Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools | 
 enlarge | Author: Jonathan Kozol
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  148 reviews
Sales Rank: 974
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 262
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060974990
Dewey Decimal Number: 371.967
EAN: 9780060974992
ASIN: 0060974990
Publication Date: August 3, 1992
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Product Description
National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Kozol presents his shocking account of the American educational system in this stunning New York Times bestseller, which has sold more than 250,000 hardcover copies.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 143 more reviews...
 Savage Inequalities: A Closer Look at an American Education December 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"A fourteen-year-old girl with short black curly hair says this...`We have a school in East St. Louis named for Dr. King...the school is full of sewer water and the doors are locked with chains. Every student in that school is black. It's like a terrible joke on history" (35). After two years of visiting urban schools and meeting with principals, teachers, journalists, others, and students like this girl, Jonathan Kozol created a cry for change for thousands of children in his book, Savage Inequalities. Kozol presents some of the most severe effects of racial segregation and poverty on education in his book.
Savage Inequalities describes the best and the worst of America's public schools. His descriptions of the disparity in the failing schools shows the presence of racism in America's education system. He suggests that the state should be more active in creating equal learning environments for all children.
Kozol visited schools in some of America's largest urban cities: East St. Louis, Chicago, New York City, Camden, Cincinnati, and Washington D.C. He especially looked at public schools in some of the poorest regions. Kozol believes that, "the most important difference in the urban systems is that they are often just adjacent to the nation's richest districts, and this ever-present contrast adds a heightened bitterness to the experience of children" (74). He provides several specific cases of children who face the consequences of this tension. For example, in Chicago, one of the city's aldermen said that, "Nobody in his right mind would send [his] kids to public school" (53). The public schools of the city are understaffed, unsanitary, and hopeless. Kozol notes that, "many of these schools make little effort to instruct their failing students. `If a kid comes in not reading,' says an English teacher at Chicago's South Shore High, `he goes out not reading'" (52). Many schools lack the textbooks and proper supplies to promote updated learning.
Kozol also uses many statistics from different urban areas to support his claims on the failings of the educational system. Not only does he compare the amount of money spent per student in some of the poorest regions with students of the wealthiest areas, but he also provides statistics on teenage pregnancy, dropouts, graduates, college attendance, college graduates, and more. He also uses examples from the courtroom to support his claim of inequality. These statistics and facts provide a solid support for his arguments, but the testimonies he obtains by interviewing both adults and children create the backbone of the book. He describes the schools, the teachers, the students, and the surrounding area to give the reader a glance into the lives of these poor children. Kozol supports his arguments fully by balancing statistics and facts with personal stories told by real people.
Kozol's Savage Inequalities provides a shocking and disturbing view of public education in America's poorer regions. His description of the effects of racial inequality and poverty on innocent children shows that inequality still exists in America, and change needs to occur. Kozol gives a kindergarten class in North Lawndale as an example of the necessity of this change: "If one stands here in this kindergarten room and does not now [their future], the moment seems auspicious. But if one knows the future that awaits them, it is terrible to see their eyes look up at you with friendliness and trust- to see this and to know what is in store for them" (45). According to Alex Haley, the author of Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, "[This book is] a must-read for every parent, every educator, and every relevant policy maker." But this could be taken a step further; any student, adult, or concerned citizen should read this book. Even though it is slightly outdated (based on evidence from 1988-1990), the stories and statistics are alarming and can be used to promote change in our society and in the school system today.
a very important book August 22, 2008
First of all, I realize this book is slightly dated, in that it was published 17 years ago. The unfortunate thing is that I don't believe much has changed since Kozol wrote it... if there have been major changes, he wouldn't have found it necessary to write his second book, Shame of the Nation, or continue to push for equal-opportunity education like he is still doing today. So, although this book was researched and written awhile ago, I do believe it is still relevant for discussion today.
This book is sad. Plain and simple, it made me very sad to read about the way these kids have to "learn" every single day. Children who live in poverty every single day of their lives, who struggle just to get a decent meal and a good night's sleep, who cannot count on safety, a clean environment, or even love from their families, should absolutely, 100% have one place they can call their sanctuary - their school. Unfortunately, this book showed that is simply not the case. Children who live in these horrifying conditions of dire poverty are going to "schools" (and I say that loosely because some of the schools Kozol describes simply are not places to learn) that are decrepit, dirty, disgusting, with not enough space, not enough teachers, not enough books, no computers, and sometimes not even enough working toilets. There isn't another way to describe this book other than horrifying. Pure and simple, we should not be allowing any child to spend a minute in these conditions, let alone every day for eight hours a day. This book is heartbreaking to read, but it needs to be read, because I truly do not think that conditions have changed since the book was published in 1991. This is something that, as a country, we need to improve, big time. Our future literally depends on it.
Another great book by Jonathan Kozol July 13, 2008
Kozol begins his book by writing about east St.Louis. Wikipedia writes about East St.Louis as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation. This is one of the poorest cities in America and of course the school system suffers. The school buildings are run down, bathrooms are broken, and the kids don't have textbooks to study from. The physics labs haven't had water for 25 years and the sports field is completely in ruins . A lot of industrial waste is dumped here from the chemical factories that have established themselves in these areas. Usually it happends by accident when trains with the stuff spills it out on the ground. Then an alarm sounds and people have to take cover. But the kids here suffer from lead poisoning, high asthma rates and other diseases that can be traced to the toxic elements that surround them. The neighbourhoods themselves are filled with 24 hour liquor stores, strip bars, gambling houses, and dealers roaming the streets at night. Its hard to think of a worse start for a kid.
He writes of another neighbourhood in Chicago, called North Lawndale. That was a vibrant community until the riots after Martin Luther Kings death when a lot of the businesses where destroyed. It never really recovered. Now the gangs have moved in and the industries have moved out. A pastor from the area says"kids like these will kill each other over nothing". Dr.Martin Luther King himself lived there but there is no memorial. Only an old truck stands at the spot where his house once was. The schools here are also in terrible condition. Out of a kindergarten class of 23 kids 14 will drop out. 4 at most will go to college. 1 of those 4 will graduate. Three of the twelve boys will have spent time in prison. A few teachers are great but mainly there is a shortage of teachers, leaving many classrooms without one. In fact these kids are economically getting much less than the kids are in the richer areas. Although many adults say that one should not tell these poor kids that because that would encourage "victim" thinking. Although I would feel like a victim if I was reading a textbook that said Nixon was president like some of these kids do! Top salary of a teacher in an underpriveledged innercity school is 40000 dollars a year whereas in a suburb up to 60000 dollars. About 2900 dollars is spent every year on a child in a poor neighbourhood whereas 7800 dollars is spent on a child in a rich one. There is a silent understanding amongst many corporations that the kids in the inner city schools are perfect for the bottom end jobs that they offer. They aren't expected to become doctors or lawyers. This has led to principles and teachers of these innercity schools in "framing their language carefully" when requesting grants or money from corporations to "train ghetto children to become good employees".
In the Bronx one school that is overpopulated is located in an old roller skating rink. It was made to fit 1000 people now there are 1550 people there. The interior is old and falling apart. Too many people crowd into small rooms and many of the windows are broken. There are hardly any computers and the school is surrounded by heavy traffic. In another Bronx school there is a gaping hole in a classroom floor, the blackboards are so cracked that students risk cutting themselves on them when writing, paint flakes off the wall and covers the floor, and when it rains theres a waterfall flowing down the six flights of stairs in the school. Out of 500 freshmen from one school 82 will go on to take the SAT. On the other hand a school in a well off district is close to a park with lots of flowers around it. 825 kids attend this school. Here the library contains 8000 books in contrast to the skating rink school library that contained 700 books.
Great Book! April 26, 2008
Wan to understand why our education system is in the shape that it's in? READ THIS BOOK! Explains why lower income schools perform the way they do....must have for any educator's collective of continuing education books. Worth reading twice!!
Must Read March 29, 2008
Kozol's Savage Inequalities paints a frightening picture of urban schools in the United States. He describes schools that are overcrowded, dilapidated, and flooded with sewage. He asks why we allow our children to go to schools in conditions where none of us would choose to work. He deeply explores the issue of inequality in funding. While he does suggest equalizing funding, he is careful to mention that the problems facing schools are complex and require innovative solutions. I know many teachers have read this book, but we need policymakers and elected officials to read it as well.
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