Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities was a shocking and extremely disturbing account of some of the urban schools in the United States. It is difficult, and embarrassing, to imagine that in this country, schools like these exist and are allowed to continue as they are; overpopulated, under-staffed, under-supplied, and well below safety standards. It is also appalling that politicians, tax payers and even some educators feel justified in leaving these schools the way they are; that money will not help solve the problems faced by the children in these schools. Unfortunately, it seems to come down to the issue of racism.Each of these poor, urban schools seem ...view middle of the document...
In Detroit, as well as New Jersey, Kozol reported that equal-funding is opposed because "it wouldn't improve or benefit the poorer schools necessarily, or because it would improve and benefit those schools but would be subtracting something from other districts, and the other districts view this as unjust". This, sadly, seems to be the prevalent attitude throughout the United States. Kozol quoted the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives "people in affluent Farmington are not going to vote for more taxes so that poor black kids in Ypsilanti can get better.reading programs". Society's response to other people's children is appalling. I was under the impression, naive as it sounds, that all children are entitled to the best education possible, regardless of their cultural background.Educational funding should not be based on skin color. Not only are the children in these poor, urban schools losing out at a chance to better their lives, but society is also losing. If the children had an improved educational environment, then perhaps the neighborhoods in which they live would improve. They cycle of poverty could be broken with some help. By not funding improvements in these urban schools, the children and their neighborhoods do not stand a chance. They are the victims, not the tax payers on the other side of town, who have to pay a little more each year. School should be a place where children go to learn, but also feel safe and comfortable. It should be a doorway to a better life.
