Erin Gruwell’s passion to become a teacher is soon challenged by a group of Black, Latino, and Asian gangbangers who hate her even more than each other. When Erin begins to listen to them in a way no adult has ever done, she begins to understand that for these kids, getting through the day alive is enough they are not delinquents but teenagers fighting a war of the streets that began long before they were born. Erin gives them something they never had from a teacher before - respect.