Journal # 4

Although I (Amanda Houle) thought this book became somewhat redundant by the end, I really enjoyed reading it. I thought he did a really good job of combining facts and statistics with real life situations and people that he has encountered. It was nice when he said names (such as Pineapple) and I was able to recognize the character from previous chapters. Though I knew what to expect coming into the book because I have read Kozol before, I still found myself shocked at almost every turn of the page. He moved from one topic to another at a steady pace, which was nice. I don’t think he spent too much time discussing one specific issue, and he thoroughly touched on all of the points that he brought up. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about going into a field with anything to do with education.

             While reading this book, I (Brittany Greenawald) felt like I needed to do many things. I felt Kozol was calling on his audience to take action, and help the children to gain equal education. One thing that I feel all individuals who read this book are capable of is to write letters to government officials. Within the letters to the government officials (like senators, congressmen and governors) there should be specific statistics and horrible conditions cited directly out of the book. This way the government will know that the secret is getting out, and they will feel pressured to fix the broken system. I also think that Kozol wants all of the readers to talk about the book to their friends and family, so they as well will uncover the major dilemmas. Finally as a future teacher, I (Brittany) feel outraged by all that is happening in the schools. I feel as if my eyes have been opened wide and I have been informed about what to expect in the coming years. In some way this book has made me want to teach at a lower income school. I want to help these children, and be someone who assures the students that they are more than their test scores and that I believe in them. I feel that everyone that is a teacher and that will be a future teacher needs to read this book!

          I (Caitlin Hennes) really enjoyed the book; it was an eye-opener for me. I knew that inner-city schools needed help, but I did not know that the schools were this bad. I found it shocking and a little ironic that most of the schools named after Martin Luther King Jr. are the most segregated schools with almost 99 percent African-American and Hispanic students. After reading the book it makes me want to do something to help these children. I think Kozol wrote The Shame of the Nation to make people see the reality that so many of us try to push under the rug and pretend that it is not there. Something that I feel I can do, that is very simple, is spread the word. Let other people know what is going on in inner-city schools and hopefully they will want to jump in and help. My hopes is that soon there will be enough people who are aware of what is going on in these schools, that the government will have to do something to fix it. If we do not fix the education gap between inner-city schools and the middle class and upper class white schools we will no longer be able to mend the gap since it will be too far apart.

           I (Matt Braun) thought this book was a huge eye-opener and helped me to see what a segregated school is like from a teacher’s (Jonathon Kozol’s) perspective. In The Shame of the Nation, Kozol is angry about these educational inequalities and encourages us as a society to overcome these barriers. As I was reading the book I felt like he was trying to call his audience to take action, and help these poor children. I personally believe what is needed, are leaders who recognize that we have a common goal in an America: to provide educational tools that prepares our children for a successful future. Every child deserves the right to a good education and as of right now the quality of an education an individual receives is based on: what the color of your skin is, where you live, and how much money you have. As a society it is our responsibility to break down these walls and strive to make our world a better place. In order to achieve this we need to set high standards and establish measurable goals that will improve individual outcomes in education.