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I remember at some point in my undergraduate career reading some of Jonathan Kozol's work. I believe I read Savage Inequalities, also by Kozol where he has the same powerful message. I love how he goes to these segregated schools and asks the children how they feel. Students at such a young age are able to articulate the injustices that they have such as not being able to have music, art, a garden, a recess yard, and so much more. He has devoted his career to making these injustices known as well as the segregation that is now present. Although it is not law at this point to have segregated schools, people who have privilege and power choose to make them that way. They will not send their children to the public school system, especially in inner city schools. Another point that was striking to me was that many of these now segregated public schools are named after African American individuals. I found this to be another layer of injustice and disrespect towards people of color. Below is a list of a few videos of Kozol speaking and being interviewed as well as a few videos comparing suburban and inner city schools. I found these all very interesting and they all reiterate the points in the article that we read.
Kozol is being interviewed in this link discussing his book The Shame of the Nation on Book TV.
Oprah had two groups of students who switched schools for a day. She called it “trading schools”. One group of students comes from a suburban school and the other is an inner city school.
This is a video of two schools being compared to one another. Once again, one is in a suburban area and the other one is an inner city school.
Kozol Interview on This is America
This is a twenty minute interview talking about Kozol’s book The Shame of the Nation. The article we read came out around the same time that his book was published. It is powerful to hear him speak about the situation, than just reading the article.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteYou found some really interesting sites! I found the Two Schools video really powerful, it gave those students who were an suburban school to see how it feels to walk through a metal detector or see a pool with no water, meanwhile the other students got a chance to see shinny floors and a nice gym! I can't wait to show this site to my collegues at work!
While I agree, as an educator, with your discussion of the injustice pointed out in Kozol's article and the point that people of "power" choose to send their children to "other" schools I also see the other point of view that was not presented by Kozol. Look at it from the parent of these "priveledged" children's point of view. Why do they choose to send their children to "other" achools. Their tax money goes towards the public education provided in the schools where minority students are the majority. Has Kozol examined the reasons they "choose" to additionally pay for their child's education. If you had children - don't you feel you have the right to "chhose" their educational setting.
ReplyDeleteI went to a private, Catholic school, not because my parents did not want me integrate with minority students but because they wanted me to get a "Catholic" education. I learned as much about my religion as academic subjects. My brother sent my nephew to a private school because the public school was unable to meet his academic needs (he is gifted) and he will have more of a chance to get a college scholarship attending a private school - the college of his choice is far beyond their means.
Before we "judge" these powerful parents maybe their true motives should be examined.
Hi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteAlthough up until now I had never read any of Kozol’s work, I can see how his powerful message resonated with you. I agree that it is important to actually go into the field and ask people who are actually living the problem, in this case children, how they feel about the so called inequities that they are experiencing, in this case demonstrated in their schooling. In my experience, children are the most honest because they have no preconceived notions and are not restricted by what they should say to be politically correct.
In your blog, you mentioned how people who have privilege and power chose to “not send their children to the public school system, especially in inner city schools” and that this creates segregation in schools. To some degree I agree that is true in inner city schools, but also wonder how much segregation in other areas is caused by parental choice and how much is driven by geographic location. For example; Families many only have one choice; to send their child to a school that is within their town and if the town’s population is 97% black, then naturally the schools’ student population will also reflect these same demographics. This is definitely the case in the small town where I live, where nearly all of the residents are white and so are the students who attend the one elementary/middle school. This example shows a school which is totally segregated, but not by parents’ choice of school, rather their choice of where they live, and I’m sure the same is reflected across much of the country.
I am so glad that you included a link to Oprah's 'Trading Schools' piece which I have seen before but still got worked up about what I watched it back again. It ties in so well with Kozol's article by highlighting the 'glaring inequalities in the two schools'. Not only did the students see the materialistic differences between the two schools, the clip also showed the basic need of safety being called into question when the students from the wealthy neighborhood had to pass through the metal detectors at the lower income school. My heart went out to the student who noticed how the curriculum was so much more rigorous than at her school, and even though she was an A student, she wondered how she would cope if she went to the other school. Lastly, this clip highlighted the lack of AP classes at the lower income school and how that naturally stunts the academic growth of some students who have the ability to strive for more. It connects very well to Kozol's article where he talks about high school students from low-income areas who are forced to take classes in sewing and hairdressing instead of taking AP classes as they wanted to because there was a shortage of AP classes. It is so sad that these children are never even given a chance to fulfill their dreams.
Lastly, I am very impressed with your use of technology and would really appreciate it if you could explain to me how to get everyone’s blog link onto my blog. See you tomorrow!
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI probably should have mentioned that the comment I just posted on your blog I also posted on my blog under the 'Extended Comments' talking points format, so please feel free to respond to my reaction to your blog if you so desire.
Nikki