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.