Erin Gruwell, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The reason why this leader was chosen was essentially because she demonstrates compassion and a commitment to the education of her students.  These skills are presented in her ability to be successful in leadership.  Unlike most of successful leader, she is selfless.  For example, leaders such as the President or Bill Gates have pursued their own interests and what they do actually benefit themselves just as much as anybody else.  Unlike these leaders, what Erin Gruwell has done is not for her own benefit.  This demonstrates an important distinction that can be made between her and other leaders.  For this reason, she is an important leader that should be given credit for her accomplishments.

Current Business Highlights

The current highlights of her business can be understood in regards to the foundation that she started.  Erin Gruwell started the Freedom Writer’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization that utilizes the teaching method that she developed in order to enhance the academic performance of students through the employment of methods geared towards reducing dropout rates.  This indicates a dedication towards the education of those who may not be able to attain one otherwise and in developing interests in higher education among these students.  This is done by not only promoting activities that enhance the interest that students have in attaining an education but also in providing them the opportunity to obtain a better education.

This is evident in the underlying desires of her organization to develop these capabilities in their students.  The main goal of the organization is to develop an interest in academic pursuits in students in order to steer them away from criminal or other deviant activities.  They also provide various sources of funding such as grants and scholarships for needy students who wouldn’t be able to attend school otherwise.  This demonstrates a commitment to education in regards to her overall career objectives.  These objectives provide evidence of the underlying emotional intelligence that she has.  This is important in understanding the capacity of the organization to provide these opportunities.

The challenges that are faced by students are presented as considerations of her overall goals.  This demonstrates the intentions that she has regarding the capacity of educators to provide the most effective education to those who need them the most or those who desire to make something of themselves.  In order to promote interest in education she sees the importance of developing the underlying interpersonal and social skills necessary to provide students with the capabilities that they need to succeed.  In developing curriculums intended to challenge students the organization effectively provides sources of education that will help students to become more interested in learning and achieve more.

The commitment that her organization has is in regards to the establishment of the most effective methods of providing these services to those students that they are trying to help.  This presents the underlying considerations that their mission is attempting to contend with.  Their mission is essentially to provide the necessary tools to educators in order to empower students to do their best academically.  This underlying goal is important in the implications that their organization has in regards to the ability for the emotional understanding of Gruwell to provide a strong foundation for the implementation of their goal.

Emotional Intelligence Assessment

She seems to have the self-awareness necessary for a positive EIA assessment.  She indicates that she has a lot of confidence in her willingness to work with students.  This is an important basis for the capacity of her EI to help to provide important benefits to the organization that she created.  Furthermore, she challenges students to determine their own paths in her ability to confidently provide them with opportunities.  This can help to challenge the aspects of educational motivation that she is attempting to provide to the students within her organization.

She also demonstrates self-regulation through her conscientiousness towards the students and their needs.  The development of her curriculum further presents the adaptability that she had in determining her student’s needs.  Furthermore, her ability to provide students with the capability to attend schools presents a sense of innovation.  This innovation presents an important alternative to those who would have otherwise been unable to attain any further education or would not have been interested in pursuing any further education for themselves beyond what is required.

The underlying motivation that she had seems to consider the drive she had to achieve her goals.  Her ability to follow through and the creation of the foundation demonstrates her commitment to this issue.  The initiative she showed in determining these needs and implementing policies in order to establish better avenues towards education for students further demonstrates the level of emotional intelligence that she has.  This is important in determining the overall consideration that she has for her students.  This further demonstrates how she was able to overcome various challenges in order to establish a more coherent organization.

Her commitment to service as well as her awareness of the needs of other people demonstrates that she has empathy.  Furthermore, her ability to leverage the need to satisfy diversity in the student body is present in the implementation of her policies.  In developing the organization in a successful way, she demonstrates a level of political awareness and a personal commitment to those that she decided to help.  This is an important element in determining the level of emotional intelligence that she has.  The level is demonstrated by the ability of the organization to provide students with necessary services.

Finally, her emotional intelligence is demonstrates in her portrayal of various social skills that were necessary in implementing these policies.  Her influence is demonstrated in her ability to not only create the organization but also to develop it into a success.  In collaborating and cooperating with others, she indicates a high level of competence in regards to her emotional intelligence.  This is evident in her ability to demonstrate personal, social, and organization competence in the face of difficulty.

The level of cultural awareness that she demonstrates in the creation of this organization and throughout her teaching career is highlighted by her ability to provide opportunities to her students to achieve a higher level of education.  In this way, the emotional intelligence that she had was essential in her success in implementing the programs.  By building relationships with others and establishing lasting bonds with the students that she worked with she was able to successfully promote her organization and implement strategies in order to help the students succeed.  Her ability to help people on an individual level demonstrates a level of cultural intelligence that was necessary for her to be successful.

Other leadership qualities include independence and self-actualization.  Her independence is demonstrated in her ability to develop her curriculum in a new and novel way that had not been done before.  This has allowed her to succeed.  In this sense, she pursued a sense of self-actualization in her desire to help students.  Although there was no guarantee that she would personally benefit from helping her students or the implementation of her organization, she went forward with it anyways, demonstrating a level of social responsibility that is apparent in her emotional character.

Conclusion

Erin Gruwell is an example of an individual who has sacrificed much of her time and energy in order to provide services for others.  I, personally, could never commit such a sacrifice for other people, especially when unsure of what the ultimate outcome will be.  She represents a moral authority in regards to how people should act towards other.  This is why I admire her so much.

Works Cited

Freedom Writers. Dir. Richard LaGravenese. Perf. Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, and Patrick Dempsey. MTV Films. 2007. Film.

Freedom Writers Foundation. http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/. 2015. Web.

Floyd, Raymond. Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers. IEEE Transactions Professional Communication. 2007. Print.

O’Hara, Marguerite. Freedom Writers: Their Stories Their Words. Screen Education. 2007.