After spending the first eight chapters outlining the problems facing inner-city schools, Kozol now brings us to the obvious question, “What do we do about it?” And his stunning answer is, “I don’t know.”
There are small cries for revolution (“We need teachers marching in the streets”) and small examples of things gone right.
Chicago is moving some of their Section Eight families to smaller outlying towns, effectively desegregating those neighborhoods and schools.
Still, as Gary Orfield states, “The problem [is that] so many people who are caught up in these situations cannot step outside the box… Choice left to itself will increase stratification.”
Successful desegregated school systems, such as
Louisville, KY and
St. Louis, MO, are still in danger of being phased out by lawmakers and budget cuts.
There is no quick and easy fix to the segregation problem, which seems to get worse as time passes and more laws prohibitive to desegregation get passed. Kozol seems to be indicating that the only way to see a change is through a socio-political revolution. What he doesn’t offer is a way to start one nor does he give us any hope that, even if such a cultural coup were to take place, that the new boss wouldn’t be the same as the old boss.
If teachers are to be at the forefront of the revolution, someone is going to have to step up and light the fuse.
