Rating: 
Summary: South Bronx Surviver
Review: Thank you Jonhathan...finally we have a public voice. I grew up in the South Bronx, on the Gran Concourse, and your book brought back many, many troubling and heart wrenching memories.My family became one of the sad statistics you referred to in your book...drugs, violence and jail time..are/were a very much big part of my families life. By the grace of God I have escaped the Bronx to raise my own child in Calf. but I have a longing in my heart to go back to the Bronx to make a difference. It is my plan after college to open a home for the children of the South Bronx and to work with places such as St.Anns to offer hope for these beautiful children. To those in our society that have written us off as hopeless and useless..may God have mercy on you..to the city of NY..may God forgive you for the violations you have inflicted upon the poor of the city... If this book does not urge you to change your views, contribute and help those that are less fortunate then there is surely something wrong with your heart. Johnathn I applaud you for your efforts, your love and concern..may God bless you and to the children of the Bronx.. I will be home soon and we will make a way.
Rating:
Summary: South Bronx Surviver
Review: Thank you Jonhathan...finally we have a public voice. I grew up in the South Bronx, on the Gran Concourse, and your book brought back many, many troubling and heart wrenching memories. My family became one of the sad statistics you referred to in your book...drugs, violence and jail time..are/were a very much big part of my families life. By the grace of God I have escaped the Bronx to raise my own child in Calf. but I have a longing in my heart to go back to the Bronx to make a difference. It is my plan after college to open a home for the children of the South Bronx and to work with places such as St.Anns to offer hope for these beautiful children. To those in our society that have written us off as hopeless and useless..may God have mercy on you..to the city of NY..may God forgive you for the violations you have inflicted upon the poor of the city... If this book does not urge you to change your views, contribute and help those that are less fortunate then there is surely something wrong with your heart. Johnathn I applaud you for your efforts, your love and concern..may God bless you and to the children of the Bronx.. I will be home soon and we will make a way.
Rating:
Summary: Honest and Touching
Review: There are traps all to easy to fall into when writing a book recounting one's interactions with children. The children can be simplified into charicatures, they can be made more complex and no longer childlike, and they can be modified to fit the author's argument. Mr. Kozol draws upon 40 years of working with children to avoid these pitfalls in telling the inspiring and haunting stories of these wonderful children. Mr. Kozol writes with a beautiful simplicity that is both stirring and honest. This is a fabulous book.
Rating:
Summary: A very different Kozol
Review: This book is a radical departure for the author. It offers hope and an amazing view of what we can do for children and for society.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrenching.
Review: This book is brutally frank and wrenching in its portrayal of the children of this community. I have been inspired to purchase the book as a mother's day gift- what could be better than a book that inspires us to remember our dependencies?
Rating:
Summary: warm and deeply moving
Review: This is Kozol's most accessible and most hopeful book. It's a warm and moving portrait of children and adults in a very tough part of New York City, individuals we grow to care about as we journey with Kozol. Unlike his first book, 'Death at an Early Age, these children do not die. Kozol aknowledges and renounces his earlier pessimism and invites us to celebrate the human spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Anything but Ordinary
Review: This powerful work is at once inspiring, frustrating and captivating. Kozol draws the reader into a world called Mott Haven that is filled with substance, love, service and hope. He poignantly describes the lives of children while blasting the manner in which we have chosen to deal with our most needy sectors of society. Kozol's gifted and powerful storytelling reminds us of several truths: 1. Segregation is potentially a bigger problem today than ever. White flight, private schools, school choice, home-schooling, virtual schools and lack of equitable access to technology are widening the gap.
2. Inequities in education must be addressed with the underlying belief that every child has the potential to achieve his/her dreams. Society must be responsible and held accountable for creating conditions ensuring that this occurs.
3. Teachers and students must all be able to work and learn in optimum conditions that safeguard and ensure dignity.
4. Although children appear to be resilient, we must protect their innocence, ensure they have the chance to dream and be inspired by their eternal optimism and hope. The real heroes of today are those who spend time with our children, listening to and nurturing their dreams.
5. We spend too much on our prison system and must figure out a way to divert that funding to education and healthcare so we can be proactive rather than reactive.
Kozol manages to convey the realities of inner city education by illuminating the complexities behind the daily challenges facing teachers and parents. His manner of connecting the problems to the institutions and practices that society has created to deal with those who do not "fit the system" provides a wake-up call to all of us who are working to make a difference in the lives of children. Kozol shows us that the system we have created is nurturing itself instead of helping people to break out of the vicious cycle characterized by lack of quality education, health care, meaningful work opportunities and dignity. We can no longer ignore the problems in the inner cities of America, not just because it makes economic sense but because it makes human sense to individually develop our most precious resources - our children. Community leaders, parents, educators, and corporate leaders should put this compelling book on the top of their "must read" list.
Rating:
Summary: Anything but Ordinary
Review: This powerful work is at once inspiring, frustrating and captivating. Kozol draws the reader into a world called Mott Haven that is filled with substance, love, service and hope. He poignantly describes the lives of children while blasting the manner in which we have chosen to deal with our most needy sectors of society. Kozol's gifted and powerful storytelling reminds us of several truths: 1. Segregation is potentially a bigger problem today than ever. White flight, private schools, school choice, home-schooling, virtual schools and lack of equitable access to technology are widening the gap.
2. Inequities in education must be addressed with the underlying belief that every child has the potential to achieve his/her dreams. Society must be responsible and held accountable for creating conditions ensuring that this occurs.
3. Teachers and students must all be able to work and learn in optimum conditions that safeguard and ensure dignity.
4. Although children appear to be resilient, we must protect their innocence, ensure they have the chance to dream and be inspired by their eternal optimism and hope. The real heroes of today are those who spend time with our children, listening to and nurturing their dreams.
5. We spend too much on our prison system and must figure out a way to divert that funding to education and healthcare so we can be proactive rather than reactive.
Kozol manages to convey the realities of inner city education by illuminating the complexities behind the daily challenges facing teachers and parents. His manner of connecting the problems to the institutions and practices that society has created to deal with those who do not "fit the system" provides a wake-up call to all of us who are working to make a difference in the lives of children. Kozol shows us that the system we have created is nurturing itself instead of helping people to break out of the vicious cycle characterized by lack of quality education, health care, meaningful work opportunities and dignity. We can no longer ignore the problems in the inner cities of America, not just because it makes economic sense but because it makes human sense to individually develop our most precious resources - our children. Community leaders, parents, educators, and corporate leaders should put this compelling book on the top of their "must read" list.
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