Jonathan Kozol Savage Inequalities

Improved Essays
Inequality Addressed in Literature
The true inequalities in schools around America are described accurately in Jonathan Kozol’s novel, Savage Inequalities. The novel is essentially summed up to compare the inequalities that exist between poor inner-city schools and more affluent suburban schools. Kozol’s philosophy is that children who belong to poor families are predestined to a poor future due to the understaffed and underfunded schools that are in poorer areas of the country. In order to prove his theory, Kozol visits poorer schools in many cities throughout the country. In order to keep these ideas close to home, the New York City school case would be most relevant. In chapter three, Kozol talks about how a child is not born to the station
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To summarize, The Shame of the Nation is about how these impoverished children feel marginalized in society by those who are highly elite of their neighbors and schools. One way Kozol describes this feeling is when he says “ It’s as if you have been put in a garage where, if they don't have room for something but are not sure if they should throw you out, they put it there where they don’t need to think of it again (Kozol, 2005). A major issue discussed throughout this novel is the idea of segregation in schools. Kozol discusses the segregation of black and white students in the school system. The lack of resources in primarily black schools is considered segregation from their white peers who have many of the resources they need to succeed. Kozal says at one point how students of color have limited resources and support from the educational system. Students concerns were devalued and little consideration is given to help fund their schools. As opposed to affluent families they were able to provide an education for their children. Programs were available for those who could afford to pay children education (Kozol, 2005). The Shame of the Nation also goes into the idea that students who attend underfunded schools perform worse on standardized tests due to lack of resources and skilled teachers. Kozal explains how there are damaging effects of high-stakes tests, specifically on inner-city children who are almost destined to fail as a result of limited resources. In these schools, drastic and specific measures are taken to raise scores, usually at the expense of any freedom or flexibility in the curriculum. The schools adopt blanket teaching materials that have been compared to military manuals (Kozol,

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