The Holocaust

My themis the Holocaust. I choose this them because it’s very important in Freedom writers lives changes.

At first, nobody wants to read “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” but when they read this book every students are shocked. The Holocaust and books “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”, “Night” and “Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo” help Freedom writers to understand racial tensions, violence, …
They didn’t think that these problems were (si) importants. Lucky, Freedom writers invite Miep Gies (the protector of Anne Frank, a young girl jew), Gerda Seifer (a young jew who is a surviverof the Holocaust) and Zlata Filipovic (a young girl who saw her friends die in a war).

The writer of Diary 41 is happy to meet Gerda Seifer. She talks about her life. Jews wore a yellow Star of David



(…)

1. Why did Ms Gruwell have the Freedom Writers study the Holocaust and meet Holocaust
survivors?

Because no one in the class knew what the Holocaust was, Ms Gruwell decided to bring history to life by using new books, inviting guest speakers (for example: Miep Gies) and by going on field trips.
Ms Gruwell wants the students to stop the violence and to understand why racism exists.
She wants her students to become goods people and friendly with each other.
It’s important for the students to know about the Holocaust.
During Holocaust, a lot of Jews were exterminated by the Nazis and this part of history should not be repeated by teenagers around the world.


2. How did the Freedom Writers relate to Anne Frank? Give examples.
They invited Miep Gies, who is the courageous woman who sheltered Anne Frank and her family.
Miep Gies is a hero for them because of what she did. Few people would normally have done that, she risked her life to protect a Jew. The Freedom Writers’ life looks like Anne Frank’s. There is discrimination, racial tensions, violence in their lives… Anne Frank was the same age as them.


3. In what way Zlata Filipovic impacted the students’ lives? Give examples from several writers. What really surprised the Freedom writers?

Zlata is young. She saw her friends die like the Freedom Writers. They are very surprised because Zlata looks like them. Zlata Filipovic lived in Sarajevo where a war began. It’s very sad and they must understand that violence it’s unacceptable! Zlata give them hope. There is a parallel between Anne Frank and Zlata. However, Anne Frank and her family didn’t survive, but Zlata and her Family did.

Like the Freedom Writers Zlata wrote a diary.

"The Freedom Writers Diary" Their story. Their words.

1. What activist or writer would you like to invite to your school?

I would like to invite Miep Gies or Zinedine Zidane. Miep Gies is a nice person because she helped Anne Frank's family during WWII. Anne Frank was a young girl who has wrote a diary of her feelings about the sad war. Zinedine Zidane is a footballeur who helps associations for poor childrens. I love these generous people. I would like to learn Anne Frank's life and say thank you because Miep Gies is a wonderful person.


2. The writer of Diary 36 (in "Freedom writers") asks, "Why should I read books about people that don't look like me?..." How would you answer this student's question if you were her teacher?

They learn English from reading Anne Frank's diary because it's a sad story and they have a sad story too. It's important to learn about different people, culture... We must open our minds to other "worlds". We should love other people before to love ourselves. This is my answer.

3. What are the dangers of stereotypes? What can people do to break free from stereotypes? Why is this important?

Stereotypes are bad because people have difficulty breaking free from them.

4. What ethnicities are the freedom writers?

There are Asians, Latinos, African Americans... There are all ethnicities but many Asians, Latinos, African Americans and a white.

5. How is the "hood" described by the freedom writers?

The hood is bad. There are gangsters, drug dealers, racial tensions, victims of people who kill them and tagging. It's a dangerous zone. "Hood" is the neighborhood.

6. What role do the students' parents play in their lives?

It's depends. "In Diary 5", a mom "percina" her child with the sign of the cross and it's good but in "Diary 16", parents don't understand the love and they are cruel with the girl.


7. Some of the students have been to juvenile homes; give a few examples concerning their experience.

In "Diary 3", a Mexican girl was in a juvenile home. Now she is out but she is controlled. It's very difficult for youngsters.

8. The writer says: "We began to understand the true meaning of not judging a book by its cover", what does he refer to and how would you translate that into French?

Nous commençons à comprendre la vraie façon de ne pas juger un livre sur sa couverture, (sur son titre). He refer to at "Durango Street".

9. What are the main problems the freedom writers face?

The problems are: racial tensions, students don't know hoy to read (there is a dyslexic), drugs, death and the division of the society!

10. (In diary 6) "A couple of days ago, one of my friend was laid to rest." What do you learn about his/her experience? How did you feel reading it?

It's very sad. His friend was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it's not just. The student is shocked. We learn in "Diary 5" that a gun is 25$, so it's normal that there are many people dead! The death of his student is inacceptable and not just.

11. A student talks about her/his teacher Mrs Gruwell, she/he says: "Why is she fucking questioning everything? She always tries to corner you into accepting that there is another side, when there really isn't". What does she/he learn from her/his teacher?

Mrs Gruwell is cool, a nice teacher very understanding and compassionate. She helps her students.

My flat, my neighbourhood and my food

Picture by Anne Geddes

Hello Gerardo,

I’m going to tell you about my flat, my neighbourhood and my food habits. I live in a small flat in front of a big park. In this park there is a skate-park, a park with swings, slides, a football pitch, a volleyball pitch, a petanque pitch and an ice-cream shop. Sometimes there are circus like « Knie », « Nock » Circus and an attractions park, called « Luna Park ». Every weekend and every Wednesday, there is a huge flea market. The big park it’s « Plainpalais ». It’s very nice ! There are trees and three small fountains too.Next to Planpalais park, there is an other park, but it’s small. In this small park, people like to sit down on the benches and they like to go for a walk too. There is a big fountain with statues. There are many pigeons because people take bread for them. In front of this park there is a taxis station, a bus stop and a tramways stop. Nearly there is a Catholic church.

On my street there are several bars and restaurants.One of this bars is called « Friends », as an English series. There is a Chinese restaurant, a video club, a small cinema, a pharmacy, a sweets shop, a supermarket, a bakery and a small nightclub, with strippers.

In my neighbourhood there is all you need ! There is a swimming pool, a skating rink, a school of music,babies school, high school, parks, supermarkets,flowers shops, a post office, a firefighter building,a police office…

Now I’m going to speak about my building and my flat. I don’t like the colour of my building because it’s dark. It’s an old building and it’s grey. There are eight floors. I live on the 6th floor. I live with my mother and my brother. The building is made out of concrete.

My appartment is good for my little family and I, but soon we are maybe going to move.

My room is medium size and it’s divided in two because it’s the room of my brother too. In my room there are many things. Next to my bed there is my night stand, a big mirror, my desk and my bookcase. In my room there is my black piano and my hi-fi system with a lot of cd’s. On my piano there is a phone and a collection of porcelain dolls. On my bed there are many bits of fluff, for example a stuffed rabbit. On my night stand there is my alarm clock, my lamp, there are wilted roses because it’s a memory of my birthday and of Valentin’s day. There are my perfumes and my make-up too. My jewels are in drawers underneath my bed because my bed has four drawers, where I can tidy up many things. On my desk there is my computer, my printer, my web camera,many pencils, many photos, a lamp and a calendar. On my desk drawers there are many school books and many dictionaries. On my walls there are paintings. I love« Anne Geddes », she’s a baby photograph and her paintings are so beautiful ! In my room there is my cupboard too. There are many clothes and many shoes.My furnitures are made out of wood.

When I go out of my room, there is the living room.There are sofas, a television, a playstation, many dvd’s, a video recorder, cook books, the furnitures with paintings, photos, decorations… It’s a nice living room but small !

My brothers room is as my room but in his room there are many cars, animals, balls, playmobiles… a little boy things! He has a computer on his desk and a football puzzle. He has many bit of fluff. He is very spoilt, he has a lot of toys!

My kitchen is big. There is a refrigerator, a big table with six chairs, a microwave, a stove, a Nespresso machine, a toast machine, a baby-foot, a freezer, a dogs painting, a television, an old Nintendo, a sink and many furnitures with plates, glasses, knifes, forks, spoons…In my kitchen there are my two birds and my red fish too.

Next to the kitchen there is my mother's room. In her room there are two night stands, there is a big bed, two cupboards and furniture, where she tidies up letters, bills… There is a God painting too and many photos. On her night stand there is a phone, an alarm clock and a blue lamp. The furniture is blue, black and white.

My bathroom and toilet are in two differents rooms. In one room there is a bath and a wash basin and in another room there is the restrooms. In my bathroom, there are perfumes, nail varnish, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpastes, a big mirror, a pharmacy tin, shampoo, bath gel, towels, sponges… My bath is not very large but it’s very confortable ! In my rest rooms, there are the rest rooms and many toilet paper rolls.

Now I am going to speak about my food habits. I eat nearly everything ! I eat fish and meat. I love milk,chocolate ! I hate vegetables but, I should eat some because it is good for my healthy ! I like cheese,bread, French fries, ice cream… I love pastas and Kebabs. I prefer kebabs to McDonald. I hate cucumbers and tomatoes. I like Chinese food and Spanish food ! I eat mussels, saussages, rice, mashed potatoes… You can see I like all sorts of foods !For breakfast I drink chocolate and I eat cookies or cornflakes. For my afternoon snack I eat a big sandwich with ham or cheese and I drink chocolate or still water. I love water ! I hate sodas, coca-colas,tea… I love just still water and chocolate !

Now you know all about my flat, my neighbourhood and my food. Tell me about your flat, your neighbourhood and your kind of food, please.

I wait your news, dear penfriend !

Karina

Presentation

My name is Karina Fernández. I'm 17 years old. I come from Spain. I have brown eyes and brown hair. I have a white skin. I'm small. I have been Geneva for 16 years and I like this country. But I prefer Spain.

I love dancing, hanging out, cooking, eating chocolate and sweets, travelling...
I have played the piano for 12 years and I finished piano courses the last year.
I graduated before 12 years. I finished Spanish courses before 10 years and I have my diploma.

I have been practise karate for a year and I love it because it's important.

I would like to be doctor or judge as well but I prefer teaching.

I like meeting people. I hate bad people, egoist people, hypocrit people and I hate racism.
I love love and peace. I hate when I see poor people and war.

I have a little brother. He's 6 years old nearly 7. He's nice but he's very tiring because he always wants play and he speaks all time.

I have a boyfriend. His name is Damien. He's Spanish and he's 18 years old. He's a single child. He's been my boyfriend for 2 years. He's very nice.

I have a red fish and 2 birds. They are beautiful.