return to other reflections Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol has made me become more aware of the
injustices that are occurring in our urban schools. Children have become victims of
the cycle of poverty. These children did not ask to be born in this environment, yet,
because of their circumstances they are destined to failure and poverty. After
reading Kozol it is evident that urban schools are failing to reach these children. He
points out in great detail the inequalities that exist in urban schools such as much
larger class sizes, fewer supplies, and bleak and dangerous school buildings.
One reason that inequalities exist is because of political influences. School
Boards and legislators feel that by offering the "school of choice" to poor minorities
they are providing equal opportunity. Kozol points out that this equal opportunity
cannot exist. He states that: "School boards think that, if they offer the same printed
information to all parents, they have made choice equally accessible. That is not true,
of course because the printed information won't be read, or certainly will not be
scrutinized aggressively, by parents who can't read or who read very poorly." (p. 62)
Kozol also points out that parents of poor children are not being given the same
opportunities because information is not being provided to them in a way that they
can understand. He further states even if information was provided to this group of
people in an understandable manner, the poor have been trained by the elite to
believe that they would not be accepted into the better school system. Another
example of inequities due to political influences is clearly illustrated in New York
City's Bronx school district 10. Kozol describes the Riverdale section of District 10 as
white and upper middle class, whereas, other areas in this district are non-white and
very poor. In his writing he portrays many differences between these schools such as
overcrowding, lack of textbooks, inadequate staff and decrepit buildings. He reports
that these problems do not exist in the Riverdale section and comments on how the
superintendent of District 10 is politically influenced by the Riverdale section. One
example that is given is how the "local board decided to give each elementary school
an equal number of computers, even though the schools in Riverdale had smaller
classes and far fewer students" (p. 84). Kozol makes it evident that politics plays an
important role in how schools are funded and how monies are often not spent
equitably between the suburban and urban schools. It also becomes apparent that
poor children have little choice in the types of classes and schools they attend and
that their future is dependent upon government policies.
Another major issue that Kozol brings up is the middle class belief that it is
"not our responsibility to pay our taxes to provide for them" (p. 127). On a personal
note I talked to a middle class person about this problem and I had a similar
response. He stated "Why should I be concerned about these children, it is their life.
If parents can't be concerned about their own children's education, then why should I
be concerned for them." I further asked about spending what was necessary to make
the buildings in the urban areas equal to the buildings in the suburbs. Again, it was
stated that"they would simply ruin the new buildings and it wouldn't really improve
their education". This statement was validating the theory of diminishing returns
along with the strong belief that "It's not my problem!" Finally, I stated that it should
be our concern, because if these children are not helped, then they often become a
burden on society by ending up in prison or on welfare. The response to this was a
shrug of the shoulders.
The problems in these poor urban schools goes far beyond the actual physical
buildings, scarce supplies and lack of political support. The environment that these
children live in outside of these schools is far worse than the schools themselves. The
children in poor urban areas have little or no support from their families and they
live in gloomy, dangerous areas. If they have any hopes and dreams, they are
quickly broken. It has been said before that poverty breeds poverty, and the only
way to break the cycle is to eliminate or reduce the amount of time children spend in
this type of environment. But how can this be done? It is evident that the urban
schools Kozol describes need to be upgraded to meet and equal the schools of rural
areas. Money is needed to create a positive learning environment, provide up-to-date
textbooks, computers, lab equipment and lower student to teacher ratios. Perhaps the
most dramatic way to really make an impact on these students and their lives would
be to increase the length of the school day and year. As Kozol stated "All our
children ought to be allowed a stake in the enormous richness of America. Whether
they were born to poor white Appalachians or to wealthy Texans, to poor black
people in the Bronx or rich people in Manhasset or Winnetka, they are all quite
wonderful and innocent when they are small." (p. 233) I know that this would
probably not be greeted as a popular solution, but if children were to stay in a more
positive environment for longer periods of time, the cycle of poverty could be broken
and all children might be able to achieve their hopes and dreams.
References
Kozol, J. (1991) Savage inequalities children in american's schools. HarperCollins
Publishers