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.