We often have more in common with one another than not.
That was the chief message Erin Gruwell stressed to third grade students from Westmoreland Upper Elementary School and Oneida North Broad Elementary School during a joint activity on October 12. 
Third grade students from both schools joined each other and Gruwell in the MPR (multi-purpose room) at Westmoreland Upper Elementary School to learn how similar they actually are.
To prove her point, Gruwell divided students into two groups, with each group on opposite sides of a line of tape in the middle of the room. She then asked a series of questions, with each question drawing students to the line of tape. For example, when Gruwell asked, “who has someone special in their lives,” the students converged to the line of tape in the middle of the room. In the event not all students came together, Gruwell explained how it is OK to be different.
Gruwell is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Freedom Writers Diary.” The book, and basis for the movie “Freedom Writers,” starring Hilary Swank, tells the story of Gruwell and her 150 at-risk students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, CA during the early 1990s. Determined to create a brighter future for her students, Gruwell turned to writing and literature to persuade them to embrace history, humanity and hope. She specifically used literature to compare the turmoil of the time to some of the worst examples of society’s inhumanity towards one another. The parallels to their own lives emboldened Gruwell’s students to write their own journals, becoming a form of solace. When the students anonymously read each other’s journals, division was replaced with unity and understanding. As a result, the “Freedom Writers” were born.
On October 11, Gruwell was one of two keynote speakers at “Overcoming Obstacles: A Message of Connection, Resilience and Hope” – a special educational program held for ninth grade students from 24 area school districts at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica. Click here to read more about the event.
Gruwell’s joint activity with third grade students from Westmoreland Upper Elementary School and Oneida North Broad Elementary School is part of a broader effort coined “CARE,” with each letter serving a specific purpose.
“C” stands for “connections.”
“C” was the basis for the joint activity between Westmoreland and Oneida students – showing how they are alike and different. As a continuation of the activity, Westmoreland’s third grade students are visiting Oneida’s third grade students on November 15, where they will once again be joined by Gruwell.
“A” stands for “actions.”
“R” stands for “respect.”
“E” stands for “empathy.”
Third grade students from Westmoreland and Oneida will be working on “CARE” throughout the school year.