Quote:
“And students at good high schools read these words… and enlightened in our social history” Kozol page 30.
Response:
This quote discusses the Brown v. Board of Education decision and how students in good schools are taught that separate but equals repeal was a step toward the right direction. Clearly the decision by the courts was intended to do good, as I was taught having gone to a “good” school, but nothing is being done to enforce it. The Brown decision is being rejected by our nation with the evidence of segregated schools. As a nation if we wanted true desegregation, I propose that school systems would all have to be regional schools. This would include urban students being bused to the suburbs and suburban students being bussed to the cities. A certain percentage of whites and minorities then could attend each regional school. This of course would never happen because it would cause too much of an “inconvenience” to people. Kozol goes on to talk about organized parent groups in the wealthier schools; they would probably be the biggest opposition to my proposed solution.
Quote:
“None of this includes the additional resources…to reduce the size of classes for their children.” Kozol page 46
Response:
I find it very interesting that private funds raised by parent organizations go solely to that school. I assumed that if a parent organization or a donation from anyone else is made it would be to the school district or the Board of Education for dispersal as they saw fit. Reading about this made me think about where I would want my money to go if I were to donate to my child’s school, of course I’d want it to go to their school. However since I don’t have a child and I can objectively think about this; I believe that it’s only fair that money collected by the public school should all be put into a larger account that funds all of the schools in the city. That way schools in poorer neighborhoods can benefit from the donations of people from wealthier neighborhoods. This idea may cause a decrease in donations because parents probably want their money to directly affect their children. If a system like this were put into place all students would benefit from it equally.
Quote:
“This nation can afford to give clean places… to virtually every child in our public schools.” Kozol Page 62
Response:
This quote seems contradictory to what Kozol has said in the first two chapters. It seems to me that he is suggesting that we can afford to provide exceptional schools to every student on par with what he describes as the wealthiest schools. He already argued that the wealthier schools are better off because of outside funding and the poorer schools do not get. Especially in a city like New York, how do dilapidated schools not get fixed by funds that are already there according to this quote? He goes on to say that we “keep them at a distance” to make it easier to disregard them. I think the blame should then lie on the Board of Education whose responsibility it is to provide for these students when they are in need.
