Monday, February 22, 2010

Romeo & Juliet

Diaries 15 & 16 are student reactions to the play Romeo & Juliet. Explain how Ms. Gruwell's students were able to make connections between their own lives and the story of Romeo & Juliet. What lessons did they learn from the play? How did the play reflect their personal experiences?

57 comments:

  1. Ms. G. knew that her students had been referred to as "remedial" or "boneheaded" students. She wanted to show her students that they were just as capable as other students. She also wanted her students to be able to relate to what they were reading. She took it upon herself to show her students that Shakespeare "had it going on." She thought that if she presented the Capulets and the Montagues as the true "OG's" that they would not only wanto to read it, but they would see that they were not alone. The would see that the pointless fighting between rivals is a univeral theme that they could overcome.
    Miss Lewis

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  2. On diary 15 it talked about the differnt gangs there are. They are comparing them like the Montagues & the capulets. And on diary 16 A latina girl made a connection on how she and her boyfriend use to be together, how they ran away and then got caught. But at school she got to see him, her parets didn't want them together, like in Romeo & Juliet.
    Marlenne Vazquez

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  3. one of the girls said that they compared their selves to juliet just beacause they were young and they were falling in love. and that she even ran away from home. the one thing i notice was that she was abused by her parents just because they didnt like her boyfriend and the fact that she ran away. she also mention that they decided to stop sneaking around and just to give it a couple of days she said that she would never kill her self because she was in love with a boy but juliet did. so i think she changed her mind about comparing her self to juliet 591411
    nyakuoth chuol

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  4. The girl was in love with her boyfriend and she couldn't see him because of her parents. They tried to hide their love by calling and being with each other on the bus or anywhere else,but her parents finally caught her.Just like Romeo and Juliet they also got caught. The girl in the book discovered that she was too young and stupid because she fell in love with a guy she didn't even know in her life and that her mom was right about it.
    -My Nguyen (:

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  5. Ms. G said that the capulets and Montagues were like the Latino and Asian gangs. The kids learned that gans are sometimes reasonless. Some of the students could really connect to this because most of the students there have been or are in a gang right then and there.


    Anthony Allen

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  6. Charictors in the book compared to Romeo and Juliet, and their own lifes were alike in one way then different in another: I say that because there was this one girl that had a boyfriend and she thought she was just like Juliet until her parents caught her and told her to wait until she was fifteen; She noticed she really wasn’t in love like Romeo and Juliet were. The personal experiences tell you that you’ll never now your inlove unless your older and wiser.
    Nicole Marie : )

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  7. the rivalry between the two gangs is like the play becauseit is just like the montegues and the capulets.they dont like eachother because it is history so if your in a asian gang you dont like the latino gang and the other way around.the girl was like juliet because she fell in love at first sight except the girl took two months.also her parents dont want her to see him but still sneaks out like romeo and juliet. and they both learned what they are doing is dumb

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  8. In this passage i heard a story about this qirl and she made really qood connections with romeo and juliet. she was sayinq how she didnt know why juliet killed herself over a quy that she only knew for a day or so. she told us that she wouldnt kill herself over her boyfriend. Another qirl said that she in love in 1 day. i think that juliet made a scrafice for her love. i dont know what to think bout hiddinq from her parents that she is married to romeo.

    Kayla Riney :)

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  9. Diary 15: The kid realized just how stupid the feud between the Asians and Latinos are. And that it's just like the Montagues and Capulets. They both stated a long time ago, neither knew why it started, and why they're still fighting.
    Diary 16: The girl fell in love and went sneaking behind er parents backs just like Juliet. But the girl didn't go to the extremes of want and desire that Juliet did, that she would rather die then not be with her Romeo. But in the end she got what they both wanted and were happy.
    ~Jordan~W~

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  10. Diary 15 they compaired it to latino and asian gangs.
    I thinlk he/she understood because they compaired it to gangs. Afet reading Romeo and juliet i think he/she realized that gangs really have ni point.
    -571224(:

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  11. I read entry number 16, and it was about a girl and she made connections with Juliet and her own life. The girl in the entry was talking about how she had a boyfriend and she sneaked off to his house. When her parents arrived they were MAD at her, her mom started yelling at the boy and her dad punched her in the eye and then her dad started yelling at the boy. So it can relate because its kinda of forbiden love... until shes 15.

    Loryn Hickman =]

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  12. The person in diary 15 made a connection between the Latino gang and the Asian gang at his/her school. The writer explained that gang life in his/her school is like the gang life in Romeo and Juliet. When Mrs.Gwuwell asked the class if they thought it was stupid that the Latino gang and the Asian gang are killing each other. And the writer thought it wasn’t and Mrs.Gwuwell asked why it wasn’t but the writer didn’t know why it wasn’t stupid that the Latino gang and the Asian gang are killing each other and he/she starts to realize that the two gangs fighting is stupid because they didn’t know why they were fighting for. I thought that Mrs.Gwuwell helped the writer realize to understand that fighting for no reason is really stupid and it makes no sense.

    ~♥625970♥~

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  13. I picked entry 16
    I think that she should not have been attacked by her own parents. Her father should not have punched her. Why did she go with him in the first plsce? Did she know they were going to respond like that? I think it was stupid to just walk out and go with somebody if your parents are going to respond by hitting or punching you then screaming at you.
    Trevor A.

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  14. Kayla riney--->
    your diary was awsome :)
    --Nicole Marie

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  15. Nicole
    I agree that with age comes wisdom. When you are young you like to believe that you know what is best and that you are capable of making good decisions. Too often it is only after a decision is made and time passes that we can look back and really understand if we made a good choice or not.
    Miss Lewis

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  16. Diary 15--They thought it was just stupid. It reflected their personal experiences is with gangs !

    Dairy 16--She was in love and she said she fell in love too fast, just like Juliet. She learned from this because they both died for each other and she said she would have not did that.


    --Kayla Heimbaugh ! (:

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  17. Jordan
    Whad did you think of the parents reaction to catching their daughter with her boyfriend. I guess it's better than what Juliet's parents did, which was threaten to kill her and bury her with her cousin.
    Miss Lewis

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  18. the second diary author thought "i could't believe juliet killed herself over a guy she only knew for a few days she says she would never do something like that. i guess shes not as in love as she thought. so i guess she got the idea or the point. She made rhe conecction that her parents don't approve of her boyfriend either. SWhe was still alive and her mom tried to beat her with a shoe. She says "lucky for juliet."

    598863
    ~♥zoe christensen♥~

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  19. I like Miss Lewis's comment :)

    Loryn Hickman

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  21. Miss Lewis,
    That is quite true. I'd rather be beaten with a shoe, told that I can't see my girlfriend, and moved to a different school then to be threatened to be killed by my father. That just doesn't seem... right.

    ~Jordan~White~

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  22. Jordan W
    15 I agree what you say it was dumb that the montagues and Capulets has been a feud for a long time and they are still fighting.
    16 Yeah I think the girl in the book is way smater than Juliet when she killed herself for her beloved Romeo.
    ~580537~

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  23. Loryn Hickman
    When I read that part about the dad punching her in the eye I was realllllyy surprised. I think that the parents should have been more mature about it and not use physical vilence. I think they could have handled it better knowing they have been her parents that long.
    -571224(;

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  24. I very much agree with you 571224
    Loryn Hickman =]

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  25. Diary:16
    In this diary there is a Romeo and Juliet butin a diffferent way than the real story. Like in the play the parents disapprove of her boyfriend. But the girl eventually runs away to be with her boyfriend and then she is caught and punished were as to Juliet couldnt be punished because she is dies. Then Juliet she always has a way to see her boyfriend. In the end though she realized it was young, and fake love and she went through a type of abuse and hatred through her and her family like juliet and her family. This is what happens when you are young and stupid!!!



    ♥Marranda♥Rae♥Knuths♥

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  26. ms lewis why wont you comment my entrys
    waa... (crying)...
    haha joking nya

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  27. This one girl from the book falled in love with a boy and they've been datin' for a long time and she said "she won't do anything crazy for her boyfriend like juliet did, juliet stabbed herself." She compares herself to juliet becasue they are both young and falls inlove with a guy they just met and couldn't last a day without seeing eachother. It relected on their personal experience bacause the girl from the book would run away from home and skip school to see her boyfriend and the girl from the book couldn't se her boyfriend and juliet wasn't allowedd to marry eachother but they did.
    ~571049~

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  28. diary:15 Ms.Gruwell's asking her class all kinds of quistions why Latin gangs fight Asains gangs.She is trying to get it through there heads its not okay to fight.They learned shes right and they shouldnt fight or be in gangs.It reflected them becausse it made them think about what gang there in and how they act. ♥573297♥

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  29. hey guys its nyakuoth here anyway just to let you know your doing a great johb haha making mrs lewis blog very popular ...:)

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  30. Diary 15: This student compared her life situation to the Montagues, and Capulets being just like the Asian, and Latino gang. They both dont know why they are fighting, but still hate eachother. "Thats just the way it is."
    Diary 16:And this student compares the play her relationship between her, and her boyfriend. How they both "fell in love" with someone who was more of a stranger then someone they actually knew. In the end, it all turned out being stupid. All the killings, and being deeply in love, with someone who you didnt even know.
    -568293♥

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  31. this is a beutiful story that ends up in some trouble but finnaly reveals that every teen should not try to live life to fast its just the beggining and they say they are in love



    ~578028~

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  32. April Bender
    They learned no matter what time period your from or what gang you represent stories that are and arent true still sometimes can happen in real life. It shocked them how the Capulets are like the Latin Gang and how the Montegue are like the Asian Gang also how they was rivals. They also learned from the play that some how something will stop the war between the two.

    :)573392:) <3

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  33. hank

    the connection is like their gang family is feuding with another family. the play reflected because they are getting killed and hurt because of the gangs feuding.

    they learned that the reason why their in a gang is feuding is because of something that happen along time ago or because of their race or something else stupid. Also i think if they would have watched the movie we watched they would have liked it because thats how and what there goin threw. except for the love parts but the feuding part yea

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  34. April Bender
    i know it was really crazy that juliet killed herself over love but i would to because if i was inlove i would never live with out that person.

    :)573392:) <3

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  35. it reflected their life because one girl had a boyfriend her parents told her she couldn't see anymore, but she did it anyway.they broke up eventually and then their class finished the play and she decided she didn't love him that much. the other person realized that the fight between the latinos and asians was like the fight between the families in the play;a stupid fight that no one even knew how it started.

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  36. Diary 16 was like totally messed up.The girl ran away with her boyfriend and got caught. She was told she could never see her boyfriend ever again. This girl disobed her parents and jiped classes to go see her boyfriend. Her mom found out that she was still seeing her boyfiend through her Aunt who saw them kissing on the bus. this is stupid and how can this girl compare thi to Romeo & Juliet.
    Ashley Smith <3

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  37. Diary:15 -
    What I learned is that even though they thought they were in love , they really didn't know each other enough .

    Diary:16 -
    It's about how the family feud caused big fights and how they Capulet and the Montague's are just like the gangs in life .

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  38. In diary 16 a girl's parents didn't approve of her boyfriend, sort of like how Juliet's parents did not approve of Romeo. What this girl learned from the play was that she really didn't get to know her boyfriend. She just assumed she was in love. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet's parents said they would kill her if she didn't do what they said and in Freedom Writers her parents found out that she disobeyed them so they pretty much her up. So hopefully she learned her lesson. Hopefully.
    =) Dakota Shelburg =)

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  39. In diary entry sixteen, this one girl thought she was in love, until she read Romeo and Juliet. She then found out she wasn't in as much love as she thought. She barely knew the dude she ran away with, just like Juliet barely knew Romeo. When her parents found them together, they beat her and pulled her hair, which is probably pretty close to what Juliet's parents may have done if they had found her alive. Juliet probably would've died though. lauren cumpton =]

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  40. In the diary 15 this person reacts to the play of Romeo and Juliet as gangs fighting. Ms G switched up the capulets and montague so it would make sence to her class. This person answers the questions as if they were obivious. Ms G made the play modern by changing it into gangs of asians and latinos. This would reflect to them because they would know about gangs.
    568865

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  41. Diary 15: The feud with the Capulets and the Montagues are like the feuds between the Asians and the Latinos. They don't even know why they hate each other.
    Diary 16: Both of their parents didnt like their boyfriends. They tried to keep them apart but they still found a way to see each other. In the end her parents were right all along.

    Victoria Saengsavath aka Mrs. Apolo Ohno x)

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  42. The story about the Montague's and the Capulet's from Romeo and Juliet was easily connected to the Asian and Latino gangs in the one students neighborhood was interesting, And how the kid wondered why everyone in his neighborhood were fighting and killing each other for random reasons and how he thought it was stupid. And also, when the other student fell in love with her boyfriend and then her parents made her stay away from him also seemed to remind the her about Romeo and Juliet. It was weird how the stories the students told were very similar to Romeo and Juliet.

    Allison E. aka Mrs. J.R. Celski. (:

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  43. Everyone is always comparing themselves to Romeo and Juliet. I dont get why they do that the stuff about them isnt even real it is just a story, plus she kills herself because of a guy, i mean come on you are young, pretty and very nice, she could get anyone she wanted. I think people need to stop comparing themselves to them and compare themselves on something real that happpened in the real life instead of some made up story.


    ~Stacia Hill~

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  44. Caitlin you forgot to put your name on it idiot :) Hahaa ! And what you wrote was awful . . . Haha just kidding :)

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  45. i love loryn's comment.
    lauren c.

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  46. I like Zoe's comment its awesome =]

    ♥Dakota Shelburg♥
    (Bert)=)
    Oh AND I LOVE LAUREN CUMPTONS COMMENT!!

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  47. the Montagues & the Capulets were fighting for a stupid family feud, which in the end cost them their loved ones.The gangs were fighting for turf or respect which wasn't even theirs.In the end both causes are worthless since soon or later you die why make it sooner?.The play made the students realize that there were no difference between a family feud and the gangs fighting..
    Zaira!!!! aka beastie!!!!

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  50. stop hatin on my Beastie name!!!!! lol

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  51. Ashley Smith,
    After reading what you wrote you said how can she compare this to Romeo and Juliet and this is how she does.The way that she compares this to Romeo and Juliet is she ran away with a guy who she thinks she loves but the way that it isnt like Romeo and Juliet is she says that her love for him aint enough for her to die for him.So i guess in a way it is like it but in another way it isnt.

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  52. To 568293: I agree when you put "In the end, it all turned out being stupid. All the killings, and being deeply in love, with someone who you didnt even know." It does make sense and I get what you were saying.

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  53. Pshh , im not hatin'

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  54. i agree and love loryn's comment when she said physical violence is immature.
    lauren c.

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  55. I agree with stacia because thats exactly what happened(in a sense). She is a nice girl that would do anything for this guy and she risked everything and failed.

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  57. Dude,april,she'd just met the guy and odds are she wasn't actually in love with him. why would you kill yourself over something so lame?!
    -julianna wegman

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