Savage Inequalities

Unlike today, schools in America were much different twenty years ago due to an
imbalance of the education system between race and class. Communities where African
American population is abundant are usually the ones with poor education systems. An excerpt
from the book Savage Inequalities: Children in Americas Schools by Jonathan Kozol,
mentioned the discrepancies in education between schools of different classes and races. Kozol
visited two schoolsone in East St. Louis and the other in Rye, New York. The former has the
lowest per capita spending on students whereas the latter has the highest. During his visit at these
schools, he also checked out several classrooms to observe the students behavior and education
level. He noted that there was a huge difference between the students at the two schools.
One of the classrooms that Kozol visited was Irl Solomons history class (East St. Louis
High). According to journalists, his class was the highlight of the school (Kozol, 334). Solomon
has been teaching at urban schools for over thirty years and he considered these schools the
toughest to teach. His classroom had four ladies who just became mothers or were expecting.
These ladies had already decided to have babies because they did think that their future would
allow a decent path for them due to their high school. Normally, people would complete college
and have a stable high- paying job before deciding to even have children, but this was not the
case for these ladies because their current position defeated their self-esteem and confidence.
After interviewing with several students in the class, Kazol learned that the school lacked much
equipment, and this has taken away a lot of educational opportunities from students. The school
is also not able to afford janitorsjudging from one of the students unwillingness to use the
toilets. Plus, many courses, including Latin, have been cut due to teacher layoffs.
The other school that Jonathan Kozol visited was in Rye, New York. There, he
interviewed a student named Jennifer, whose family moved from Bronx to Rye for the better
schools. From her tone of speech, she looks down on schools in East St. Louis and Bronxshe
described them as a hell (Kozol, 337). Jennifer also thinks that the parents of students from
those areas do not care much about their children and do not want a good life for their them,
which is why those students focus on extrinsic non- school related activities, such as joining
gangs and doing their drugs. Additionally, she believes that everyone should have a chance to
take the same courses, but it is up to the students to motivate themselves. Judging from Jennifers
responses, she does not understand that the families from the poor neighborhoods do not have
money, and this affects the entire city as a whole because they are not paying enough taxes to
support schools. Jennifer sees no point in financially helping those people.
The school in East St. Louis and the school in Rye, New York cannot comparethey are
full of contrasts. East St. Louis does not have a good academic curriculum for their students
because they cannot afford the resources to offer such. These resources include but are not
limited to teachers, equipment, and textbooks. Worst of all, the students here do not learn much
because their minds are not focused in pursuing a goal where education is mandatory. This is due
to peer influence. On the contrary, Rye, New York is a rich community with parents who, aside
from paying high taxes, also donate money to the school. This sum of money does not only help
provide competitive teachers, but it also improves the physical appearance of the school.
Compared with the last twenty years, todays educational system has definitely changed,
even in the ghetto communities. This is because taxpayers voted for more funds to go to the
childrenthe schools. For example, all the high schools in California, both public and private,
require all students to take a number of certain courses in order to graduate. Racial inequality
was also an issue twenty years ago, which placed bias on the African American community.
However, that issue is rare in todays society. Of course, there are still myriad poor families, but
they can apply for government aid. It is very important for children to have a good education
because the result of education is a huge contribution to society. You do not need to be rich or
even live in a rich neighborhood to have a good education now.