Common Sense Ideas for Becoming the Career Star You Are Meant to Be

Recently, I saw the movie Freedom Writers.  It is the story of a remarkable teacher, Erin Gruwell, and a group of high school students in Long Beach CA.  The story is set in 1994, just after the racial turmoil caused by the Rodney King trial and the OJ verdict.  Ms. Gruwell was a new teacher, assigned to teach a class of at risk kids.  The racial tension in the LA area was apparent among the Black, Latino and Asian kids and one white kid in her classroom. 

This movie really touched me.  I was impressed with Erin Gruwell’s commitment to her job.  She succeeded against terrible odds.  Therefore, I am going to do a series of five posts on Erin Gruwell this week.  I am doing this to provide you with a real life example of how one person embodied all five of the points on the Career Super Star model – and became a star in her career, and with the kids she taught.

I hope that after you read these posts, you will see the movie, and log on to Erin Gruwell’s site www.freedomwritersfoundation.org to learn more about her and the kids she taught.

Today is Monday, so this post is on Self Confidence.

If you log on to the Freedom Writers site, and click on the button “About Erin Gruwell”, you’ll find this.

• “Nothing could have prepared Erin Gruwell for her first day of teaching at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. A recent college graduate, Erin landed her first job in Room 203, only to discover many of her students had been written off by the education system and deemed “unteachable.” As teenagers living in a racially divided urban community, they were already hardened by first-hand exposure to gang violence, juvenile detention, and drugs.”

However, Erin Gruwell believed that she could teach these "unteachable" students and make a difference in their lives.  Erin Gruwell had three things going for her:

1. She believed in herself as a teacher, she was confident that she had the skills and motivation to succeed;
2. She was optimistic;
3. She was willing to face her fears – about herself and about the situation in which she found herself.

Let’s look at each of these.

Belief in Herself

As the movie begins, we see a young, enthusiastic teacher having a conversation with the head of the English Department.  Erin is bubbly and excited about teaching.  Her boss is world weary and tells her that the school has changed since busing and the best that she can hope to do is baby sit the at risk students she has been assigned.  However, Erin sees it differently.  She tells the head of the English Department that she was hired to teach and she plans on teaching.  She is confident that the students will learn.

Erin’s idealism carries her through a rough start with the class.  She is confident that they can learn and she can teach.  She just has to find the right way of teaching so that the students will learn.  I believe that her belief in herself was a key reason why she ultimately succeeded.

Optimism

Dictionary.com defines “optimism” as a “tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome”.  As a young teacher, Erin Gruwell was assigned the most challenging students.  Many thought that these students were incapable of learning.  However, she believed that all students, given the right circumstances can and will learn.  Erin’s optimism gave her the energy and passion to stick with her students, ultimately unlocking their ability to learn.  A pessimist – one who has a tendency to look on the less favorable side of events or conditions, and who expects the least favorable outcome would not have been able to achieve what she did.

Facing Fear

Erin Gruwell had every right to be afraid for her physical safety.  Students in her class carried guns and knives.  A fight broke out in her class on the first day of school.  The head of the English Department warned her to not wear her pearls in class.  The school itself seemed to be composed of several warring factions: Latinos, Blacks, Asians and Whites.  It was a dangerous place.  On the other hand, she was a young teacher just out of college, assigned to teach a difficult group of students.  She had to fear for her success.  This was not an easy assignment.

Yet she persevered.  She faced her fears.  She went to school every day.  She wore her pearls.  She faced her fears for her physical safety.  She also was willing to try unorthodox teaching methods – as the methods she learned in college obviously weren’t working with the students to whom she had been assigned.  It had to be scary to try new and different approaches to education with this group of students.  But she did, and she succeeded because she did.

These are a few stories about how Erin Gruwell’s self confidence was the platform on which her success was built.  You’ll have to see the movie to learn more.  By the way, if you think I want you to see this movie, you’re right!

Tomorrow, I’ll post about Erin Gruwell’s powerful personal impact and how it made a difference in the lives of her students.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.