Chapter 6 and 7 Summaries

Chapter 6- A Hardening of Lines

This chapter focuses on how the parents belonging to a more privileged lifestyle are doing everything they can to isolate their children from “token numbers of the children of minorities” (135). There are certain schools within cities like New York that are attended by primarily white and highly privileged children, children who are only able to attend these schools because their “savvy” parents knew exactly how to finagle them in. These parents have been known to get close to members on the school board, prep their kids for IQ tests, fake an address, enroll their kids in expensive pre-test programs, and even pay for counseling services that will advise them on how to get their children into these schools. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that low-income parents—many of whom have a limited education—don’t have the time and/or resources to finagle their children into these schools. This is why the lines become “hardened.”

Chapter 7- Excluding Beauty

This chapter goes into detail about the hardships faced by students in these segregated inner-city schools including physical disrepair, overcrowding, instability of staffing, rodent infestation, portable classrooms, and unsanitary conditions, just to name a few. Kozol does a nice job in this chapter of forcing the reader to see these conditions through the eyes of the children. He includes letters that students wrote to him discussing their feelings regarding their education. He also includes plaintiffs from children whose school was infested with rats. One child writes, "Ashley got sick because of dead rats" (172). Kozol gains credibility through his use of words taken directly from the children who are effected by these conditions.

more to come... :)

Chapter 6 and 7 Discussion Leader

My first question is found on page 138

Why do you think parents lie into getting their kids into a better school?

Whatever means possible to get their child into a good school to provide them with a good education. I mean why would any parent settle for less for their children? Sure their actions may be unethical but their intentions to give their kids a good education are understandable. Jonathon Kozol even states a school that he visited (Walton High) was built to hold only 1,800 students, yet there are 3,400 enrolled. With crowded classrooms, daily fights/violence, and lunch being served as early as 9:42 to 2:19, makes it completely understandable why any parent would attempt to register their child into another school. Sadly if a family doesn’t live in that school district, they are legally not allowed to enroll. This demonstrates how broken our education system is; whether or not you receive a good education solely depends on where you live.

My second question can be found on page 138

Is it really necessary for four year olds to be already exposed to tests?

Kids at that age are suppose to spend their days finger-painting, riding their Big Wheels, and dressing up like princesses. When you’re a kid, your life should be full of laughter, fun and excitement; not preparing or studying for tests. Essentially when parents do this, they are forcing their child to grow up too early. Personally when I envision four year olds taking a test I automatically think of the movie Daddy Daycare, where the parents try to enroll their son into a prestigious school where he will be provided the best education. However, as the movie progresses the parents mindset changes and they realize that a child should learn by simply having fun.

My third question can be found on page 162

Why does Jonathan Kozol provide examples of his student’s writing?

To help iterate the fact that they all pointed out different aspects about the room/school but all came to the same conclusion of how, “everything in my school is dirty.” The physical appearance of these schools negatively impacts the students desire to learn or even attend school. Personally I wouldn’t want to be in a learning environment where the classrooms are uncomfortably hot and dirty, or even let alone being exposed to dirty rodents such as rats! Some schools even lack the basic supplies such as text books, chairs, and desks. It’s no wonder why some of the children’s spelling errors were so prevalent in Kozol’s class. I mean some could barely spell common words like, “thing, almost, also, shelf” correctly. Essentially the reason why Kozol does this is to expose the poor conditions and state of poor condition many of these segregated schools are in.

My fourth question can be found on page 179

Why do kids at these schools have to take courses that involve hand-sewing and machine skills?

These students are indirectly told that they don’t have the potential to pursue a further education. The school board automatically infers that these students don’t even have the potential to obtain a real education and assume they will end up working in a factory someday. Instead of preparing them for college, the school is setting them up for labor. The school district doesn’t see the point considering they lack the resources to offer a child a real education. Basically, the poor are the ones who continually get the short end of the stick when it comes to public education. 

Graphic Organizer Chapters 6 and 7

This Section of the Book Kozol talks about how the structure of the building can keep the children from learning. I think it is important for people to realize how bad the children have it. Kozol writes how when he visited some schools there were rats in the building, and the students told him how the bathrooms are gross and do not have the proper supplies. Kozol also mentioned sense some of the schools are so over crowded that they children can go to school during the summer and the extreme heat can keep the children from learning. In these chapters it mentions how all of this had been documented but still nothing has changed. Something needs to be done so the children are able to go to school in a safe learning environment, one that will not make them sick from rat droppings or not being able to focus because of the summer heat.

Wisconsin School Conditions

The website that I found is a research paper talking about the conditions of the school here in Wisconsin. Click here to view the web page.

"WEAC Research Paper". weac.org. Wisconsin Education Association Council, Sept. 5, 2008. Web. May 13, 2011.

Chapter 6 and 7 Vocabulary

1. Demarcations(135): The separation of distinct boundaries

2. Preponderance(136):superiority in numbers

3. catchment(137):the intake of a school

4. retrograde (140): to recede, to move backwards or in reverse

5. beleaguered(143): to surround with troubles

6. litigation(151):a lawsuit

7. virulent(158): actively poisonous; highly infective

8. apartheid(159): any system or practice that separates people by race, gender or other appearances

9. juggernaut(169):large overpowering destructive force

10. exhortation(174): conveying urgent advice or recommendations

WKCE Testing

After reading about the standardized testing in the book I thought it would be interesting to see what the standardized testing looked like in Wisconsin. You can click here to go to the web site that talks about Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations; which is the name of the standardized testing in Wisconsin.
"Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE)". dpi.wi.gov. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Feb. 14, 2011. Web. may 13,2011.

Chapter 4 and 5 Summaries

Chapter 4 Summary

“I’m in the business of developing minds to meet a market demand,” says a principal in charge of one of the many inner-city, racially segregated schools that now follow an “industry-embedded education” system that focuses primarily on preparing students for entry-level jobs upon graduating. Kozol illustrates how these schools expect children as young as kindergarten to start thinking about what jobs they may want and begin preparing for them. An emphasis is usually put on managerial positions, with some schools assigning the kids classroom roles such as “Coat Room Manager, Door Manager, and Line Manager,” and teaching kindergartners how to “negotiate.” In this chapter, Kozol is able to create a micro view of this issue. A memorable section includes the discussion of a bright young high school student who becomes trapped in the Culinary Arts curriculum despite academic promise and capabilities of going to college. This story pulls at the reader’s heart strings and further connects them to the children who are burdened with this type of education, or lack there of.

Chapter 5 Summary

This chapter discusses standardized testing and how it has affected inner-city school systems. The curriculums in such schools that rely on these scores for their funding, and in some cases the ability to keep their doors open, have morphed into institutions where the only subject matter allowed to be taught is what has the potential for showing up on these standardized tests. One thing that is attention grabbing in this chapter is Kozol’s cynicism. He writes, “Numbers become everything. Live by rubrics, die by an accidental dip in yearly scores. And to the winners go the extra $15,000.” This tone allows leaves no room for the reader to question Kozol’s stance on the issues he is discussing. He is clearly upset with how important these tests have become and how much they are taking away from quality education.

Chapter 4 and 5 graphic orghanizer

,
This section was mainly about how schools are molding children into a "one shape fits all." The children at an elementary school age are called managers, and are given points in the form of currency for the work they do. The children in these schools often never hear about college and are encouraged towards jobs that require little or no education. Also government issued standardized tests are putting a lot of pressure on schools to create good scores. However students are learning very little and given little extra time besides learning what is on the standardized tests. The government views these children as creating "products" or as "robots" instead of human beings.

Chapter 4 and 5 discussion leader

My first question is found on page 101

Why do you think Kozol provided the example of a girl like Timeka, whose goal was to become a doctor?

I think the reason why is because he wanted us to relate to how girls like Timeka have goals just like us, but the only difference is that their goals aren’t attainable under their circumstances. For example the program at her school doesn’t even provide the education necessary to lead her to that goal. Robeson High only sends a few students that are successfully prepared for college and among those few, the likelihood of them going to medical school is almost non-existent. What it comes down to is the reality of her high school, in which only one out of five ninth graders reach twelfth grade and from which Timeka dropped out in eleventh. However, if she had gone to a school in almost any middle-class suburban district, she would have been exposed to an assortment of options that would have potentially permitted her to accomplish her goal.

My second question can be found on pages 102-103

Why do you think a college education isn’t marketed to many students as forcefully as job-related programs are at an inner city school?

The first thing that I thought was people automatically assume that students at a corrupt school aren’t capable of going to college. Instead students are required to decide on a career path at the end of freshmen year, and once a student chooses, his or her entire program is determined by that choice. Say for example if someone were to decide to try the culinary arts program, in which students are prepared to work in restaurant kitchens. He or she would be offered jobs or internships upon completion of their high school diploma, which lures them into a lower economic role in later years than if they were to pursue a college education. Essentially, these students are indirectly told that they don’t have the potential to pursue a further education and that this is the only option they have.

My third question can be found on page 120

What do you feel about this quote, “In Atlanta, recess has been systematically abandoned to secure more time for test-related programs since the last years of the 1990s.”

I personally feel as though elementary schools are turning more into penitentiaries. When you’re a kid a crucial part of learning is to have fun as well. If you lock up kids in a building all day, it will most likely cause them to have a short attention span and lose focus. The most important aspect of recess is that it establishes a break from the day's routine. Breaks are considered essential for satisfaction and alertness. It even has been proven that recall is improved when learning is spaced rather than presented all at once. Besides your brain needs some downtime to relax from learning new concepts that can be hard to understand.

My fourth question can be found on page 121

Why would districts go further to distort the timing of summer break in an effort to accommodate school calendars to testing schedules?

Districts believe that starting school earlier will prepare the students for the state exams that they take in late winter. The higher the test score, the more funding the school gets from the government. For example if students’ scores improve at certain rates, principals and teachers can receive a bonus up to $15,000 a year! Another reason why raising test scores is such a priority is the fact that these state wide tests are widely publicized in press accounts and on TV. There would be nothing more humiliating than for a principal to hear his or her school’s name announced on television as being, “the worst of the worst.” The fear is that if they don’t get these test scores up then their school will continue to decline. However, little do they know that this doesn’t necessarily mean that their children are provided with more of an education; it just counts towards the staff’s paychecks and reputation of the school.

Chapter 4 and 5 Vocabulary

1. Inculcating (95): instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.
2. Egalitarian (98): of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
3. Espouse (98) : adopt or support ( a cause, belief, or way of life).
4. Acquiesce (103) : accept something reluctantly but without protest.
5. Redolent (104) : strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something.
6. Odium (110) : disgrace over something hated or shameful.
7. Ebullience (112) : exuberance: overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval.
8. Pedagogic (114) : of or relating to teaching.
9. Ingenuity (116) : the quality of being clever, original, and inventive.
10. Penurious (120) : extremely poor, poverty-stricken.

Waiting for Superman

Personally I watched this video and it really opened my eyes to our education system and how there really is that unequal gap between public schools. Providing shocking statistics and interviewing reputable individuals, makes the film more credible. In general, Waiting for Superman really put things into perspective and motivates the viewer to take action and not allow for this corrupt education system affect another generation. 

Journal #1

The Shame of the Nation -Journal 1 April 20, 2011
          We all had some different assumptions coming into this book. I (Amanda) have read Kozol’s book Ordinary Resurrection, which he published about five years before The Shame of The Nation. Because I’ve read him before, I knew that I was in for another shock and that I would once again be ashamed to learn about how little value our country places on children from these apartheid communities and schools. I (Matt) came into this book knowing that schools in the inner city weren’t as reputable as the schools in the suburbs of Milwaukee, but reading the shocking statistics from the first few chapters of The Shame of the Nation really put things into perspective. For instance, in Milwaukee there is a school where black children make up 99 percent of the enrollment despite that it bears the name of Dr. Luther King Jr. Which leads me to the question: Why did the man who wanted to end segregation in the first place, have one of the most segregated schools in Wisconsin named after him?  I (Caitlin) knew that inner-city schools were not the best. After reading just the introduction and the first three chapters I am extremely surprised to see that it is much worse than I expected. I find it shocking that some schools are 98% segregated or how the teachers will fix the art work to hang up. I also did not realize that these schools are so underfunded. I (Brittany) came into the book knowing some about segregated and lower income schools; I went to a school in Green Bay where the majority of the population was not white. Going to this school, I knew about the unfair treatment and assumptions of the public. However I was shocked to learn how segregated some schools were and how dangerous of conditions the kids were put in. I also was extremely shocked to learn that the adults that work as teachers are not certified in lower income schools. Finally I was very surprised by how drastic the amount of income to the schools differed from low income schools to middle and upper class schools.
          Jonathan Kozol is a graduate of English Literature from Harvard. He first began working with children in 1964, when he became a fourth grade teacher in Boston, Massachusetts. He explains in his letter “To the Reader” that he has visited approximately 60 schools in 30 districts, in 11 different states where he was able to observe and talk with countless different students, teachers, and school administrators, and it is from his interviews and discussions with these individuals that he is able to make his most effective arguments and conclusions. He isn’t drawing his conclusions from research done by others; he is doing the research on his own and really getting a feel for what these kids go through. He has seen what they have seen and walked where they have walked, so he is, in a sense, telling their story for them, and nobody can argue with what these kids reveal about their realities. An excerpt on the book’s back cover declares, “Jonathan Kozol is a National Book Award-winning author of Death at an Early Age, Rachel and Her Children, Savage Inequalities, and Amazing Grace. He has been working with children in inner-city schools for more than 40 years.” He is a previously published and successful author who has gained a lot of respect in the world of education.
          Before beginning to read this book, most of us didn’t know that the education we have received thus far isn’t something that every American kid gets to experience. In our Midwestern high schools, administrators didn’t have to worry about the percentages of graduates they would have every spring. Recess was something that that all of us looked forward to after lunch; we had experienced teachers who didn’t have to follow a strict curriculum in fear of losing their jobs; there was a chair for every student in our classrooms… classrooms that didn’t have bolted up windows or collapsing ceilings. The most important thing we have learned from this book so far is that our education isn’t something we should take for granted.

Obama Administration Revision Plan for "No Child Left Behind"

Published by The Washington Post, this article expresses the advantages as well as risks of revising the “No Child Left Behind” Act and how the Obama administration will modify it to help close the achievement gaps. Requiring a lot of funding Obama is asking Congress and taxpayers to fund the biggest increase ever requested for elementary and secondary education programs (up to $4 billion). Critics and politicians may feel a little skeptical on how this might work but the proposals do appear to target key defects in the act. In a sense this helps provide insight on how the government is trying to find a solution to a very broken education system.

Anderson, Nick. "Administration pushes to rework No Child Left Behind law." Washington Post. January 2010. Web. 21 April 2011.

Chapter 3 Graphic Organizer

Chapter 3- The Ordering Regime These quotes effectively summarize this chapter. The number one goal for these schools is for the students to do well on the placement exams so that the school will be given more money. They end up structuring the children’s learning so much that it metaphorically strangles not only the kids, but also the teachers who aren’t permitted to teach any information that won’t benefit the students when they take the exams.

Chapter 2 Graphic Organizer

Chapter 2- Hitting Them Hardest When They're Small

This chapter discusses how underprivileged children in Apartheid school districts are. A small percentage receives the pre-schooling that most middle-class children have easy access to. When they are finally able to attend school, most have to deal with overcrowding, inexperienced teachers, and a lack of resources (some don’t even have libraries). Even after all of this, these kids must take and pass the same placement tests administered to the children who have had access to quality education since the age of three. Kozol notes how difficult it is for kids to succeed under these conditions and that those who do are considered to have "heroic" qualities.

Summary of Chapter 2 and 3

Chapter 2 illustrates how corrupt our education system is in our nation and how all children are not offered the same equal opportunity to a good education. Jonathan Kozol further emphasizes on the inequalities of education funding in the nation and describes how the wealthy are unwilling to throw in money into failing school because they figure, “what’s the point?” He also compares inner city schools possessing characteristics of a totalitarian government or an atmosphere similar to that of a prison. He also iterates the fact that even when the economy and financial markets soar, none of the proceeds go to serve the schools of the poor, where school building’s window frames are rotting and glass panels are falling into the street.

Chapter 3 further emphasizes how different inner city schools are compared to suburban schools. Kozol describes inner city schools as “embracing pedagogy of direct command and absolute control….the teacher who is the stimulus and the students who respond” (64). He provides an example of when he visited a P.S. 65 school in the South Bronx, describing the silent lunches being instituted in the cafeteria and sometimes even at recess! Even in the classroom if a child were to interrupt or make any sort of distraction, the teacher would make a swift gesture with his or her hand to silent the children. Kozol described it as a “strange salute the teachers gave to the class.” Furthermore, all of the students are divided into 4 levels that separate each other based on their grades and how well they abide by the rules. The students are even assessed on “the way they march along the corridors.” From this notion, he wants to illustrate that schools like P.S. 65 discourage and humiliate their students.  

Chapter 2 and 3 vocabulary builder

In this section I had a hard time finding ten vocabulary words, so instead I did the job of article finder. The link for the article, that I felt related to this section is posted below:
http://www.edtrust.org/dc/press-room/press-release/funding-gap-2005-most-states-shortchange-poor-and-minority-students
One of the main themes of these chapters was how unequal school funding was for schools in areas of rich and impoverished areas. The article states that when you compare the funding gap between high and low income districts the difference is over$1,400 per student. The article also states that around 38 of the states experience this difference in funding. One of the main reasons we need to pay attention to this is that our children are supposed to receive, equal education. How can a child receive an equal education when $1,400 less is being spent on them ? Children are not receiving the same quality of education, or experiences that other children are that come from higher income families. Sadly, the majority of impoverished districts are populated heavily with Hispanics and African Americans. This in fact proves that segregated schools are definitely not "separate but equal." Another fact that is disheartening, is that children that come from impoverished families need the most help from the school but are receiving the littlest help. The public needs to become aware of this, and our nation needs to fix this discrimination against impoverished families.

Chapter 2 and 3 Discussion Leader

My first questions comes from pages 50-53 when Kozol is talking about inner-city pre-K in New York City and how even though many of the children apply for pre-K; they are not accepted. Then a page or two over Kozol talks about how in Milwaukee the children are able to go to pre-K in a program called Head Start.
(1) My Question is if people know how important it is for children to go to pre-K , why doesn't the New York school system step up a Head Start program for inner-city children?
I think one of the reasons why NYC does not do this is because since there are so many inner-city children, the cost would be outrageous. I think some of the middle class and upper class who can afford to donate extra money to their children's schooling should have that money go towards the pre-K program for inner-city children. I know the parents are not going to want to do that, but I feel something needs to be done.
My second questions comes from page 65 when Kozol goes into the school P.S. 65 and there is a new rule that the children are to eat lunch in silence and if they misbehave, they will have to have a silent recess.
(2) I want to know what you guys think about the silent lunches and silent recess if a child misbehaves?
I think this is a stupid rule. I think part of learning to talk and also solve problems comes from talking with peers your own age. I work at the Children's Center here on campus and we tell the child when they get into a little argument with another child to try and talk it out and try to solve the problem between themselves before coming to a teacher. I feel that if the children are not able to talk during lunch how are the able to acquire these skills? I also do not think that the children should be punished with a silent recess if they misbehave. Children need to go outside, run around and use up their energy; it is good exercise for them.
My third question comes from page 66 when Kozol is talking about how there are several teachers teaching in the inner-city schools who just took a summer short-order preparation and have had no previous teaching training.
(3) I would like to know if this is even legal?
I am sure that this is legal, but is seems a little sketchy to me. How can someone teach children when they have had no previous experience and all they took was a summer course? People wonder why the child are not doing well in school. I think in order for these children to do well they need a teacher who actually has a teaching degree and knows what he/she is doing and talking about.
My final question comes from page 82 when Kozol talks about how the only way teachers are able to hang up art work or work of the children is if they fix the mistakes or spelling errors that the children made.
(4) I want to know if you think this is degrading the children?
I feel that this is not right at all. I know kids are going to make mistakes when spelling or doing an art project, but don't we expect that. They are not high school level spellers and we should not expect them to be, they are still learning. Also how would the children feel when they see their art work and realize that it was changed? Would they feel like they are not good enough?

Graphic Organizer- Chapter 1

This chart depicts the unfortunate realities faced by millions of inner-city kids who never get the chance to thrive in any way. The majority of African American and Latino students (almost ¾) in the US attend schools that are predominantly minority. These schools, sometimes referred to as “apartheid” are almost six times as likely to be a school of concentrated poverty as a school with a majority white population. There are many highly qualified educators who choose to teach in such schools, which severely diminishes the quality of learning for many of these segregated schools . I chose this graph because it shows how all of these factors build up on top of the kids and come pouring over them like hot lava, forever encrusting them into this vicious cycle of segregation and poverty.

Introduction and Chapter 1 Vocabulary

(1) equivocate (page 5): to use unclear expressions, to avoid commitment
(2) excoriation (p. 5): act of scolding
(3) equanimity (p. 5): mental of emotional stability, especially under tension or strain
(4) caste (p. 6): hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, or economic position
(5) frivolity (p. 18): little or no weight, worth, or importance; not worthy of serious notice
(6) pieties (p. 18): reverence for god or devout fulfillment of religious obligations
(7) arbiter (p. 21): a person empowered to decide matters of an issue; judge
(8) euphemism (p. 21): the substitution of a indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh
(9) bastions (p. 22): a place to protect or strengthen against attack
(10) pedagogic (p. 30): the work of a teacher; art or science of teaching (education); instructional methods

Introduction and Chapter 1 Summary

          The introduction talks about how Jonathan Kozol began teaching and he introduces the book. Kozol lets the reader know what to expect when reading the book. Chapter one is about how schools named after someone in history like Martin Luther King Jr. or Thurgood Marshall are not integrated, they are still segregated. Kozol also mentions how Dr. King said, "as long as the Negros basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one," (33), but right now minorities are moving from larger ghettos to smaller ones. They are trying to get out and move into the suburbs, but when they move out they end up in the same situation. Kozol, at the end of chapter one, talks about how the schools try to instill in the children that they can achieve anything they want to by chanting things like, "yes I can, I know I can." (35). Kozol believes that this does not work because society does not believe that they can.
          This section of reading uses a lot of examples to support what Kozol is saying. He repeatedly mentions how many of the inner-city schools are not integrated. Kozol is always giving examples of school that are anywhere from 96-99% African American or Hispanic.

Shame of the nation Introduction and Chapter 1 Dishonoring the dead

This week Brittany was the discussion leader.

My first question is found on page 7 of the book.

1.Why do you think that Kozol states that while some rooms were freezing cold other rooms were sweltering hot?

The first thing that I thought about was that there might not have been heat throughout the whole building. Another possibility could be that the building did have heat installed throughout the whole building, but the heat on one side broke. If the school was having trouble with money, they probably couldn't afford to put it in or fix the heat for the other side of the building. The principal might have felt that if she turned the heat up really high, the unheated side of the building might receive some heat. The one thing I was wondering was if the majority of the white students were put in the heated section while the African American students were placed in the cold rooms. I would sure hope that there were equal racial proportions of kids in each side of the building.

My second question can be found on page 19.

2. How do you think that the public does not know that for the past 12 years the Unites States has been regressing to segregation? Also how does the public not know that the amount of African American students in a school that has a population of mainly white kids has decreased to lower than it was in 1968?

I think one reason that the public does not know about the regression back to segregation rests in the fact that school officials and the media refuses to call it "segregation". The media, Kozol tells us, calls schools that are segregated as "diverse" schools. This makes the school sound like it has a wide range of students with different ethnicity's including white, black, Hispanic and Asian. However this is not true, instead "diverse" schools are mainly populated by blacks and Hispanics. If the ratios of students races in schools were published I feel the public would notice the segregation, and hopefully become enraged. I think the main reason that our country's regression is hidden from the public is because our leaders don't want to face the facts. The leaders of our country and media do not want to say that people who fought for racial equality have been forgotten.

My third question can be found on page 20.

3. What do you feel about the quote, " To give up on integration while aware of its benefits requires us to consciously and deliberately accept segregation?"

I feel that this is a very brutally honest way of stating the events that are happening throughout the country. The public is giving up on the benefits that all races gained from integration in order to make the racists that still exist more comfortable. Sadly, this will have drastic disadvantages for each and every child in our country. Finally, I think this is a very sad way to honor all those people and Dr. King who fought for racial freedom.

My last question can be found from the pages 23-25.

4. Why do you think that schools names after major equal rights and non segregation leaders are mainly populated by African Americans and Hispanics? Also, why do you think the kids in these schools not learn about segregation laws and leaders?

I think that the kids do not know about the leaders and laws so that they do not realize how unfair they are being treated. I feel that most of the kids just happen to end up at these schools while the "white" people flee. What is happening is just like when the "white flight" occurred years back. I feel that it is a huge shame in our country, that these kids are going to schools named after people who fought for equality, yet in these schools equality is not given.

Jonathan Kozol Website

Click here to go to a website all about Jonathan Kozol and the books and work that he has done.

B, Johnny, Gnice, and Marky Mark. Jonathan Kozol: Archive. n.d. Web. May 13, 2011.

Group Introduction

         The Shame Of The Nation, is about the regression of the progress made in the civil right movement, to desegregate schools. This book explains how the word "diversity" is now used by the media and school officials to disguise how segregated schools are becoming again. The book uses direct examples, interviews and statistics of how schools have become re-segregated.The Shame Of The Nation, is about the regression of the progress made in the civil right movement, to desegregate schools. This book explains how the word "diversity" is now used by the media and school officials to disguise how segregated schools are becoming again. The book uses direct examples, interviews and statistics of how schools have become re-segregated.

          As a group we all have had varied experiences with segregated or low income schools. (Matt) came into this book knowing that schools in the inner city weren’t as reputable as the schools in the suburbs of Milwaukee. I (Caitlin) knew that inner-city schools were not the best. We (Brittany and Amanda) came into the book knowing some about segregated and lower income schools.

          I (Brittany) went to a school in Green Bay where the majority of the population was not white. At the middle and high school that I attended, the majority of students were students of mainly Black and Hispanic decent. I have experienced firsthand some of the struggles a school faces when they have a school whose population leads towards the segregated side. Going to my middle and high school in Green Bay was a huge deal, often people looked down on my family for sending me there. In Green Bay a big misconception was that white students would get mugged, attacked or raped by going to a school that had high demographics that were very “diverse”. I think this will help when I read the book because I have seen some of the problems that occur in segregated schools. Also I have witnessed being looked down upon because of where I went to school, instead of it being seen as that I just went to a school. I am sure that this book will also expose many issues and topics that I did not experience during my time in middle and high school. 

          Before reading this book, I (Amanda) had a pretty good assumption of what it would be about since I have read Kozol's Ordinary Resurrections. This book, however, was published five years later, so I was expecting to learn information from Kozol that he may not have known five years before. I knew that I would be hit with facts and statistics that would both surprise and alarm me, and it was my guess that at some point in the book, I would find myself ashamed of my nation and what it is capable of. Since Ordinary Resurrections included a lot of information about our inner-city school systems, I was curious to see what new information Kozol would supply his reader with in The Shame of the Nation. I wondered if the books would be so similar that I wouldn't be interested in reading this second one, but I approached it with an open mind and was excited to read an author that I am familiar with.

          I (Matt Braun) come from a high school which is predominantly white in the suburbs of Milwaukee. Considering my school is ranked in the top 3 percent of all public high schools in the nation, I really didn’t know how fortunate I was to be given the opportunity to a good education. I’m really hoping that this book will open my eyes to the real world and Jonathon Kozol will really show me the gap between our nation’s public schools. Just from already reading the blurb and part of the introduction, I am curious to see how Jonathon Kozol is going to go about this book. I hope I am wrong, but I may come to find it to be a little repetitive and boring if all he throws to the reader are statistics and random information. Despite coming in with this assumption, I am sure that this book will expose many issues that I did not experience during my time in high school.

          Before reading this book, I (Caitlin Hennes) had some experience with segregation but not much. My high school was mostlywhite; however, we did have some diversity. I would say that maybe about 20% of my high school was of a different ethnicity than white. I know that inner-city schools have it bad compared to the middle and upper class schools. I do not know how bad they have it, so it will be interesting to see what these children all have to suffer through. I love working with children and I think by reading this book I will feel sympathetic towards the children and will want to do something to help them out. I think everyone deserves an equal education; rich or poor. A child cannot help if he/she is born into poverty, so why should we make him/her suffer when it comes to education? Haven't the suffered enough?

          We think that who we are will not have a huge impact on how we read the book because we all expect to be shocked. We know from Amanda’s assumptions that we are in for a huge surprise. We also think from the way that Caitlin and Brittany talked about the way her schools were viewed in Green Bay that there may be people who look down on these children. We do feel however, that this book will open our eyes to the world that we have not experienced in full. Our group contains white students from a middle class that has never had to feel judged because of the color of our skin. We also know that we have always had a safe environment in our schools and realize that this might not be true for other students.