewish men during the Holocaust? 
2. Why do you think Erin refers to the Nazis as the most famous gang in history? Why does this comparison make the students begin to listen to her? 
3. Why are the students so unwilling to associate with anyone outside their ethnic/racial groups? Where does this intolerance come from?