Chapter 6 and 7 Summaries

Chapter 6- A Hardening of Lines

This chapter focuses on how the parents belonging to a more privileged lifestyle are doing everything they can to isolate their children from “token numbers of the children of minorities” (135). There are certain schools within cities like New York that are attended by primarily white and highly privileged children, children who are only able to attend these schools because their “savvy” parents knew exactly how to finagle them in. These parents have been known to get close to members on the school board, prep their kids for IQ tests, fake an address, enroll their kids in expensive pre-test programs, and even pay for counseling services that will advise them on how to get their children into these schools. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that low-income parents—many of whom have a limited education—don’t have the time and/or resources to finagle their children into these schools. This is why the lines become “hardened.”

Chapter 7- Excluding Beauty

This chapter goes into detail about the hardships faced by students in these segregated inner-city schools including physical disrepair, overcrowding, instability of staffing, rodent infestation, portable classrooms, and unsanitary conditions, just to name a few. Kozol does a nice job in this chapter of forcing the reader to see these conditions through the eyes of the children. He includes letters that students wrote to him discussing their feelings regarding their education. He also includes plaintiffs from children whose school was infested with rats. One child writes, "Ashley got sick because of dead rats" (172). Kozol gains credibility through his use of words taken directly from the children who are effected by these conditions.

more to come... :)

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. 

Graphic Organizer Chapters 6 and 7

This Section of the Book Kozol talks about how the structure of the building can keep the children from learning. I think it is important for people to realize how bad the children have it. Kozol writes how when he visited some schools there were rats in the building, and the students told him how the bathrooms are gross and do not have the proper supplies. Kozol also mentioned sense some of the schools are so over crowded that they children can go to school during the summer and the extreme heat can keep the children from learning. In these chapters it mentions how all of this had been documented but still nothing has changed. Something needs to be done so the children are able to go to school in a safe learning environment, one that will not make them sick from rat droppings or not being able to focus because of the summer heat.

Wisconsin School Conditions

The website that I found is a research paper talking about the conditions of the school here in Wisconsin. Click here to view the web page.

"WEAC Research Paper". weac.org. Wisconsin Education Association Council, Sept. 5, 2008. Web. May 13, 2011.

Chapter 6 and 7 Vocabulary

1. Demarcations(135): The separation of distinct boundaries

2. Preponderance(136):superiority in numbers

3. catchment(137):the intake of a school

4. retrograde (140): to recede, to move backwards or in reverse

5. beleaguered(143): to surround with troubles

6. litigation(151):a lawsuit

7. virulent(158): actively poisonous; highly infective

8. apartheid(159): any system or practice that separates people by race, gender or other appearances

9. juggernaut(169):large overpowering destructive force

10. exhortation(174): conveying urgent advice or recommendations

WKCE Testing

After reading about the standardized testing in the book I thought it would be interesting to see what the standardized testing looked like in Wisconsin. You can click here to go to the web site that talks about Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations; which is the name of the standardized testing in Wisconsin.
"Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE)". dpi.wi.gov. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Feb. 14, 2011. Web. may 13,2011.

Chapter 4 and 5 Summaries

Chapter 4 Summary

“I’m in the business of developing minds to meet a market demand,” says a principal in charge of one of the many inner-city, racially segregated schools that now follow an “industry-embedded education” system that focuses primarily on preparing students for entry-level jobs upon graduating. Kozol illustrates how these schools expect children as young as kindergarten to start thinking about what jobs they may want and begin preparing for them. An emphasis is usually put on managerial positions, with some schools assigning the kids classroom roles such as “Coat Room Manager, Door Manager, and Line Manager,” and teaching kindergartners how to “negotiate.” In this chapter, Kozol is able to create a micro view of this issue. A memorable section includes the discussion of a bright young high school student who becomes trapped in the Culinary Arts curriculum despite academic promise and capabilities of going to college. This story pulls at the reader’s heart strings and further connects them to the children who are burdened with this type of education, or lack there of.

Chapter 5 Summary

This chapter discusses standardized testing and how it has affected inner-city school systems. The curriculums in such schools that rely on these scores for their funding, and in some cases the ability to keep their doors open, have morphed into institutions where the only subject matter allowed to be taught is what has the potential for showing up on these standardized tests. One thing that is attention grabbing in this chapter is Kozol’s cynicism. He writes, “Numbers become everything. Live by rubrics, die by an accidental dip in yearly scores. And to the winners go the extra $15,000.” This tone allows leaves no room for the reader to question Kozol’s stance on the issues he is discussing. He is clearly upset with how important these tests have become and how much they are taking away from quality education.