Deadly Lies

The following quotes are taken from The Shame of the Nation, written by Jonathan Kozol.

“President Bush accuses those who disagree with him about the wisdom of these practices of being the unconscious bearers of soft bigotry, while one of the president’s advisers overseeing federal education research has said that it is racist nonsense to reject claims that schools accountability alone will lead to equal outcomes for our children.” Chapter 11, Page 265.

This quote is talking about the federal law, No Child Left Behind. I disagree with everything that is being stated in this quote. The federal law is not helping students succeed in schools especially students with special needs. Instead teachers have to push them beyond their limit because of the rules of the law. I also think that it’s wrong to accuse people of being racists just because they don’t believe in the law working for all students. Urban schools will have a difficult time, because schools are not funded properly to get the resources they need to teach students. Students will only fall further behind leaving the opportunity for equality behind them.

“The longer this goes on, the further these two roads divide, the more severe and routinized these race-specific pedagogies many become, the harder it will be to find a place of common ground on which children of the many ethnic groups and social classes in our nation’s public schools will ever actually meet.” Chapter 11, Page 273.

If our nation does not step up to the plate soon, the American education system will too far gone to help. There is so much we need to do to desegregate schools and create equality among all. We should not let the children to come suffer. Looking into the future I am scared to think what they education systems will be like in the next 20 years. Will things have improved or gotten worse? Parents, children, teachers, administrators, and more need to get out in the community and start “building bridges” to bring these two roads back together.

“The small school initiative, says Advocates for Children, offers the best hope for providing high school students in New York with an adequate education. But without careful planning small schools may merely replicate the problems of the past.” Chapter 11, Page 277.

I think that having smaller schools will help children get a better education in urban cities. By having smaller schools would also mean smaller classrooms. Teachers would be able to focus more on the students because of the lower numbers. I really like the idea of having smaller schools, but as a society we need to make sure that these schools systems are organized, have proper funding, and are focused to helping students.

“Yet hundreds of thousands of children who have made what urban districts claim to be dramatic gains in elementary schools where principals have readjusted their entire schooldays and school calendars, forfeiting recess, in order to comply with state demands-those students now in secondary schools are sitting in subject-matter classes where they cannot comprehend the texts and cannot set down their ideas in sentences expected of most fourth and fifth grade students in the suburbs.” Chapter 11, Page 281.

Why can’t politicians and administrators see that standardized testing has negative impacts in schools? Teachers are forced to teach to the test to help students do well, yet we clearly see this is not working. Students are becoming more and more behind because they are not being taught the basics in school. If politicians want a well working society in the future then they need to make changes in schools systems. It is sad to see that children have to suffer from the poor decisions that our American government makes.

“In 2004, The Washington Post has noted only 350 African American freshmen enrolled at the University of Michigan, out of an entering class of almost 6,000 students-the lowest number of African-Americans in 15 years and a decline from nearly 500 three years earlier.” Chapter 11, Page 282.

Why are there low numbers of African Americans attending college? I believe it has to do with the urban school systems and the low leveling learning that is occurring. In the quote above it says that principals are rearranging the schools schedules to let students have more time to practice for testing, but it leaves out all the other things children need in school. If students cannot write their ideas on a piece of paper because we did not teach them how, how are they supposed to succeed or even get in to a college? This is why the numbers are going down.

“The Post’s other explanation are increases in tuition costs and a restricted applicant pool of African-Americans because of very low test scores on their SATs. But, certainly the widening gulf in math and reading levels between minority high schools students and their white contemporaries-a devastating five year gap between the races, as the Education Trust observed does not pose an optimistic prospect for admissions of black students to our four-year colleges and universities during the years ahead.” Chapter 11, Page 283.

Tuition of colleges is also a huge impact to families these days. With the economy being down maybe families have to make sacrifices and put college off for a few years. If tuition keeps increasing little by little then soon nobody will be able to afford to go to college.  Low SAT scores are another reason why African Americans and minorities in urban areas are not going to college. Schools are not teaching the important things that students need to know. Schools are focusing more on reading and mathematics but still are behind.