Transkript (en)

The teacher drew a line down the middle of the classroom and asked all the students to come stand by it. Then she began asking a series of questions. If the answer to a question was yes, the student had to step up to the line. Initially, Erin asked some simple questions. Gradually, many students gathered at the line, glaring angrily at one another. But soon, Erin began asking more sensitive questions. She said, if you have lost a friend, come and stand at the line. This time, almost the entire class moved to the line. They looked at each other. Students who usually disliked one another realized for the first time that everyone carried their own stories of pain and hardship. After the game ended, Erin gave the students a new assignment, to write about their lives in a diary. There were no specific rules. They could write whatever they wanted, as much as they pleased. If a student did not wish to show their diary to Erin, she would not read it. However, if they wanted her to read it, they could place it in a designated classroom cabinet. Before long, the day of the parent-teacher meeting arrived. Erin had prepared thoroughly for it, yet when the meeting began, not a single parent from her class showed up. Meanwhile, the top performing class next door was filled with parents. Seeing this, Erin felt deeply saddened. She wondered, is there no one to look after these children? Just then, she remembered the diary cabinet. When she opened it, she found it filled with diaries. It was then that Erin realized these children had likely never had anyone in their lives who would sit quietly and try to listen to their voices. Erin sat down quietly and began to read the children's diaries, one by one, with great care. The first student, Marcus, had written about how his father was extremely violent and used to beat his mother. He was afraid of his father but felt helpless to do anything about it Another student wrote about playing with a gun alongside a childhood friend A shot went off accidentally and he found himself accused of the incident eventually ending up in jail A third student wrote about being forced to commit illicit acts for a gang living in constant fear for his life. A fourth student explained why he always carried a metal rod with him. Reading about the children's past lives broke Erin's heart. She resolved to help them. These students faced discrimination at school. They were not even easily granted access to library books. Consequently, Erin took on various odd jobs to earn money to buy books for the children. She spent whatever she earned on them. She began by purchasing new books for the students, as they had never owned new books before. Next, Erin decided to fund a field trip out of her own pocket, hoping to help the students see and understand the world better. They visited a Holocaust museum. Before entering, each student was given a photograph of a child, a real person who had lived during World War II. They were told that only at the end of the visit would they discover whether the child in their photograph had survived that horrific era. The students watched videos playing on the screens and felt a personal connection to the events. For the first time, they realized the devastating consequences of racial discrimination. Afterward, Erin arranged a dinner for the students at a restaurant. She also invited Mip Gias, a Holocaust survivor, to join them. She shared her story with the children and showed them the mark on her arm. The students listened in silence, deeply moved by her experiences. That night, the white student who had brought a weapon to school finally put down his gun. Meanwhile, a black student wandering outside wrote in his diary about missing his mother and expressed his feelings regarding her. The next day, when all the students arrived in class, The white and black students greeted each other warmly. They began talking to one another. The hatred that had previously existed between them was gone.