Freedom Writers

I substitute taught at the high school yesterday. The teacher I taught for ran in the California International Marathon the day before, and I thought I was called in so she could have a day to recover, but no; she was on campus, in an all-day meeting.

There was a blood drive on campus, so during my prep period I went in and donated blood. I gave blood twice when I was a teenager, but being somewhat squeemish, I didn't give blood again until the summer before last. I figured since my son, who has diabetes, has been poking his finger to test his own blood since he was four could do that, then I should be able to give blood. So I've done it four times in the past 17 months.

While teaching, I saw a book on the teacher's desk called Freedom Writers. I had heard of the book before; it's about a real class of inner-city kids and their teacher, who learn about tolerance and end up travelling to important places and meeting important people. The book itself is made up of the class' journal entries.

It's a fascinating book. I read as much as I could while keeping an eye on the students in my own class. At the end of the day, I discovered that it has been made into a movie (starring Hilary Swank), which will be in theaters January 12. I hope the movie is as good as the book.