Discussion leader for the book in review

1. On Pages 155-156 Kozol talked about visiting a school and how he saw the students making pillows. How do you think the schools could get around this rule or incorporate other educational values while the students are making their pillows?

I think that the schools need to rewrite their curriculum, if the majority of their children are struggling in school. They can leave the sewing and wood working classes as optional for the students to take if they wish, but not make it mandatory. If the classes continue to be mandatory the teacher could incorporate math into the pillow making. For instance she could make story like math problems that the students need to solve in order to figure out how much fabric or thread they need to make their pillows. If the school district incorporatates reading and math into these classes, the students will still be receiving instructional time in another class.

2. On pages 90-92 Kozol mentions how a school viewed their students as employees and their school as a business. What are the benefits and disadvantages of doing this?

One advantage that I think the students got out of this was learning how to fill out an application and go through an interview process. Some of these students because of their lower income level might not have adults at home that can teach the children about how to do this. In the school children can learn in a non-high stakes environment and be better prepared for the future. However, there are many disadvantages I see with this process. Students are not at school to be seen as machines or business people. They are students! Children need to feel that they can be valued for who they are, and with the business process they are being formed into one size fits all. Finally students need to be creative and this process is taking away their creativity.

3. On page 172 Kozol mentions the dangerous conditions many students are exposed to in low income situations. There is a mention of rates and asbestos and lead paint. How do you think this can be changed?

I think that first of all this situation needs to be broadly publicized on national news. All of the lower income schools that suffer these conditions should be listed when the report is done. The news crew should interview clips of students and clips of the unsafe environment inside the schools. Next, people should write to their government officials and the white house representative for education. By gaining publicity and writing to officials, hopefully the government would feel pressure to fix these dangerous situations.

4. On pages 202-203 Kozol mentions the many different education goals that Presidents have proposed. Why do you think none of them have been successful?

I think that none of these proposals have been successful because the Presidents are not well informed on everything that is occurring in the schools. Second of all, the Presidents goals are too high and often take away from schools if goals are not met. Schools that have a lower income level cannot afford to lose more money from the government. I think the best way for a President to be able to set accurate goals is to read this book, look at reports from low income schools and visit a lot of the lower income schools. This way he is fully exposed to the situation and has a better expectation of what is good to expect.