TWYH - pg. 104-140

Abstract:
This section of the book starts off with Erin buying them books about the Holocaust because she feels like her students can relate with the death and hard times that Holocaust victims went through. Her students got really into The Diary of Anne Frank, and one of her students, Maria, thought of herself as Anne. I remembered this part from the movie Freedom Writers, when Maria through her book across the room because she was so mad that Anne ended up dying at the end of the book. Maria thought that if Anne died in the book, that she was going to end up dying in the streets. It was a hard moment for Erin, who didn't really have any experience dealing with stuff like this. After finishing the book, another student Darrius found out that Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne and the rest of her family, was still alive today. He wanted to fly her out to California so that everyone could meet her. One part that they didn't show in the book was that in actuality, Miep was already planning on visiting Long Beach, and the only thing Erin had to do was get her to come meet her students when she was already there. It was an exciting thing for them, so when they started reading their next book, Zlata's Diary, her students again wanted Zlata to come and visit them. This visit was a lot harder to plan and pay for, since Zlata was only fifteen years old and wanted her parents and best friend to come. It took Erin a lot of hard work, but she pulled it off once again and Zlata's trip went perfectly. Her students had a blast and were able to bring some of their family members with them.

Reflection:
My main thought after reading this section was I couldn't believe all the things that Erin does for her students. I feel like I'm a good person and would do a lot for my students, but I don't think I would jeopardize relationships with others and work such long hours for them. Erin's relationship with her husband is getting increasingly worse during the book, and she's working so many hours because she bought 4 different books for her students. That is unheard of! She wonders why the other teachers don't like her, but if I had an Erin teaching across the hall from me I probably wouldn't like her either. She's a workaholic and it's going to catch up with her. I know she's doing amazing things with her students, but I feel like she could still do these things without working so much and jeopardizing everything else in her life. With every profession, there has to be a balance between work and play, and Erin doesn't have that balance.