Former Howell HS teacher is one of the authors of new Freedom Writers Foundation book

The former Howell High School English Teacher who touched off a book banning crusade by the defunct anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE” PAC (Livingston Organization for Values in Education), in the fall of 2006 is one of the authors of the soon-to-be-released book, “The Freedom Writers Diary, The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide.”

Cathy Capy was using the inspirational book, “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them" by Erin Gruwell in her 10th grade advanced English course when the LOVE group raised a stink about alleged profanity. It launched a censorship campaign that also included a move to ban Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy " and the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.” It was ultimately unsuccessful and led to the unmasking of what the group was really about, but before the crusade died it led to national embarrassment to the community and even an FBI investigation.

Gruwell’s book highlights her experiences at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. that was plagued with gang and racial violence, and she found herself trying to educate students whom many deemed "unteachable." Gruwell encouraged the students to become critical thinkers by reading such books as "The Diary of Anne Frank." Through poignant student entries and Erin’s narrative text, the book chronicles their “eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding.” Gruwell was portrayed by Academy Award-winning actress Hillary Swank in the movie based on the book..

The experience led to the Freedom Writers Foundation that promotes an educational philosophy that honors diversity in the classroom, and it gives students the opportunity to reach their full potential and aspire to higher education.

Capy, who now teaches at the Muskegon WayPoint Academy, participated in the foundation’s most recent project; the publication of the newest book, “Teaching Hope: Stories from the Freedom Writers Teachers.” The book is a compilation of diary entries, much like the original book that started the foundation.

The book is set to be officially released on August 18 to coincide with the release of “The Freedom Writers Diary: 10th Anniversary Edition,” but the book can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com, and the Foundation will receive a portion of the proceeds.

Capy is spending the summer promoting the book. Capy and her fellow Freedom Writer teachers will be traveling to Washington, D.C. in September to participate in the national book tour and to promote a social justice agenda and encourage Congress to adopt the Freedom Writers methods as part of educational "best practices.” She also plans to hold book signings in Livingston County and in the Grand Haven/Muskegon area where she currently teaches. Capy is trying to line up venues, but a book signing has been scheduled for 5:30-7:00 p.m. on August 19 at Barnes & Noble in Green Oak Township.

“I really appreciate any and all support you can give to this movement, as education is an issue that affects us all,” Capy said.

I can’t wait to get my signed copy.

Coulter Quote of the Week: Speaking for the GOP, more than half of U.S. citizens hate their country

This week’s Coulter quote of the week illustrates how the queen of hate is going to enrich the community and raise the political discourse in the country and community when she speaks for 30 grand at the Cleary University’s Economic Club Speakers Luncheon Series in the fall.

It further illustrates how she speaks for Republicans, no matter how hard publicly the GOP tries to distance themselves from her.

Tuesday saw a perfect example how groups like Cleary are furthering and enforcing the false image of Howell and Livingston County as a racist, intolerant community that throws down the red carpet and money at bigots of all shapes and sizes, and how others are trying to do away with that image.

From the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, students from mostly white Howell High School and a predominantly black high school near Flint have begun an exchange program with the first meeting to discuss the controversial book "The Freedom Writers Diary." Students from Cathy Capy's 10th-grade accelerated English class met with students from Hamady High School this month, and the hope is to develop a permanent relationship between the schools.

"The students want to change the image that we're a racist community and that we're intolerant," said Capy, whose assignment of "The Freedom Writers Diary" started a dispute over the sexual content of the book earlier in the school year. "They said we can't change unless we know what we need to change. They're stepping out of their comfort zone."

Here are the weekly gems of poison:
"If you don't hate Clinton and the people who labored to keep him in office, you don't love your country."---George, 7/99

"I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."---TV Guide 8/97

Unbanned book is unpulled from high school

A book that was banned by Howell Public Schools from its advanced 10th grade English class because of alleged profanity and references to drugs and sex acts was approved for use by the high school’s English and language arts teachers, according to an article in today’s edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

The approval for the book, “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them" comes just the day before a movie based on it is released in theaters starring Academy Award Winner Hiliary Swank.

The book has been a source of controversy for the past couple of months, and its has not helped Livingston County’s image as an intolerant place that discriminates and shuns diversity and other opinions. The school district has taken exception to the word banned, and they say it was just “pulled” for further review after a few parents complained about the book. I’m not all that sure what the difference is between banned and pulled, but apparently there is a difference even if the result is the same.

What this approval by the teachers means is a little unclear to me, or why the approval is news. Late last month the newspaper reported that 17 English teachers at Howell High School signed a statement that said the book was approved and used as a supplemental part of the curriculum by the Howell High School English department last year. Isn’t this new approval what they just did for the second time?

The article today said the district's Curriculum Council had the final approval, and the council meets next week. What the article does not say is who is on the Curriculum Council. Is it all teachers, all administrators or both? Are there any parents on the council or any of the elected school board members? Does the elected school board have any say in the matter?

Today’s article goes on to quote Marybeth Roose, the district's director of community education and communication, as saying parents have the option of choosing another book if this one offends them, but that option has always been there, and it was there before this entire flap began.
"They (parents) are encouraged to contact the instructor, express that concern and a replacement could be assigned," she said. "It would be a book that would achieve the same outcome in terms of instruction, but do it in a different way."