Bøger af Torbjørn Ydegaard (Ed.)

The ways and methods of the Freedom Writers as a pedagogical concept are not tied to theories but to practice and to practical life in the classroom. It therefore has more to do with tools than with books – and the most significant tool in the Freedom Writer pedagogy is the narrative. But even in a very practical world tools can be reflected on – and have to be reflected on in order to give us an idea about what is going on. So it is with narratives, too. Narratives are about lived lives, and a way to take or regain power over one’s life. Therefore, the narrative is a pathway to empowerment. By writing, reading or listening to the narratives the story-teller will experience forms of recognition that foster in him or her a feeling of self-confidence, self-esteem and self-appreciation – feeling that many have not been granted until now. This book is an account of a Freedom Writer-course, where practical writing- and art-exercises are ‘warming up’ the students – making them confident with the situation, each other and the published media – in order to write their own narrative.

In Washington DC, in May 2015, Rep. John Lewis taught us, a group of Freedom Writer Teachers, to 'get in trouble', just as he had been doing for his whole life – participating and organizing the Civil Rights Movement, the Freedom Schools, the Freedom Riders and speaking from the Lincoln Memorial against the wrong of discrimination and segregation along with Dr. Martin Luther King that summer’s day in 1963. "Get in trouble!" is an anthology of stories about standing up for one’s students, told and written by Freedom Writer Teachers from all around the world – all of them using the Freedom Writers methods and exercises: Stories from teaching Maoris of New Zealand to Inuits of Greenland, from teaching average kids in the schools of your neighborhood to youngsters in juvenile halls, from the love of teaching to the fights against standardized curricula. There are lots of ways and places 'to get in trouble' for the noble case of educating the next generation!

This is the third book in the series “Everybody Has a Story”. The story behind the idea for these books and their title goes back to The Freedom Writers Diary that came about as the result of the teachings of young teacher at a high school in a socially deprived area in Long Beach near Los Angeles. The teacher, Erin Gruwell, found herself more or less forced to base her teachings on the stories of the living conditions of her students. When she became aware of these stories and managed to relate the content of the curriculum to them, her students started to find interest in the subjects of the school – and they began to learn. This book is the result of a Freedom Writer course during the spring-semester 2015. During the course the students were faced with different writing exercises as well as hand-on art-making ranging from drawings over photos to videos. The texts, pictures and other contents of the book are made anonymous to protect the participating students as these products might be very personal. And personal it has to be, when you become aware of whom you actually are!

"Reflections and Interpretations" is an anthology on The Freedom Writers’ methodology. It is an anthology for all those with a professional need for texts explaining, not only how The Freedom Writers’ tools are being used, but also why they work so convincingly well. It is not an anthology of guidelines; it is an anthology of explanations based on theory. And it is an anthology written by Freedom Writer Teachers – who else could do it?

"Reflections and Interpretations" is an anthology on The Freedom Writers’ methodology. It is an anthology for all those with a profes-sional need for texts explaining, not only how The Freedom Writers’ tools are being used, but also why they work so convincingly well. It is not an anthology of guidelines; it is an anthology of explanations based on theory. And it is an anthology written by Freedom Writer Teachers – who else could do it?