Jonathan Kozol's book, Savage Inequalities, speaks about the misfortune of students and the problems they face not only currently but in the future. The dilemma that our society has now is to step up to the plate

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Caitlin Pacer                                                                11/14/2005

SPE 432                                                                Urban Book Review

Savage Inequalities: Jonathan Kozol

        Jonathan Kozol writes about the indifferences of how students are treated in today’s society.  Through misfortunes set upon them by society, students are seeing themselves in a completely negative light.  Kozol quotes CSS in his chapter, The Savage Inequalites of Public Education in New York “Children hear and understand this theme- they are poor investments- and behave accordingly.  If society’s resources would be wasted on their destines, perhaps their own determination would be wasted too.”  The students in the poorest districts are receiving the worst education.  This seems to be an overlying theme to his book.  This proves to be true, the teachers are leaving at a rapid pace, the student’s books are not available and their buildings are falling down.  Kozol makes an assumption when asking the point of how our society holds our students accountable for their lack of focus or motivation if there is no help from the surrounding world.  He provides examples in the New York chapter that emphasize and substantialize this point.  For example, when he visits Mt. Morris High School, the school is in shambles.  The students are disillusioned about their future, one student remarks “Most of the students in the this school won’t go to college. Many of them will join the military….”  The student goes on to ask how could he support a nation that does not support him due to his skin color.  This comment brings us to the central theme of Kozol’s book.

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        The indifferences that students are experiencing can be contributed to skin color is the basis of Kozol’s argument.  He makes the astounding comment that “Like kindness, cleanliness, and promptness of provision, it is not secured by gravity of need, but by the cash, skin color, and class status of the applicant.”  Through his book, he proves his points on this issue completely but to the outside reader, it almost becomes overwhelming.  For instance, in the chapter, The Equality of Innocence: Washington, D.C. when he remarks “ They see a slipshod deviant nature- violence, lassitude, a reckless sexuality, a feverish need ...

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