Your news: Freedom Writer visits Hoffman Estates High
Manuel Scott, one of the original “Freedom Writers,” visited Hoffman Estates High School on Nov. 8, to speak to the entire student body and share his ideas about the importance of reaching for the best.
In his message, Scott told his views about the need to DREAM have a Dream, a vision for your life; make a Road map to accomplish the dream; get Exposure to good people and places; make an Action plan; and find Mentors who will help you to accomplish your dream.
As part of the Hawk HOOKS program (Hoffman's Oath of Kindness), Scott spoke about this year's school theme of “acceptance.” His inspiring words challenged the Hoffman Estates High School community to reach its capacity to achieve and serve. He emphasized the need to accept students for who they are and then work toward goals with persistence.
Likewise, students should be responsible for helping others to grow and develop as well.
Scott told the student audience of the need to set and reach goals. He learned that he did not have to settle for the bad, but could work diligently to achieve his goals. He did not advocate a quick fix, but instead spoke of life as a marathon in which one has to continue to develop “recesses of dormant potential.”
People need to move from an “I can” attitude to an attitude of “I will!”
One person can make a difference, just as his teacher, Erin Gruwell, did for him and his class. In 1994, in Long Beach, Calif., Scott was part of a group of students who had been written off. His personal story tells of his transient home life, one filled with substance abuse and poverty. Manuel Scott does not believe that circumstances define a person's life forever.
The Freedom Writers book grew out of a class project in which a teacher encouraged her students to write in journals to express their ideas about their lives of poverty, abuse, and frustration. These journals became the basis for the Freedom Writers, and later the premise for the movie.
Scott's dream is still a work in progress. He received his high school diploma, and then went on to graduate from the University of California-Berkeley. Additionally, he earned a master's degree from Trinity International University, where he is currently working on his PhD. He is married and is a father of three young children. He speaks to audiences all over the world about the need to have hope and to work to accomplish dreams.
Following his talk at Hoffman Estates High School, students gave him a standing ovation and are now putting his words into action.
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