Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997 Summary and Analysis

As usual, Ms Gruwell begins this chapter with an analysis of what has gone on since the last she wrote. She reports that getting permission to teach Senior level English was difficult. Considering she has less seniority than many of her peers, and teaching higher level English classes requires seniority, getting permission required going to the superintendent and president of the Board of Education. But she succeeded and will, indeed, teach the class their final year at Wilson High School.

She's determined that her primary focus this year will be to get the Freedom Writers to think about their future, particularly go to college. College is a foreign concept to many of Gruwell's students. Since she's basically "mom" to 150 college-bound kids, she's enlisted the help of 75 graduate students, who will be...