CHAPTER 1
This first chapter of Kozol was really an eye opener. I knew that there were still some racially segregated schools, but never had I imagined that they existed in such vast numbers. It is sad. You would think that being in the 21stcentury things would have changed drastically by now, but apparently this is something that this country has completely put on the hold. No child no matter what their ethnic background should be deprived of a quality education just because of their family’s financial status, but even though they are attending these schools they are not receiving the type of nurturing, loving, encouraging environments that they should be. When he shared about the little girl, Pineapple, who in the previous year had been through four different teachers and in the school all together there were 28 new teachers out of 50 teachers total, I was not shocked at all. Why choose to enter this field if you do not have the passion and willingness to evoke change and promote a safe learning environment for your students? How can we continue to let individuals that we know are not qualified teach our children? Why do we place them in situation where they will not be learning to their full potential mainly because the teacher is not qualified? When Kozol mentioned that the students seemed afraid when they met white children, I thought I might be more shocked, but I wasn’t. I found myself experiencing something similar. The first time that I ever attended school with people other than African Americans was 9th grade. During that year, I found myself being very doubtful of my skills, ready to give up and all in all feeling like I really did not belong. Luckily I met some really cool people throughout high school who are from varying ethnic communities who made the experience comfortable, exciting, challenging and safe all at the same time. One thing that really stood out for me was the quote from the 16 year old girl about how she felt
America would be relieved if they just disappeared and sadly that is how a lot of minority children feel. I have people in my neighborhood that wish they would disappear just to avoid the harsh realities that some feel are nonexistent.
CHAPTER 2
Starting this chapter with quotes from letter of little children was interesting. I like how they were seeking change. They felt they deserved parks, music, etc. They are taking initiative that is not often seen in minority school settings. Kozol mentions the overcrowding found in these schools and different professionals felt that “it wouldn’t happen to white children.” He referred back to the “you have, we do not have” statements that were stated in a lot of the children’s letters and alluded to the fact that this was somehow connected to how government and states felt about the children’s worth to us and the contributions that they may someday give to society. Thinking of it in that terms is really sad because valuing some children’s on what you think they may contribute to society is not the way the educational system or this country should be run. He then list salaries and numbers in relation to student education and teacher salary and also brings up the issue of schools being allotted private funds to certain schools and other schools not being able to do so. Having parents that are able to give to the school and are willing to do so is awesome in the advancement of education for students, but the harsh reality that there are some schools that have parents that are not able to do so is even more vivid today. Is it fair? I can’t answer that, but I am a personal advocate of parent involvement whether that is through monetary donations, classroom involvement, simple phone calls to check in on their child’s progress, etc. Focusing on whether or not this is fair something that we should not be focusing on as much, but we should focus on how we as educators can make sure that these students are receiving the best education possible within our means whether that is taking the extra time or simple words of encouragement. Kozol also mentions the effects on students who did not receive some kind of preschool services before they entered kindergarten and how the government has made it harder for children needing those services to receive them.
