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.