He lagged behind his peers in English grammar and skills so much so his elementary school counselor switched him to ESOL – mainly because his given name was Manuel Valentin Sarmiento. “I don’t have words to describe how much that hurt me.” If you don’t get your act together, you’re going to end up like your daddy. ![]() “Your clothes stink and the kids are complaining. “Why do your clothes look like you don’t have a washing machine?” a teacher asked him. He uses the example of the elementary teacher who called him out for wearing dirty clothes and failing to do his homework. What you say can either create distance or alignment.” Try to understand what they have to go through to get to your classroom. “Humble yourself and become a student of your students,” he said. To her, what mattered most was getting their words onto paper, allowing them free expression. She told them not to worry about grammar and punctuation. Gruwell asked the students to start writing about their lives – the violence, the unimaginable struggles they faced growing up. “You are going to be great one day,” she told him. Her words gave him inspiration at a time he felt like giving up. “People committed to making a difference.”Įven the lunch lady made an impression. “I had the help of people just like you,” he said. The Fs and Ds he earned before dropping out were soon replaced by As and Bs once surrounded by caring educators. Math and science teachers also tutored him, ensuring he’d understand and continue. He landed in English teacher Erin Gruwell’s class, her work made famous by the 2007 motion picture movie “Freedom Writers.” One of the original students of Gruwell’s first class, Scott recalls Gruwell reaching him and other students by using the rap music of Tupak Shakur and Snoop Dog as teaching tools for Shakespeare, metaphors and iambic pentameter. It took a caring stranger to break the cycle, offering advice to turn his life around and return to school. Violence and despair plagued his childhood: sexually abused, father in prison, skipped nearly half the school year from 4 th to 9 th grade, dropped out by 14, homeless and hungry, lived in 26 places by 16, and lost friends to gunshots. “Life at its best is about helping people, loving people, serving people and positioning other people to flourish.” “I am convinced you got into education and you are still here despite its challenges because you believe that life at its best isn’t about how much money you have or how many degrees you’ve earned or how many things you’ve accumulated in life,” he told principals and other administrators. He used the song to tell how his story changed because of dedicated and caring educators who encouraged him and didn’t give up on him – despite knowing his disturbing past and the challenges he continued to face. If I can help somebody, from doing wrong. If I can help somebody, with a word or song. “If I can help somebody, as I travel along. He began his presentation singing Mahalia Jackson’s “If I can Help Somebody,” a gospel song to illustrate his life mission now and encouraged others to follow suit. Scott wrapped up the last day of the Champion By Design Conference by sharing his message of hope. Original Freedom Writer Manny Scott inspired administrators last Thursday at Bowie High School by painting a picture of how he emerged from a teenager living on the streets involved in gangs and drugs to his life now as a motivational speaker and doctoral student.
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