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Have you ever considered how blessed you are to be able to write, read, and learn? Have you ever considered having access to good teachers, schools, and libraries as a privilege? I didn’t until I read Jonathan Kozol’s book, Savage Inequalities - Children in America’s Schools. In the book he explains how some children in the United States face incredible obstacles to receive a fair education, while other children are simply given exceptional education opportunities.
Kozol gives and eye opening look at the public school system in cities throughout the United States. They include East St. Louis, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; New York; Camden, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; and San Antonio, Texas. Not only does he expose the terrible conditions of some of the educational systems in cities, but the conditions of the cities themselves.
Kozol spends an entire chapter on each city. He gives a description of the environment in the local schools as well as the city. He describes the inner city ghettos and impoverished areas. The areas are usually high in crime and riddled with trash. He also contrasts with the opportunities the children in the more affluent areas are given.
The schools in the bad parts of those cities lack the most basic needs. There are not enough textbooks for each student, and, in many schools, the text books are out of date. The rooms’ temperature is not well regulated. They could be either sweltering hot in the summer or very frigid in the winter. The science rooms lacked the appropriate equipment to do the basic experiments. Many of the schools’ facilities were not in working condition and were not supplied with paper towels and toilet paper. Some schools had to be closed due to sewage backing up into the cafeterias and kitchens. As quoted in the book: “I don’t go to physics class, because my lab has no equipment.” says one student. “The typewriters in my typing class don’t work. The women’s toilets…”...