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amibunk's review against another edition
4.0
"Savage Inequalities" is a brutally honest, eye opening read that leaves one amazed at the horrors low-income children (minorities in particular) face in the American public education system. Jonathan Kozol exposes the flaws that arise when public education receives most of its funding from local property taxes. He also dismantles the myths and excuses so many of us use to maintain the status quo. It has shattered many of my preconceived notions and has left a hopefully permanent mark within me.
My criticisms are few. Toward the end, the author began to repeat his same arguments and points. Believe me Mr Kozol, your message is clear and effective the first time, no need to risk diluting it with repetition. Also, the lack of solutions (especially on a local level) leaves the reader bogged down in a hopeless despair. After reading about such horrific inadequacies in the public school system, I was primed to do SOMETHING, but found no ideas of what that something could be.
Overall, this is a book I would encourage everyone to read.
My criticisms are few. Toward the end, the author began to repeat his same arguments and points. Believe me Mr Kozol, your message is clear and effective the first time, no need to risk diluting it with repetition. Also, the lack of solutions (especially on a local level) leaves the reader bogged down in a hopeless despair. After reading about such horrific inadequacies in the public school system, I was primed to do SOMETHING, but found no ideas of what that something could be.
Overall, this is a book I would encourage everyone to read.
lavoiture's review against another edition
5.0
If this book doesn't shock you and provoke you to do something to change the world, I don't know what will.
rachelwrites007's review against another edition
3.0
This book was written over 20 years ago yet is still relevant to today and eye opening for me (who grew up next to Paterson, NJ, mentioned in this book).
pcaron_de's review against another edition
4.0
A very important book about inequality. A bit dated now but still an important read. Kozol was talking about inequality long before it became fashionable.
jamesrawillis's review against another edition
5.0
This book, along with others written by Kozol, had a profound impact on my understanding on inequalities within the education system, and poverty in general. Many of the issues that were brought up in this book, published in 1991, seemingly remain in much of the country.
I read this book in the fall of 2007 when I took Intro to Sociology. The professor of this course is one of the top five educators I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. While everyone attending the course did have a primary textbook, he was emphatic on notetaking, preparedness, and seeking more information beyond the survey level coursework. There was a mid-semester debate that was graded not just on preparation, but delivery, and application of sociological ideas. One of the debate topics dealt with funding schools more, or less. Kozol's work was also an example when exploring ethnographic studies and work.
I read this book in the fall of 2007 when I took Intro to Sociology. The professor of this course is one of the top five educators I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. While everyone attending the course did have a primary textbook, he was emphatic on notetaking, preparedness, and seeking more information beyond the survey level coursework. There was a mid-semester debate that was graded not just on preparation, but delivery, and application of sociological ideas. One of the debate topics dealt with funding schools more, or less. Kozol's work was also an example when exploring ethnographic studies and work.
mzgeee53's review against another edition
5.0
Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities is a scathing (but beautifully written!) indictment of American education.
It is almost as old as I am (35), but its age really highlights how little progress we have made since this book came out. It underscores how much work we have left to do when it comes to dissolving inequality experienced by marginalized students.
I honestly don't know if I will ever see these gaping holes close in my lifetime, but I will never stop fighting for children and their right to a quality education no matter their family income, their skin color, or their identity.
If they aren't worth fighting for, what is?
It is almost as old as I am (35), but its age really highlights how little progress we have made since this book came out. It underscores how much work we have left to do when it comes to dissolving inequality experienced by marginalized students.
I honestly don't know if I will ever see these gaping holes close in my lifetime, but I will never stop fighting for children and their right to a quality education no matter their family income, their skin color, or their identity.
If they aren't worth fighting for, what is?
diz_tn's review against another edition
5.0
A compelling look at education inequality in America in the 1980s and '90s. Many of these issues you can still see happening (and worsening) even today in 2016, sadly enough.
Kozol doesn't give simplistic answers to the educational problems. His goal is to simply shed light on the issues, leaving it up to us, to voters, to school districts, and to states to come up with solutions.
A great read for those interested in social studies, politics, sociology, education, and American history.
Kozol doesn't give simplistic answers to the educational problems. His goal is to simply shed light on the issues, leaving it up to us, to voters, to school districts, and to states to come up with solutions.
A great read for those interested in social studies, politics, sociology, education, and American history.
amber_lea84's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely one of my all-time favorite books.
I had to read it in chunks because, my god, it's soul-crushing.
But it's important because this is reality. And it's so easy to go through life never knowing that this shit happens. I went to a relatively shitty high school, it was definitely the poor school in my community, but I didn't have to deal with anything near the same level of deprivation as some of these kids.
This quote (from page 176) basically sums up what is explained in the book:
"But what is now encompassed by the one word 'school' are two very different kinds of institutions that, in function, finance and intention, serve entirely different roles. Both are needed for our nation's governance. But children in one set of schools are educated to be governors; children in the other set are trained for being governed. The former are given the imaginative range to mobilize ideas for economic growth; the latter are provided with the discipline to do the narrow tasks the first group will prescribe."
If that sounds interesting to you, read this freakin' book.
This book was written 21 years ago, but it's still incredibly relevant. I say that as someone who was in second grade when it was released and came up in the aftermath of the situation he described, but also as someone who has lived in these poor areas since graduating from high school. (I currently live in the Cherry Hill/Camden area.) They are still effected by these harsh inequalities. Not only does this book cover the history of the situation, but it's obvious that not a lot has changed. I've looked up the stats of the nearby schools and talked to parents. It's still bad. Maybe even worse in some ways.
I actually saw this video when I was about half way through the book and talks about the same shit. It covers things that happened in 2009.
Now, this book doesn't offer any new solutions. It just lays out how our school system works, the effects, and the solutions that are/have been tried...and the fact that poor kids deserve better than what they're getting now. Which honestly, I appreciate. I often find myself frustrated with "here is a problem and this is how you fix it" books because I want to be informed, more than I want to hear somebody's theories and solutions. I can hear about possible solutions from further reading and research.
Plus, much to the frustration of many readers, this book is just honest: We don't live in a meritocracy, and we likely never will. At least not if we don't drastically overhaul the way we do pretty much everything. You can't describe the problem and come up with a real solution in 230 pages. I think it was smart to just stick to describing the problem and what it means for kids.
This book is excellent. I highly recommend it.
I had to read it in chunks because, my god, it's soul-crushing.
But it's important because this is reality. And it's so easy to go through life never knowing that this shit happens. I went to a relatively shitty high school, it was definitely the poor school in my community, but I didn't have to deal with anything near the same level of deprivation as some of these kids.
This quote (from page 176) basically sums up what is explained in the book:
"But what is now encompassed by the one word 'school' are two very different kinds of institutions that, in function, finance and intention, serve entirely different roles. Both are needed for our nation's governance. But children in one set of schools are educated to be governors; children in the other set are trained for being governed. The former are given the imaginative range to mobilize ideas for economic growth; the latter are provided with the discipline to do the narrow tasks the first group will prescribe."
If that sounds interesting to you, read this freakin' book.
This book was written 21 years ago, but it's still incredibly relevant. I say that as someone who was in second grade when it was released and came up in the aftermath of the situation he described, but also as someone who has lived in these poor areas since graduating from high school. (I currently live in the Cherry Hill/Camden area.) They are still effected by these harsh inequalities. Not only does this book cover the history of the situation, but it's obvious that not a lot has changed. I've looked up the stats of the nearby schools and talked to parents. It's still bad. Maybe even worse in some ways.
I actually saw this video when I was about half way through the book and talks about the same shit. It covers things that happened in 2009.
Now, this book doesn't offer any new solutions. It just lays out how our school system works, the effects, and the solutions that are/have been tried...and the fact that poor kids deserve better than what they're getting now. Which honestly, I appreciate. I often find myself frustrated with "here is a problem and this is how you fix it" books because I want to be informed, more than I want to hear somebody's theories and solutions. I can hear about possible solutions from further reading and research.
Plus, much to the frustration of many readers, this book is just honest: We don't live in a meritocracy, and we likely never will. At least not if we don't drastically overhaul the way we do pretty much everything. You can't describe the problem and come up with a real solution in 230 pages. I think it was smart to just stick to describing the problem and what it means for kids.
This book is excellent. I highly recommend it.