Starting Out

Since this is the first post, here is the introduction to our book:

Dear Sophomores,

When you asked me to write the introduction to the Accelerated Sophomore English’s book of stories, I was honored, but a little scared too. Here I’ve been, preaching to you about writing your stories, writing every day, and writing to change the world…but what if I can’t live up to your expectations of me? So, in the spirit of how I told you to get started, I just started writing. And, of course, I started out with many “Crummy* First Drafts,” as Anne Lamott wrote about in Bird by Bird. But, at least it was a start.
When I began writing, I tried giving a timeline of the crazy events that unfolded this past school year with The Freedom Writers Diary being yanked from our classroom, book banning headlines in the local paper, some angry parents, L.O.V.E., receiving phone calls from Erin Gruwell, being invited to California to attend The Freedom Writers Teacher Training, to the book being reinstated and re-taught. But, after reading more from Mary Pipher’s Writing to Change the World, I decided that I just need to say what I need to say, just like I told you.
This year has been tough. I have never felt as vulnerable as I have this past year. You never know what being under a microscope really feels like until your picture is in the local rag and anonymous bloggers are ripping on you as a teacher, a professional, and a young woman. Why do adults who do not know you guys believe they know what’s best for you? And, how does attacking me help their cause? In no way am I disrespecting your parents and their decisions, however I do question the motives of those in the community who don’t know you, me, or haven’t read any of our chosen curriculum. Providing you with the opportunity to write and share your own stories is what I feel is best for you. Ultimately, that’s what reading others’ stories was about. Asking you to read about others and write about yourselves in the most personal way will make you better readers and writers in the end.
I am glad I was given the opportunity to teach these classes, and especially, all of you. Many of us have formed a bond that not many teachers ever get the chance to have. I have had the amazing experience to have some of you stand up and speak eloquently, not just on my behalf, but on the behalf of The Freedom Writers and their stories to be heard. Some have argued and continue to spew that these stories are inappropriate for you; the language and the images are too graphic. These people believe that you can equate movies and television with literature. These same people believe that books should be given a rating much like the media is rated, and they would give much of what is in our high school curriculum a “R” and therefore, unacceptable for students under 17. I disagree. I don’t believe you can equate writing and literature with movies and TV. How could you? Language is so very different. Reading the written word is more powerful and yes, still imaginable, but what we have read is anything but too graphic. Equating The Freedom Writers Diary or The Bluest Eye or Black Boy with Penthouse magazine is just absurd. To say that the majority of our students are not equipped to handle this reading material is ridiculous. This is not to say I have not completely supported those of you who have chosen not to read some of our texts. I ardently respect all of you and do not think any different of you for making this decision. It was yours to make.
So, this is where I talk about how proud I am of all of you. Some of you were outspoken, some were shy, and some just cared about whether or not you were going to get an A. I am not going to say that all of you were motivated by this controversy, in either direction; plenty of you are still just high schoolers who aren’t ready to stand up for beliefs and may not even know what those beliefs are yet. I wasn’t able to change that in you and I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot change everyone in one year. And, before the bandwagon jumpers read too far into that last line, I don’t mean that I want to change everyone to believe the same things as me, but I do mean change everyone in to caring about something. Some of my best relationships with students and teachers at Howell High School were formed from having diverse opinions. What connects us, though, is having strong beliefs and convictions. I cannot connect to those who do not care, who have no beliefs, or, if they do, don’t care enough to stand up for them, but I sure won’t stop trying.
Ultimately, I am so very proud of all of you. I can’t wait to see what you all end up doing with the rest of your lives and how reading and writing will be a part of that future. Please know that you have all changed me in a positive way and I will never forget this past year. You are all engraved in my heart.

Love,

Ms. Capy