"Many people seemed to view the segregation issue as a 'past injustice' that had been sufficiently addressed" (3). I will be the first to admit that I considered myself one of these people. Since segregation was made illegal after the Brown v. Board of Education case, I assumed that was the end of it. As we will see throughout this chapter, that is not the case at all. There are so many disheartening and bone-chilling moments that Kozol discusses throughout the chapter.
"Smokey says his sister was raped and murdered and then dumped behind his school. Other children add more details: Smokey's sister was 11 years old. She was beaten with a brick until she died" (13). Just stopping and thinking about the situation of these students I feel is important. When we learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, safety is one of the top ones mentioned. How do we expect to teach our children if they don't feel safe? This young boys sister was murdered, and her body was dumped behind the school he attends every day. Since I have never experienced anything like this, I can't say how that little boy feels. It is just another sobering reminder that we need to take the time to get to know our students. My desire is to teach in a low-income area, similar to the ones I will be reading about. It is important for me to learn about their fears and how different my students' lives are and will be from my own situation growing up.
"Assemble all the worst things in America - gambling, liquor, cigarettes and toxic fumes, sewage, waste disposal, prostitution - put it all together" (17). This isn't an over-exaggeration of the events happening in East St. Louis. As I read, I learned more about the schools that Kozol was visiting. In one district, they had sewage back up into the food preparation area; school was cancelled until they were able to get the mess cleaned up and get everything back to code. As he said this quote, he also encouraged the reader to think about where those activities happen in America. In the end, he came to the conclusion that it was mainly in the predominately African American schools. I continued thinking about this and realized he had a really good point. Honestly, I can't think of any predominately white schools that any of this would happen in; at least not that I have been in.
The school I am working in now is Hoover Elementary, and it is a predominately black population of students. This past week they were having a sewage problem as well. The floors of the girls bathroom was covered in water, and the boys bathroom was having issues too. It's disappointing to realize that the education system has failed in a lot of ways. We are unable to give teachers the pay they need, the supplies they need, and a reasonable number of students to try and manage. This is a reality that I need to accept because I have a desire to teach in these schools; even though sometimes I wish that desire would go away, especially after reading some of these situations!
"'Gifted children,' says Dr. Parks, 'are everywhere in East St. Louis, but their gifts are lost to poverty and turmoil and the damage done by knowing they are written off by their society'" (33-34). It's terrible to think of a gifted student giving up on himself or herself because society doesn't expect enough out of them. I really wanted to reflect on this thought. Am I someone that isn't expecting enough out of a student because of their background? Do I automatically assume that a student is incapable? I would like to think not at all, and throughout this past week I have stopped and asked myself that question at my placement. To be honest with myself, I'm not sure whether I do or not. I know there are very intelligent students in the class. Even if I don't make assumptions about capabilities, I should be encouraging my students to strive for excellence no matter what.
I never really thought about the inequalities there were in education. There were always obvious differences when it came to funding; some schools had more books, nice facilities, good equipment for labs. However, I never considered the fact that predominately black schools usually ended up on the worse end of the bargain. It makes you wonder: is segregation gone, or just ignored? Do we turn the other way because we don't want to make that realization that there is something deeply rooted in our society that needs to be changed? Are we supposed to change it? These are questions I have been wrestling with all week as I have been going to my placement at Hoover and thinking about my future teaching job.
Although this was a difficult chapter to read, I'm oddly very encouraged and excited for my future job as a teacher. I also realize I have a lot to learn about the different schools I may be encountering. Even if I don't work in a school exactly like this one, it's important to be informed about what is out there. I'm excited to continue reading and learning about the different schools we will be visiting on this journey.
I like the way you formatted your blog. A lot of reflection which is great and it shows me that I can definitely use more of that on mine. I particularly like the questions you were asking in the end: "Are we supposed to change it?" I'm reading a book that is all about the change that needs to happen, a removal of oppression and transformation of society. That's why I particularly enjoyed your post. It's nice to see that others are in the same boat, asking the same questions and looking for real change. Reflection is the first step. Nice job!
ReplyDelete