Lori Pyles: Freedom Writers

Our guest speaker, Lori Pyles, on Friday, was full of great information and inspiration. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was that this woman truly has her heart set on her students in the classroom despite the fact she is teaching in a detention center. I remember what she said specifically, she is not to correspond with her students outside the classroom, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't think of them ALL THE TIME! Those are words from a true teacher!

The many examples she gave us of students in her experience as a teacher teaching hope really touched me. The one that affected me the most was the story about her student Axl. After having her students begin writing journals, Axl, one of the least likely to open up, actually put his trust in Lori and wrote about his experience of watching his grandpa shoot his dog as a punishment for it peeing. I just really wanted to cry when I heard this. The story was very traumatic, but touching that Lori accomplished such trust with detention center students!

Another thing that really stuck out to me was how Lori explained to us that one of her students kept egging her on, calling her the "stupidest teacher," and such, but Lori brushed it aside and let the teenager do the talking. After awhile, the student showed hurt that a different teacher actually fought back. Lori then quoted Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." She is right! Just as her one story about the student who hit her--everyone made Lori the victim, but in reality, the student was the victim of such an unfair system, both educational and judicial!

I will remember a lot of her words and use them to strengthen the relationships I build with my students.