Savage Inequalities By Jonathan Kozol: Article Analysis

It is a well known fact that the educational experience at different schools varies widely. Some schools have a great reputation for educational excellence while other schools are avoided because of their reputation for low student achievement. Two reputable sources on this topic include Jonathan Kozol’s article, “Savage Inequalities”, and Bill Moyers’ documentary, “Children in America’s Schools”. These sources discuss the causes of school inequality, which include school funding, school conditions, and demographics. One of the major causes of school inequality is the different amounts of school funding. Schools are funded by a number of sources, primarily including local property taxes, local incomes taxes, money from the state government, and money from the federal government, with property taxes oftentimes being the most important. In “Savage Inequalities”, Kozol establishes that East St. Louis has a very low property tax base, which is …show more content…
School conditions include the state of the physical property of the school and its grounds, the background and qualifications of teachers and administrators, and student safety. Jonathan Kozol describes the physical conditions within Martin Luther King Junior High School as including leaking roofs and sewage backups into the restrooms and kitchen areas, which caused school closures and inconsistent start times. Kozol also lists the use of substitute teachers instead of regular teachers in order to save money - the substitute teachers would only get paid $10,000 yearly for the school to save money on paying for real teachers, which has the effect of lowering student learning. Kozol highlights a troubling lack of student safety as well, using the example of an eleven year old student who was lured to the rear of the school (on the promise of twenty-five cents) by an acquaintance of her mother’s, then raped and murdered on school