5 sentences on the Big Picture
Kozol examines, in chapter nine, the need for a broad political movement. “Herewith…a radical proposal…Revive the civil rights movement, which went into limbo long before some of its most important goals were accomplished…” (p. 216). Kozol reported on the efforts of teachers and principals to resist the restoration and strengthening of segregation in public schools. In Chapter 12, Kozol's last chapter is devoted to display examples of excellence that he witnessed while visiting schools in America’s most segregated and poorest schools. Mr. Bedrock and Miss Rosa demonstrated that even in the worst of situations there is still hope.
4 Key Passages
1. Chapter Nine (page 222)
“We now have far more educated black adults who have participated in desegregated schooling and who don’t want to go back. We also have a lot more white adults who have experienced school integration and have seen it work successfully.” Most people are not “doing anything politically today,” Orfield said, “but we should challenge them to act….”
2. Chapter Nine (page 234)
“No matter what the social obstacles that children, both minority and white, must learn to overcome, no matter what the necessary games that must be played and roles that must be filled in adolescent years (emphasis on style differences, and music tastes, and all the rest of what may seem to separate them at the start), a strange phenomenon- normality, humanity- kicks in; an, not in every case but far more often than a social order with our racial history has reason to expect, they do teach out across the structural divide time and again and we are better, as a nation, for the consequence.”
3. Chapter Twelve (page 286-287)
“Students in these schools still have to take the standardized exams that are required of all children in our public schools, and some of the anxieties associated with these tests and with the annual publication of the scores are present in these schools as well; but nobody tells the children that their test results define their worthiness or that these numbers measure their identities, or limited forms of learning that are tested by a standardized exam are more important than the ones to which a governmental number cannot be attached.”
4. Chapter Twelve (page 299)
“Teachers and principals should not permit the beautiful profession they have chosen to be redefined by those who know far less than they about the hearts of children. When they do this, as in schools in which the principals adopt the borrowed lexicons of building mangers CEOs, they come out sounding inauthentic, self-diminished, and they end up diminishing the human qualities of teachers. Schools can probably survive quite well without their rubric charts and numbered standards-listings plastering the walls. They can’t survive without good teachers and, no matter what curriculum may be in place, whether it’s approved by state officials or by Washington or not, they are no good at all if teachers are unable to enjoy the work they do and be invigorated by it unpredictables.
3 Key Terms
1. page 218; nostalgic- unhappy about being away and longing for familiar things or persons
2. page 218; vestige- a trace; a sign; A faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present; remain
3. page 293; lamentation-the passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief
2 Connections
1. Starting a movement is somewhat scary. No one usually wants to step up to the plate, usually because of fear and the lack of support. I feel that we have overused Brown vs. Board of Education and that verdict was necessary for that time period but 2010 is totally different, same issue but different scenarios. We have to raise our voices. One way I took the initiative was created a Heritage Panel at my high school. Its goal was to build a more inclusive high school through dialogue. I felt that there was so much separation and we needed to be more unified. I had support from many faculty and students.
2. It was always something about my English teachers who always had a lasting impression on me. I noticed when there was a very authentic, nurturing, and caring environment I performed better. I would always notice my teacher’s emotions and other students did as well. It seemed as if my teachers were my mother away from home. When teachers are passionate about their subject and less about standardized testing, school is more enjoyable. We need more teachers who have that same passion and same love. I realize that love, including tough love is what most students want in addition to learning. My teachers have inspired me to teach because of the relationship they built with their students.
1 Question
Is apartheid education worst than slavery?
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