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drsus's review against another edition
5.0
Required reading for anyone in education, or really for anyone! Disheartening and sad, but people need to understand the real conditions in America's schools. We should not have 3rd-world conditions in a first-world country.
blair74's review against another edition
3.0
The age of this book is certainly a hurdle. Though the larger hurdle is the author's tendencies to reduce descriptive tellings to just one or two adjectives. Detailing conditions as “ deplorable” or “unimaginable” doesn't contribute to the readers understanding, just incites more outrage. There is, however, enough detail in the book to justify readers' outrage. I would suggest reading this book to others for it's coverage of education situations in multiply cities and regions in the United States, but readers will best be served by counting their reading with the progress of the issue.
babyspock's review against another edition
5.0
“There is a deep-seated reverence for fair play in the United States, and in many areas of life we see the consequences in a genuine distaste for loaded dice; but this is not the case in education, health care, or inheritance of wealth. In these elemental areas we want the game to be unfair and we have made it so; and it will likely so remain.”
This book was so well researched and laid out, but it was so tough to read the atrocities of our education system that are allowed to continue to this day.
This book was so well researched and laid out, but it was so tough to read the atrocities of our education system that are allowed to continue to this day.
engpunk77's review against another edition
4.0
Although very well written, I had a hard time getting through this book in the beginning because a narrative of the author seemed so contrived and fake that I didn't have any faith in the author's credibility. He begins by recounting a time when he read poems by Robert Frost and Langston Hughes to 4th graders who read at a second grade level. My first reaction was incredulity, as this seemed like the least likely way to get kids interested in poetry (his initial intent). Shel Silverstein and his hilarious poems about boogers is more in their range of interests. He seems to get carried away when painting a picture of his deep impact on the children he encounters when he writes that one of these students cried when he read "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like [b:a raisin in the sun|5517|A Raisin in the Sun|Lorraine Hansberry|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165522672s/5517.jpg|3154525]?" I am not gullible enough to believe that a barely literate 4th-grader could comprehend the word "deferred," as a major cause of reading comprehension problems is a limited vocabulary. Furthermore, the idea of such a student applying this line of poetry to her own situation is even less likely. This seemed to me an obvious attempt at rewriting the past to fluff his own feathers. Needless to say, as Kozol passionately and indignantly describes the horrors of the inner-city schools he observed, I had a hard time actually believing him, as I had already detected his tendency towards hyperbole.
As I continued the journey, enjoying all the while Kozol's word artistry and trying to believe (and not to believe) what he was saying, I began to believe what seems to be an impossible truth about America. Thank goodness he quoted so many other people to give more credibility to his reporting and commentary. I'm horrified and appalled, naturally, but more importantly, I explored my own prejudices toward the victims of his story. He bitterly points out that Americans feel that children in poverty have less value---do I feel that way? Of course not. Well......it all started to sink in. It's true that I have my own child in private school and that I haven't advocated for or even been aware of the problem concerning the education of children in poverty. How can this be such a dirty little secret? We just celebrated this big anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education---how is it that people don't realize the truth behind segregation? The facts are public, it's all out in the open, and Kozol poses an apt question when he wonders why there is this lack of interest (at least),moral outrage, and action by almost all of us.
While much of the facts and supporting evidence is repetitive (it needs to be, to show that this is everywhere--a repeating pattern), the book gets even more interesting towards the end. The discourse on health care issues and how they correlate with education issues truly opens your eyes. The issue of a government choosing who lives and dies is the philosophical quandary that we toss back and forth in literary discussions of novels such as "The Giver" and "1984"--here is real life application.
This book really opened my eyes, posed real-life problems I had never considered, and gave me information I don't know what to do with. And tomorrow I go back to my teaching job--where I teach a 100% caucasion population and complain about the little things that are of no consequence in comparison to having 45 kids in a classroom with no windows. This time, I might realize what I take for granted. Maybe I'll discuss these issues with my kids, but they won't believe me. I don't know what else I'll really do with this new knowledge.
My favorite quotes from this book:
1) pg. 117 about prevention vs. remedy.
2) (About low-achieving students who disrupt the learning environment):
"Knowing one is ruined is a powerful incentive to destroy the learning opportunities for other children, and the consequence in many schools is nearly uncontrollable disruption."
My question: is tracking supposed to help or hinder this problem? When mixed in with kids who are striving to succeed, don't these ones just get weeded out anyway and put in alternative ed classes where all the students spend the day making their learning environment one in which it is impossible to learn?
Julie
As I continued the journey, enjoying all the while Kozol's word artistry and trying to believe (and not to believe) what he was saying, I began to believe what seems to be an impossible truth about America. Thank goodness he quoted so many other people to give more credibility to his reporting and commentary. I'm horrified and appalled, naturally, but more importantly, I explored my own prejudices toward the victims of his story. He bitterly points out that Americans feel that children in poverty have less value---do I feel that way? Of course not. Well......it all started to sink in. It's true that I have my own child in private school and that I haven't advocated for or even been aware of the problem concerning the education of children in poverty. How can this be such a dirty little secret? We just celebrated this big anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education---how is it that people don't realize the truth behind segregation? The facts are public, it's all out in the open, and Kozol poses an apt question when he wonders why there is this lack of interest (at least),moral outrage, and action by almost all of us.
While much of the facts and supporting evidence is repetitive (it needs to be, to show that this is everywhere--a repeating pattern), the book gets even more interesting towards the end. The discourse on health care issues and how they correlate with education issues truly opens your eyes. The issue of a government choosing who lives and dies is the philosophical quandary that we toss back and forth in literary discussions of novels such as "The Giver" and "1984"--here is real life application.
This book really opened my eyes, posed real-life problems I had never considered, and gave me information I don't know what to do with. And tomorrow I go back to my teaching job--where I teach a 100% caucasion population and complain about the little things that are of no consequence in comparison to having 45 kids in a classroom with no windows. This time, I might realize what I take for granted. Maybe I'll discuss these issues with my kids, but they won't believe me. I don't know what else I'll really do with this new knowledge.
My favorite quotes from this book:
1) pg. 117 about prevention vs. remedy.
2) (About low-achieving students who disrupt the learning environment):
"Knowing one is ruined is a powerful incentive to destroy the learning opportunities for other children, and the consequence in many schools is nearly uncontrollable disruption."
My question: is tracking supposed to help or hinder this problem? When mixed in with kids who are striving to succeed, don't these ones just get weeded out anyway and put in alternative ed classes where all the students spend the day making their learning environment one in which it is impossible to learn?
Julie
blueranger9's review against another edition
4.0
I was talking to my roommate about the fact the book is over 20 years old by now. It makes me wonder what has changed...then I remember the year I spent in a classroom in one of the most under served schools in one of the largest school districts in the country, and I was righteously indignant all over. I think we fail to see that if we don't all invest in the future of children-(be they "ours" or not, because the reality is that ALL children are our children)-we all lose.
We will lose in the economic matters, the cultural ones but most importantly the human component.
Kozol spoke a lot of financial equality. Money, the message seems to be, is crucial to rich districts but will be of little difference to the poor. He went on about equality v equity. Equity is seen as dispossession. Our country can't attempt both liberty AND equity?!
Every act of opposition demonstrates that those who question common sense ideas about the worth of spending money to create a better education for poor children have no doubts about the usefulness of spending money for the things that they desire. Do they really think that economics, which control all other aspects of our lives in this society, cease to function at the school house?!
Segregated, poorly-funded schools. Public school finance system reform.
These are all critical issues that need to be ever-present and at the forefront of our policy makers. Our public school system has, in effect, become an educational caste system. Those who fight so vehemently against attempting to solve the problems of equity are the ones who benefitted from privilege. "Democracy can stand certain kinds and amounts of inherited advantage. What democracy cannot tolerate is an aristocracy padded and protected by the state itself from competition from below."
Even an unadorned restatement of the contention of the connection between spending on the quality of education, is sufficient to reveal its absurdity. If one district has more funds, it has greater choice in what it can offer...if monetary inequity has no consequence to education, why does the right fight so hard against its abolishment?!
It sickens me that people make the argument that "poor districts are infringing on my rights, abusing the system, wah, wah, waaah." Wealthier districts receive state aid and federal funding. Care to give that back? Banks get bailed out by tax payers and the children who go home hungry on weekends are the ones who are described as "leeches" to the system?! Atrocious.
I won't even attempt to speak to people who want to abolish social service programs. That's another story for another day. What is blatantly apparent is that I was beyond blessed to have gone to Great Neck Public Schools. It is through this privileged lens that I hope to continue to work for those who have not.
We will lose in the economic matters, the cultural ones but most importantly the human component.
Kozol spoke a lot of financial equality. Money, the message seems to be, is crucial to rich districts but will be of little difference to the poor. He went on about equality v equity. Equity is seen as dispossession. Our country can't attempt both liberty AND equity?!
Every act of opposition demonstrates that those who question common sense ideas about the worth of spending money to create a better education for poor children have no doubts about the usefulness of spending money for the things that they desire. Do they really think that economics, which control all other aspects of our lives in this society, cease to function at the school house?!
Segregated, poorly-funded schools. Public school finance system reform.
These are all critical issues that need to be ever-present and at the forefront of our policy makers. Our public school system has, in effect, become an educational caste system. Those who fight so vehemently against attempting to solve the problems of equity are the ones who benefitted from privilege. "Democracy can stand certain kinds and amounts of inherited advantage. What democracy cannot tolerate is an aristocracy padded and protected by the state itself from competition from below."
Even an unadorned restatement of the contention of the connection between spending on the quality of education, is sufficient to reveal its absurdity. If one district has more funds, it has greater choice in what it can offer...if monetary inequity has no consequence to education, why does the right fight so hard against its abolishment?!
It sickens me that people make the argument that "poor districts are infringing on my rights, abusing the system, wah, wah, waaah." Wealthier districts receive state aid and federal funding. Care to give that back? Banks get bailed out by tax payers and the children who go home hungry on weekends are the ones who are described as "leeches" to the system?! Atrocious.
I won't even attempt to speak to people who want to abolish social service programs. That's another story for another day. What is blatantly apparent is that I was beyond blessed to have gone to Great Neck Public Schools. It is through this privileged lens that I hope to continue to work for those who have not.
yo_oying's review
3.0
dnf, but only because the book was repetitive. it was interesting tho, and very eye opening!
finnsnowbevi's review
5.0
It's so disturbing to think this is the reality of the United States education system. I know right now in my public high school, the teachers are all protesting because they're so underpaid and have no viable contracts. To think that kids are expected to learn in the conditions described in this book is despicable. Everyone deserves a fair, equal education. No ifs, ands, or buts.
metamanchester's review
2.0
I honestly only read half of this book. I felt like I had read the same thing over and over and over. I understand what Kozol was trying to do, but it was just like beating a dead horse after a while.
ariel_bloomer's review
5.0
This book makes me simultaneously want to scream and sit down to write a revised education budget.
A quarter century later and you *know* none of this has changed for the better.
We should make this required reading in high school... Or at least in the high schools where students can read.
A quarter century later and you *know* none of this has changed for the better.
We should make this required reading in high school... Or at least in the high schools where students can read.
queengwen's review against another edition
4.0
It was repetitive but for a good reason. It was trying to say :these inequalities in our public school's exist and it's unfair. My mother should not have to move states so her children can get an better education. In a detroit public school system, my mother dropped out (she went back), my uncles dropped out ,both of my females cousins dropped out. The statistic are disheartening. The question is also , if we give low income schools more money, will they improve dropout rates. I don't think so but I think it will better prepare those who don't drop out for college or secondary education.
To the book:
The words ran together for me at some points but I still knew I had to read it . I put it down for a week when I realized it's going to take me some time to get through it. The author seemed to try to bring in a story like feel to it but he didn't accomplish it fully but it was an informative read.
To the book:
The words ran together for me at some points but I still knew I had to read it . I put it down for a week when I realized it's going to take me some time to get through it. The author seemed to try to bring in a story like feel to it but he didn't accomplish it fully but it was an informative read.