In this final chapter, Kozol discusses the different attempts and fails of different school districts trying to gain more financial help. Usually through going to court they are able to receive these funds. However, in this chapter we discover that, although they have tried numerous times, different districts are unable to receive the funding they need. This chapter was a little bit frustrating to read because he explains the different reasons people give to not giving more money to these underprivileged schools. Jonathon Kozol opens our eyes to the true greed that exists in the education system along with the corrupt leaders of the states who are in charge of the distribution of funding.
"Inequality is mediated for us by a taxing system that most people do not fully understand and seldom scrutinize. How this system really works, and how it came into existence, may enable us to better understand the difficulties that will be confronted in attempting to revise it" (207). This statement really hit me, mainly because I know I am one of those ignorant people that doesn't compeltely understand the taxing system. The only way I know anything about how the taxing system doesn't work is because I can see it in the inequality between districts. However, I think it is very important, especially for me as a teacher, to better educate myself on this system as a whole. If I want to make a difference in changing the system, I need to understand how it works first. Throughout this chapter, we are shown different ways of how people have constantly tried to change the system; Brown vs. Board of Education is one example he uses. People realized that the schools were divided by race and saw that it wasn't fair, so they "fixed" it. A lot of division is still evident in our school system today, and it is our job as teachers to educate ourselves and learn how we can help the school district we will be working in.
"The argument here is not that the children in districts having relatively low assessable property values are receiving no public education; rather, it is that they are receiving poorer quality education than that available to children in districts having more assessable wealth" (215). I think this is an important point to really keep in mind. It isn't necesarily the money that they are fighting to gain, although it would be a big help, they're fighting to be able to provide their students with the best education possible. Anyone fighting against this has to be out of their mind, but unfortunately people argue that they are given the same opportunities and materials that every other school is given; which is completely false. It's unbelieveable that people can ignore a problem that is so blatantly obvious. Kozol goes on to talk about how students are not receiving enough one-on-one attention from teachers because the class sizes are so big. They are not able to do homework because they can't take the books home since there aren't enough for everyone. Students don't have the same educational experience in science labs because the school can't afford the supplies. In other districts students get to have these types of experiences because they live in a wealthier neighborhood. The town you live in shouldn't affect the edcuation that you receive. These differences definitely affect the quality of education, and it should be understood that something needs to be done about it.
"'We don't want to take away the good things that you have. We just want to lift the poorer schools a little higher.' Political accommodation, rather than conviction, dictates this approach" (222). It's sad that this has to be explained to the wealthier districts. Any time they go to court to try and gain more funding, the wealthier schools always try to fight against it, worrying that it will take away from their own funds. These other districts need to be convicted of the inequalities that are present between the two different types of schools and have sympathy for them. As fellow educators, they should be doing whatever they can to give those teachers and students the same opportunities that they have been given. It's surprising to me that there is this kind of rivalry between the schools. No middle ground seems to be met through all of these situations, and that's really disappointing to me. I hope that other schools can better sympathize with one another and help in any areas that they can, simply because it's the right thing to do.
This last chapter was much different than the others, talking more about the numbers than the personal stories that we have heard. However, I think it was important and needed to be addressed. "Savage Inequalities" really is the best title for this book. The differences between the districts are horrific. Anyone should be able to see that and should want to respond and help in any way that they can. This book really has opened my eyes more to the differences, greed, and selfishness that is going on within the education system. I really look forward to learning more about this in my future years as an educator.
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