Chapter 8 and 9 Discussion Questions

1. Do you think No Child Left Behind has helped or hurt our country’s children? (page 202 in my book)
No Child Left Behind does nothing to help education. The premise that teachers and students should be rewarded on the basis of lone and solitary test scores is absurd. Why take away money from the schools and those who clearly need it the most? It has only hindered the progress and purpose of education.
2. Kozol writes, “Playing games of musical chairs with children’s lives, when half of the chairs are broken and the best chairs are reserved primarily for people of his class and race, is cynical behavior in a president” (204). How does this quote affect the reader?
I found this quote to be highly effective in its attempts to show the president’s carelessness and recklessness when it comes to the lives of our country’s children. “Playing games” makes it seem as if the president isn’t taking the education of these kids seriously. I really like the metaphor Kozol uses with the chairs; it gives the reader a good visual picture and takes the complicated lives of these children and presents them in a straightforward way. Kozol is also making the president out to be a contributor to hegemonic whiteness by bringing up the issue of race, which is a prominent topic throughout the book.
3. Columnist Jack White published an article in in Time Magazine titled “Why We Need to Raise Hell.” In it, he writes that our country needs to “revive the civil rights movement…and if it takes a new round of sit-ins to put the issue back on the national agenda, so be it” (216). Do you agree with White’s statements?
It’s difficult to picture sit-ins occurring in our country today, and it’s actually particularly disturbing to think that they may once again be necessary. I think White has a great argument going; the facts are there, plain as day. Segregation, beliefs in our schools, contrary to what most Americans believe, did not disappear with the decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1953. Though I agree with White’s motive, I don’t think this movement would be effective in the form of “sit-ins” or even have to come to that. I definitely think that more people need to be educated about the truth behind segregation in these inner-city schools. The sad fact of the matter is that not everyone is aware or particularly concerned about these statistics, which is the first thing that needs to change before our country can go any further in, once again, desegregating our children’s schools.
4. Do you think Milwaukee’s money would be better spent on upgrading the schools, or should integrated education still be a high focus? (page 231)
I think it’s sad that it comes down to an either-or situation. I know this isn’t really answering my question, but I would say that—in a perfect world—using half of this money for each cause would be the most effective option and reap the most benefits for these children. I find it extremely disheartening that it is in fact necessary to invest so much money in these programs to ensure that our schools do not become segregated or that they become desegregated. I think that for the time being, money should continue to go towards such transfer programs to ensure that every child has a chance at a quality education.