Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

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Summary: An unbelievable American discriminitive schooling system
Review: Kozol could not have given the book, "Savage Inequalities" a better title. Everything written in this book supports the title 100 percent. Was it referred to those of higher income and a better living class or for everyone in America regardless of who they were, their background, and where they lived when the statement, "Education is the number one concern in America" was said? It is really ashame how the American way works. "The land of opportunity" is always preached, but for "Whom" has never been mentioned. How do the American society tend to make America a better place if they (those who manage the finances) do not offer a better education for those live in poverty? The ones that are not going to make a big difference in our society because of the lack of eduation. When is America going to realize that if they keep pushing those young children with dreams down in the gutter they will never be able to get out ot the gutter? Kozol's purpose in writting this book was so that he can express, emphasize, and show his readers the major problems that has not been resolve in the school system. Kozol did not only focus on the inequality of the school system, he states why the the schools of low-income are denied money, not being able to pay the teachers, also on how those that live in poverty, and the dreams of the kids in becoming someone are easily ignored. The ideas in this book I believe differ from those with mainstream thoughts. There are many schools out there that can't afford a decent set of books, or do not have enough room for there student. Certain schools in some cases are forced to look out the window and have a unclear view of the day because there is just too much smoke clouds in the air. In most cases, schools located in a low class area expericence these problems. The question is why? What makes them so different than those that have a yard that is clean, have air condition the the classroom, or even have new books? Nothing. So why not give the lower class the same service and accommdation as those in high-income communities? Either many people do not realize that inequality still goes on in public schools or they just do not care because it does not effect them or their kids. Kozol brings up some really important issues about the problem in the schooling system in America. He mentions "segration". Why do students have to be separated because of their income? Who is to say that investing money in low-income students would be a waste? What makes students living in a high-income family any better than a student that comes from a low-income family? If the city would spend a equal amount of money on the students, teachers, equipment, and any other significant thing to get a school running right, students opportunity from low-income families would be just as equal as those from high-income families. Kozol also mentions the issue of having certain school located in chemical plants, dumster, and industrial plants. Having these schools within these location, having the kid a limited space for recess has caused kids to become ill because of the contamination these industries has caused. There are two reason why I would recommend this book. I would consider recommending this book to parents that are preparing there children for their first year in school. They need to know what continues to go on in these schools. It will help them get better understanding of the educational system and prepare them for any obstacles in obtaining the best education for their child. Another reason I would recommend this book to someone is so it can be seen that not everything seem so dandy from the outside. Other families in other cities also suffer for better education and even if it does not effect his or her child a change should still be demanded. When I view diversity, I do not only focus on race, but also in the class the individual lives in. I view diversity as having everyone together no matter the background, class, race, and anything else that makes a person different. Diverstiy will only exist for those individuals that live in a poor-income families, does not matter the race or background and sometimes diversity is still a problem. If America wants unity and diverity, it has to start first at home than in the school system. Kozol did an excellent job in writting this book and obtaining the different situation that schools go through to obtain money so they can offer a better education to the children

Rating:
Summary: A shocking book on the shameful injustices of public schools
Review: I was not prepared for the utter disgust I would feel while reading this book. Kozol brings to light just how unequal our american public schools are--in a country that boasts of free, equal public education. Kozol wholeheartedly attacks those who basically say that our black children just don't have what it takes "to make it" educationally and that money won't make a difference. He is not afraid to point the finger at the accused. I felt like I had gained a wealth of knowledge from this easy-reading, compelling book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone pursuing the education field.

Rating:
Summary: A shocking book on the shameful injustices of public schools
Review: I was not prepared for the utter disgust I would feel while reading this book. Kozol brings to light just how unequal our american public schools are--in a country that boasts on free, equal public education. He wholeheartedly attacks those who basically say that the blacks just don't have what it takes "to make it"--he is not afraid to point the finger at the accused. I felt like I had gained a wealth of knowledge from this easy-reading, compelling book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone pursuing the education field.

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Summary: detailed
Review: In this book, Kozol, mainly discussed segregation inschools. Not only was it segregated by race but by funding. He simplydescribed the school situations in many city schools and suburban schools and how they differ. Most of the city schools were poor. They couldn't afford books, paper, or efficiant materials to supply a classroom. Not only was that a problem in city schools but sanitation was also. The city schools were dirty. Some of the schools lacked proper construction. They were literally falling apart. The children in the city schools were being deprived of a healthy education. They lacked the reading and writing skills that suburban students had. Some of the teachers didn't even show up for class. Kozol stated that one classroom was working on its eighth teacher, because the teachers before kept quitting. This is totally unhealthy for a child's well being. The way a child is educated will reflect on their life. In the book, Kozol, talked about a boy growing up in Camden. He was not wealthy and education for him was nothing. Through out life he messed up, ended ip dropping out of school and is now a cocaine addict. Children in these poor education systems are more likely to drop out because the education standards make them least interested. Mainstreaming didn't really play a huge role in this book. I think that mainstreaming should have been done to help with the poor school. If the poor and the rich kids were combined then there would be more funding from the rich families. They would do this because they want their child to lack an education. Mainstreaming would have caused good things, the poor children would have a chance for an education that they are eligible for. I think that everyone is eligible for hte best education. It all depends on funding, teachers and facilities. I feel it is pitaful that children today have to be educated in this type of enviroment that was described in this book. No student should have to sit in the class with out textbooks. No teacher should have no more than twenty students in a class and no classroom should be held in a basemsnt of a school. All students teachers and students throughout school districts should receive equal opportunities. I greatly enjoyed this book and I recommend it to readers. Especially anyone lookig foward to becoming a teacher. I didn't realize how well i was educated with proper shelter, proper tools and the rigt teachers. It is sad to know that these cities with poor schools actually can't do anything. Most students today feel they got it good and take advanatge of what they have. they should but they should also know about the deprived ones.

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Summary: Eyes are opened to horrific conditions of inner city schools
Review: DOES THIS STILL REALLY EXISTS? Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities

Before I started reading this book I was in doubt after hearing an overview of it, how can a nation that is looked upon as one of the best in the world still have school systems that are so inadequate compared to others. This book makes one ask themselves is this discrimination or what? School boards have to know about how horrible some of the schools in this book are. I think Kozol's purpose in writing this book was to make people aware that even though issues of desegregation where supposedly settled about thirty years ago they are still common in today's society and unfortunately very evident to the children who attend these schools. From what I have learned in my education classes, children are supposed to be taught in a classroom not a bathroom or closet as some of the children in these books are. School should be somewhere that children will want to come it should be comfortable and have good surroundings. Something that none of these schools in the book have. Teachers should want to teach. That is why they go into the profession in the first place, but would any good qualified teacher want to work in a place that should be closed down? Don't get me wrong there was brief mention of a handful of good teachers mentioned in the book, but that is not enough. When our society as a whole thinks of a school they think of a nice, quiet, clean, place, with spacious classrooms where their children can learn. Not a dump with no air or heat, that is so overcrowded that it has to use bathrooms and closets for classes. Also a teacher is never suppose to discourage a child. There is one example in the book of a girl named Chilly who went to her guidance counselor and told him she wanted to be a lawyer, the counselor told her no that she should try to aim for something more realistically. Who are we as educators and soon to be educators to tell a child that their dream is impossible. I believe Kozol is trying to open everyone's eyes that reads this book by showing us the different aspects of an upper white class school, and the lower black schools. It was horrific to read that in 1989 the Princeton New Jersey school district spent 7,725 per pupil while the lower income of Camden School district spent 3,538 per pupil. This is absurd, why is such a big difference being spent between these two counties. Many times during this book Kozol brings up the point of overcrowdness, why can't some of these students be bused to other schools. There is one example in the book of a school that was seriously overcrowded, when they asked if some of there students could be bused to an all white school, the school board said that they would have to be bused on back routes so they where not going through these people's neighborhoods, but the school board eventually said no. Before I read this book I was under the assumption that yes some schools are better off then others, but that was because they were newer. After reading this book I realized that discrimination and that is what it should be called is still going on in schools today. I think that this is the point that Kozol wanted to get across to the reader. If one plans on going into education or is already in education they should defintatly read this book. It gives a lot of insight into the true meaning of inner city schools. Different perspectives to education are very valuable to one who wants to go into the education field. If you go into a small town and teach one will never know what it is like in a inner city school and this could be somewhat damaging because it could cause ignorance to the severity of the conditions in other schools.

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Summary: Five stars is not enough for this writing
Review: This is the most powerful writing about the lives of American minorities and the education system that has ever been written. Kozol's book should be required reading for not only education majors but sociology, psychology, urban development, and anthropology majors. This book involves every one of those curriculums, whether it be past, present, or future. The children in these books prove to all of the readers that racism, classism, and oppression is still being practiced in this country, the land of plenty. The inequality in basic education is a disgrace and the writer shows this to his readers. I attended a NEA convention where the author spoke and when he was through speaking there was not a dry eye in the entire crowd of over 25,000. This book is Pulitzer Prize material. Great Job!!!!

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Summary: This book is a must for education majors.
Review: I am a college student at Macon State College majoring in education. I was asked to read this book as a requirement for an education class. Unlike other books that I have been required to read for previous classes, this one was a joy! This book stirred many emotions in me. I found it to be moving, motivational, and yet very disturbing. But I think that it was meant to be disturbing. Sometimes things that disturb us move us to react, or do something about it. Reading this has opended my eyes to the education problems we face all over the U.S. I would recommend this book to anyone in the education field.

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Summary: Kozol shows us what so many people turn away from
Review: kozol tells us what it is like to grow up poor. so many people want to blame the vicitim for their lot in life, to escape any type of accountability. children don't choose to be born into a poor family, yet the moment they are born, they are relegated into a system that attempts to kill them, beat them down, and forget about them. i feel that kozol's book is important for just giving a voice to the poor children of this country and not letting us forget that these children are OUR children too. you can judge the humanity of a country by observing how it treats its poor. kozol spotlights just exactly what we are doing to our impoverished. I urge everyone to read his book, it's the first step to creating a dialog. we must acknowledge that there is a problem and that it is OUR problem.

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Summary: this book is a wake up call. america needs to take action.
Review: this book is shocking in the sense that many children, in the inner city districts, live in a land of vast neglect. these children are not given equal opportunities to reach their goals and become productive citizens in our country. they are denied decent schooling. america is not a land of equal opportunity until all schools are cleaned up and equal. this book is a wake up call that something needs to be done in the urban public schools. i read it for a graduate course dealing with issues, policies and law. after reading this book i realize that i would love to teach to these children who are denied equal opportunities. it would be my chance to extend a helping, caring, and creative hand.

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Summary: It is so informative, it should be a high school requirment.
Review: Kozol's "Savage Inequlities" is the most eye-opening piece of literature I have ever read. It is incredible to find out how corrupt our nation is with regards to the systems of funding public schools. After reading the book, it is laughable think that we (the US) consider ourselves a first class country. Kozol throws many statistics at the reader, in an attempt to overwhelm him/her. His goal is to open the eyes of men and women across the world about the vastly different education's children receive. He goes into detail of many districts across the nation and demonstrates the differences in schools of wealthly districts and poor districts. He also addresses the issues of court rulings and decisions. The one point Kozol really drills on is that children growing up in poor districts have far less opportunities than that of children in rich districts. He also points out students in poor districts are trained to be entry level worker, whereas, rich district students are trained to be CEO's, lawers, entruerpenuers, and managers. Kozol made me realize that a rich district students failure is a poor district students success. His writing is very powerful and informative.