Scan barcode
A review by the_naptime_reader
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools by Jonathan Kozol
3.0
A worthy read if you are interested in learning more about school financing and inequality in education. The book however could benefit from the creation of a revised and expanded edition. It is now 20 years old and while it is interesting to see how little has changed in terms of closing the achievement gap between rich and poor and African-American or Hispanic and White in the US. The interesting thing is that he discusses how schools are beginning to move away from local control. 20 years later this is a much more apparent movement through the creation of No Child Left Behind.
I enjoyed the first two chapters the most and felt he got his point across clearly. The he spends four more chapters beating it into your brain. I didn't need the beating. I have experienced these disparities first hand. My high school was mentioned repeatedly in the book for having money and funds that create an outstanding education. My two years in Philadelphia with Teach for America let me see and experience the other side first hand.
People might read this and think oh this book is 20 years old, it couldn't be this bad anymore.
At my school in Philadelphia (just like this book):
-the track team practiced in the hallways of the building due to lack of athletic space
-students shared textbooks, not every kid had a set to use for the year
-the bathrooms stunk badly
-the heating system had only one swithc on or off creating 90 and 100 degree days in my 4th floor classroom in the middle of the winter, where evry window was open
-no a/c meant the same unbearable conditions in summer
-teachers financed supplies largely out of pocket
-There was one computer lab but spent most of its time locked and off limits to students
-there were no lockerooms for students to change for gym
-the class size could be quite large at times (33 the legal allowance) but I started my first year with 39 on my roster, not enough desks for all in the room. Once the 8th graders began dropping out, gettnig kicked out, etc. I dropped into the mid to upper 20s.
the list goes on and on.
This book just made me said. Another 20 years have gone by and there has not been great systemic change. More generations of children have grown up in inadequate schools.
If you would rather skip the book at least read his most concise explanation of school funding on pages 207-210. It very clearly explains the problems with the current method of funding.
A quote from Kozol (pg 177)-"...the rigging of the game and the acceptance, which is nearly universal, of uneven playing fields reflect a dark unspoken sense that other people's children are of less inherent value than our own. Now and then, in private, affluent suburbanites concede that certain aspects of the game may be a trifle rigged to their advantage. 'Sure, it's a bit unjust,' they may concede, 'but that's reality and that's the way the game is played. In any case,' they sometimes add in a refrain that we have heard now many tmes, 'there's no real evidence that spending money makes much difference in the outcome of a child's education. We have it. So we spend it. But it's probably a secondary matter. Other factors--family and background--seem to be a great deal more important.' In these ways they fend off the dangers of disturbing introspection; and this, in turn, enables them to give their children something far more precious that the simple gift of pedagogic privilege. They give them uncontaminated satisfaction in their victories. Their children learn to shut from mind the possibility that they are winners in an unfair race, and they seldom let themselves lose sleep about the losers."
I enjoyed the first two chapters the most and felt he got his point across clearly. The he spends four more chapters beating it into your brain. I didn't need the beating. I have experienced these disparities first hand. My high school was mentioned repeatedly in the book for having money and funds that create an outstanding education. My two years in Philadelphia with Teach for America let me see and experience the other side first hand.
People might read this and think oh this book is 20 years old, it couldn't be this bad anymore.
At my school in Philadelphia (just like this book):
-the track team practiced in the hallways of the building due to lack of athletic space
-students shared textbooks, not every kid had a set to use for the year
-the bathrooms stunk badly
-the heating system had only one swithc on or off creating 90 and 100 degree days in my 4th floor classroom in the middle of the winter, where evry window was open
-no a/c meant the same unbearable conditions in summer
-teachers financed supplies largely out of pocket
-There was one computer lab but spent most of its time locked and off limits to students
-there were no lockerooms for students to change for gym
-the class size could be quite large at times (33 the legal allowance) but I started my first year with 39 on my roster, not enough desks for all in the room. Once the 8th graders began dropping out, gettnig kicked out, etc. I dropped into the mid to upper 20s.
the list goes on and on.
This book just made me said. Another 20 years have gone by and there has not been great systemic change. More generations of children have grown up in inadequate schools.
If you would rather skip the book at least read his most concise explanation of school funding on pages 207-210. It very clearly explains the problems with the current method of funding.
A quote from Kozol (pg 177)-"...the rigging of the game and the acceptance, which is nearly universal, of uneven playing fields reflect a dark unspoken sense that other people's children are of less inherent value than our own. Now and then, in private, affluent suburbanites concede that certain aspects of the game may be a trifle rigged to their advantage. 'Sure, it's a bit unjust,' they may concede, 'but that's reality and that's the way the game is played. In any case,' they sometimes add in a refrain that we have heard now many tmes, 'there's no real evidence that spending money makes much difference in the outcome of a child's education. We have it. So we spend it. But it's probably a secondary matter. Other factors--family and background--seem to be a great deal more important.' In these ways they fend off the dangers of disturbing introspection; and this, in turn, enables them to give their children something far more precious that the simple gift of pedagogic privilege. They give them uncontaminated satisfaction in their victories. Their children learn to shut from mind the possibility that they are winners in an unfair race, and they seldom let themselves lose sleep about the losers."