Savage Inequalities Children in America’s Schools

Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools is a book written by Jonathan Kozol that examines the American educational system and the inequalities that exist between poor inner-city schools and more affluent suburban schools. Kozol believes that children from poor families are cheated out of a future due to the vastly underequipped, understaffed, and underfunded schools that exist in the poorer areas of the country. Between 1988 and 1990, Kozol visited schools in all parts of the country, including Camden, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; New York’s South Bronx; Chicago’s South Side; San Antonio, Texas; and East St. Louis, Missouri. He observed both schools with the lowest and highest per capita spending on students, ranging from $3,000 in New Jersey to $15,000 in Long Island, New York. As a result, he found some shocking things about America’s school system. Key Takeaways: Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol Jonathan Kozol’s book Savage Inequalities addresses the ways in which inequality persists in the American educational system.Kozol found that the amount of money school districts spend on each student varies dramatically between wealthy and poor school districts.In poorer school districts, students may lack basic supplies and school buildings are often in a state of disrepair.Kozol argues that underfunded schools contribute to higher dropout rates in poorer school districts and that funding between different school districts should be equalized. Racial and Income Inequality in Education In his visits to these schools, Kozol discovers that black and Hispanic schoolchildren are isolated from white schoolchildren and are shortchanged educationally. Racial segregation is supposed to have ended, so why are schools still segregating minority kids? In all of the states he visited, Kozol concludes that real integration has declined significantly and education for minorities and poor students has moved backward rather than forward. He notices persistent segregation and bias in poorer neighborhoods as well as drastic funding differences between schools in poor neighborhoods versus more affluent neighborhoods. The schools in the poor areas often lack the most basic needs, such as heat, textbooks and supplies, running water, and functioning sewer facilities. For instance, in an elementary school in Chicago, there are two working bathrooms for 700 students and the toilet paper and paper towels are rationed. In a New Jersey high school, only half of the English students have text books, and in a New York City high school, there are holes in the floors, plaster falling from the walls, and blackboards that are cracked so badly that students cannot write on them. Public schools in affluent neighborhoods did not have these problems. It is because of the huge gap in funding between rich and poor schools that poor schools are faced with these issues. Kozol argues that in order to give poor minority children an equal chance at education, we must close the gap between rich and poor school districts in the amount of tax money spent on education. The Lifelong Effects of Education The outcomes and consequences of this funding gap are dire, according to Kozol. As a result of the inadequate funding, students are not simply being denied basic educational needs, but their future is also deeply affected. There is severe overcrowding in these schools, along with teacher salaries that are too low to attract good teachers. These, in turn, lead to inner-city children’s low levels of academic performance, high dropout rates, classroom discipline problems, and low levels of college attendance. To Kozol, the nationwide problem of high school dropouts is a result of society and this unequal educational system, not a lack of individual motivation. Kozol’s solution to the problem, then, is to spend more tax money on poor schoolchildren and in the inner-city school districts in order to equalize spending between school districts. Educational Inequalities in America Today While Kozol’s book was first published in 1991, the issues he raised continue to affect American schools today. In 2016, The New York Times reported on an analysis by researchers of approximately 200 million student test scores. The researchers found inequalities between wealthier school districts and poorer ones, as well as inequalities within school districts. In August 2018, NPRÂ  reported that lead was found in the drinking water at Detroit Public Schools. In other words, the educational inequalities outlined in Kozol’s book continue to exist today.

Gatsby And Romanticism - 1148 Words

In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatz as a man who is willing to do anything for love. He could also be considered as a romantic hero. However romantic hero does not mean a person that does everything for love. Romantic hero means someone who is rejected by his/her actions, or by society. â€Å"According to James Smith Allen, the term Romanticism has as many meanings as commentators. However, one can sketch a general definition of the movement based on its predominant rejection of classical rationality, objectivity, and universality in favor of an emotional, subjective, and personal response to the world†¦...the Romantic hero was a frequently a familial and social outcast, and defined him or her self via notions of†¦show more content†¦One day Nick Carraway the speaker of the book The Great Gatsby attended to one of Gatsby’s parties he notice Gatsby being alone on his marble steps, just watching the party go on, making no physical o r social connection with any of his guests, but Nick did not knew why was he apart from everyone else. â€Å"The nature of Mr. Tostoff’s composition eluded me, because just as it began my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes. His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed everyday. I could see nothing sinister about him. I wondered if the fact that he was not drinking helped to set him off from his guests, for it seemed to me that he grew more correct as the fraternal hilarity increased.†(pg-50). This quote is very important because it gives the reader an understanding on Gatsby’s personality, on the way that he acts around other people. Gatsby isolated himself when the love of his life left him and married someone else. He wanted to get her back so he isolated himself from everything that did not had to do with his love Daisy, he made money, bought a house, and throw expensive parties to impress Daisy, so he can get her back and have some company in his life. Gatsby used to think he was in love with Daisy and that everything he did was for her, but in reality all the stuff he was doing wasShow MoreRelatedRomanticism In The Great Gatsby Analysis867 Words   |  4 PagesF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby appears to be a tragic love story about Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. But upon closer examination, readers will see that their love wasn’t love at all; rather, it was an obsession on Gatsby’s part. He had built up Daisy as he’d remembered her, negligent of the fact that they had both grown and she had changed. Gatsby hadn’t been in love with Daisy, but the idea of Daisy. However, Gatsby isn’t the only one guilty of romanticism. The book’s seemingly reliableRead MoreEssay on The Legacy of Romanticism in The Great Gatsby3369 Words   |  14 PagesThe Legacy of Romanticism in The Great Gatsby The development of American Literature, much like the development of the nation, began in earnest, springing from a Romantic ideology that honored individualism and visionary idealism. As the nation broke away from the traditions of European Romanticism, America forged its own unique romantic style that would resonate through future generations of literary works. Through periods of momentous change, the fundamentally Romantic natureRead MoreThe True Denotation Of The Great Gatsby762 Words   |  4 Pageshis house, just out of reach of his hand.†(Fitzgerald). â€Å"The Great Gatsby† was a great literary piece that has conjured numerous meanings. Some might say that the meaning of the novel is focused on the consequences of obsessive love; Or it might be focused on a dark depiction of the world and maybe the novel defines something essential about American cultural values. However, I believe that the true denotation of â€Å"The Great Gatsby† is that our desire to recapture the past holds a deep allure, butRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1395 Words   |  6 Pages Romanticism and modernism are two philosophical thoughts so unlike each other, modernism embracing the cold truth of reality in the industrialized world of 1920s America, romanticism this same world through rose filtered lenses, summed up in the words of Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald, â€Å"we are all just humans†¦ drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our broken bones.† Fitzgerald was a romantic living in the modernist 1920s, and his classic work The Great Gatsby was certainly a romantic bookRead MoreThe American Dream in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, An Outline848 Words   |  4 PagesWest and find land to start a new life and business, this eventually gravitated into a materialistic vision that evolved around lavish mansions, fancy cars, and expensive clothing, thus indicating great accomplishments - Within the novel G.G, Jay Gatsby is a man that comes from a poor family and no wealth- only has a plan for achieving greatness (American Dream) - The author demonstrates how one can lose sight in life and become corrupt through focusing only on wealth, supremacy and materialisticRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1210 Words   |  5 Pagesinforms Nick Carraway that Jay Gatsby is still in love with Daisy Buchanan. 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These ideals allude to the American Dream, along with the superficiality and corruption associated with it. Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby as a medium to portray hopeless romanticism, fantasy fueled ambition, and failure to achieve self-contentment. Gatsby is characterized early in the plotline asRead MoreGatsbys Personality Leads to His Tragic Death885 Words   |  4 Pagesthan others in order to win their true love. F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby, has Jay Gatsby, a man whose life is revolved around one goal: love. His goal is to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years prior to the story. Gatsbys goal takes him from living in poverty to living in wealth. It then lead him back to the arms of his lost lover, then eventually to his death. If Gatsby would have just let her go none of that wouldve happened. Some of it was good and some

Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons Free Essays

Belinda Johnson EN 371-51 Dr. La Guardia, David November 15, 2011 A. One pro/con response to a recent article or articles of criticism on any of the texts in the course. We will write a custom essay sample on Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons or any similar topic only for you Order Now Pros and Cons of Emily Dickinson As discussed in class, the difficulty of poetry could go a far distance. There is no introduction, background or prologue to poetry. It is often a story within a few lines. So, when reading poetry it is important to recognize and understand the metaphors and the symbolism that it contains. It is also critical to know all the definitions of the words in the poem. When reading the late, great Emily Dickinson’s poems the comprehension criteria of poetry should not fall short. Along with Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson has been referred to as the grandparent of poetry. She has live a recluse life, one of which she preferred to spend in confinement. Very private, Dickinson has written hundreds of poems, 1,775 to be exact. Yet, only seven of her poems were published during her life time, none with her full consent. Her criteria of a poem was this, â€Å"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way. † In poetry, Dickinson is often fascinated by nature, death, pain, love and God. In her poems Dickinson often speaks elliptically. That said, when reading Dickinson’s poems, we must dot the I’s and cross the T’s that we think are not L’s. We must make our own interpretation because Emily would not have wanted us to interpret them at all. This is where the window is open to much criticism that maybe a pro or con to how others view Dickinson and her work. This is where we unknowingly hyperbolae words or phrases that should be litotilate. With the complexity of some of Dickinson’s poems, it is always nice to find reviews on Dickinson and her works. There are many ways Dickinson’s poems could be interpreted and some of her poems often give reason for others. For example, one of her short poems states, â€Å"The Riddle we can guess/We speedily dispise-/ Not anything is stale so long/ As Yesterday’s surprise-â€Å". Emily has many poems that are riddles. This poem explains that a riddle should not be easily figured out or it is not a riddle at all and is often disliked. Rad also  We grow accustomed to the dark This poem is also stating that no riddle should be too hard to crack and once it is crack it quickly become old news. This goes back to a poem being an explanation in just a few lines. I placed my understanding of this poem, yet a previous professor of mines by the name of Thomas Hayes would disagree. He believes that this poem does not explains Dickinson’s poetic riddles, but is symbolically explaining that once we find out what is going to happen in the future, it quickly becomes the past and we are no longer interested. This is an example of how criticism and interpretation can be taken in many ways with Dickinson’s poems. There are numerous articles of Emily Dickenson in the New York Times. Most of which praise her as a writer, a poet, and an artist. In the art review section of the NY Times journalist, Genocchio had this to say about Dickinson, â€Å"Dickinson’s posthumous popularity has since grown to a point where, along with Walt Whitman, she is widely admired as one of the two best American poets of the 19th century. Genocchio has written a full article on Emily Dickinson’s inspirational poems. He explains that because of her seclusion from the outside world and even though she has two biographies, the best way to understand Dickinson is through her poems. It is through her poems and her delicate choice of words that we find her love for nature or as a philosopher named Kant would say, her art and beauty. This article is very helpful to those that have trouble understandi ng Dickinson as a writer because Genocchio does not bash Dickinson for her complexity, but embraces it. This article connects Dickinson to artists such as painters which may be a more simplistic way to view Dickinson’s work because she often tells a story through her vision of things. Genocchio discusses how Dickinson is the inspiration to a numerous amount of paintings. She is the influential drive of many artist. Emily Dickinson is the brush of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Margo Jefferson is another journalist of the New York Times that wrote an article on Emily Dickinson. Jefferson states, â€Å"Dickinson is honored, even worshiped by writers (including me). She is studied ravenously by scholars. Plenty of readers love her. But plenty are still put off. † This is true; many understand and appreciate Dickinson for her contribution to poetry. Yet, many do not understand her life style, her poetry and her reasoning of things. Some of Dickinson’s views are too complex to comprehend, her feelings are sometimes intricate and brutally honest and this could intimidate or maybe even deter some readers and writers. Jefferson also states, â€Å"Dickinson’s fame has always been fed by myth. She was the virgin poetess dressed in white, the tremulous daughter who never left her father’s house, the maiden who turned to art because she was thwarted in love. † This critique I do not agree with. Dickinson is not a product myths, she is not a story told but is a story that is read. Though her story may make her seem as that of a virgin poetess but it is through poetry that she has climaxed to the top. She did not turn to art because she was missing love, but her poems produce both art and love of many things to her readers. I think this article is very opinionated and could easily be misleading. It is criticism that is based off emotion and not fact that gives Dickinson a bad name. It says a lot about the ignorance of the critic. One of the most common sites to browse when having issues fully understanding a piece of literature or when and extra analysis is needed is Spark Notes. Spark Notes prepare character analysis, background analysis and even explains themes, motifs and symbolism of different text. When reviewing the analysis of Dickinson and her poems on Spark Notes some of the ideas and understandings were useful and some weren’t. Some of the analysis I agreed with and others I did not. For example Spark Notes state, â€Å"she explores her own feelings with painstaking and often painful honesty but never loses sight of their universal poetic application; one of her greatest techniques is to write about the particulars of her own emotions in a kind of universal homiletic or adage-like tone (â€Å"After great pain, a formal feeling comes†) that seems to describe the reader’s mind as well as it does the poet’s. † This is very true about Dickinson. It is often easy to relate to Dickinson in her poems because she makes her personal feelings universal and she often includes the reader with poems such as â€Å"I’m nobody! Who re you? † or â€Å"The Soul selects her own society†. Yet, Spark Note goes on to say, â€Å"Dickinson is not a â€Å"philosophical poet†; unlike Wordsworth or Yeats, she makes no effort to organize her thoughts and feelings into a coherent, unified worldview. Rather, her poems simply record thou ghts and feelings experienced naturally over the course of a lifetime devoted to reflection and creativity: the powerful mind represented in these records is by turns astonishing, compelling, moving, and thought-provoking, and emerges much more vividly than if Dickinson had orchestrated her work according to a preconceived philosophical system. Although Dickinson’s poems may seem random, when reading them they appear amalgamated and deeply expressed whether it is four lines or ten. She is very philosophical in her words and had nothing but time in her private life to invest in her preconceived thoughts, reflection and creativity. Though I do not fully agree with this particular statement by Spark Notes, I believe that its analysis article properly describes and explains Dickinson and her poetry. Emily Dickinson is often praised and criticized for her work of art. Though she is brutally honest and intimidating in her poetry, she brings out the beauty of life and nature. She may sometimes seem intrinsic in thought, but she is morally and universally simplistic. Dickinson tells stories through her poetry and though she may fiddle with riddles and appear difficult to understand, it parallels her life. This is why she is often criticized. All critiques have its pros and cons, but not all of it is helpful. How to cite Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons, Papers

Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons Free Essays

Belinda Johnson EN 371-51 Dr. La Guardia, David November 15, 2011 A. One pro/con response to a recent article or articles of criticism on any of the texts in the course. We will write a custom essay sample on Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons or any similar topic only for you Order Now Pros and Cons of Emily Dickinson As discussed in class, the difficulty of poetry could go a far distance. There is no introduction, background or prologue to poetry. It is often a story within a few lines. So, when reading poetry it is important to recognize and understand the metaphors and the symbolism that it contains. It is also critical to know all the definitions of the words in the poem. When reading the late, great Emily Dickinson’s poems the comprehension criteria of poetry should not fall short. Along with Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson has been referred to as the grandparent of poetry. She has live a recluse life, one of which she preferred to spend in confinement. Very private, Dickinson has written hundreds of poems, 1,775 to be exact. Yet, only seven of her poems were published during her life time, none with her full consent. Her criteria of a poem was this, â€Å"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way. † In poetry, Dickinson is often fascinated by nature, death, pain, love and God. In her poems Dickinson often speaks elliptically. That said, when reading Dickinson’s poems, we must dot the I’s and cross the T’s that we think are not L’s. We must make our own interpretation because Emily would not have wanted us to interpret them at all. This is where the window is open to much criticism that maybe a pro or con to how others view Dickinson and her work. This is where we unknowingly hyperbolae words or phrases that should be litotilate. With the complexity of some of Dickinson’s poems, it is always nice to find reviews on Dickinson and her works. There are many ways Dickinson’s poems could be interpreted and some of her poems often give reason for others. For example, one of her short poems states, â€Å"The Riddle we can guess/We speedily dispise-/ Not anything is stale so long/ As Yesterday’s surprise-â€Å". Emily has many poems that are riddles. This poem explains that a riddle should not be easily figured out or it is not a riddle at all and is often disliked. Rad also  We grow accustomed to the dark This poem is also stating that no riddle should be too hard to crack and once it is crack it quickly become old news. This goes back to a poem being an explanation in just a few lines. I placed my understanding of this poem, yet a previous professor of mines by the name of Thomas Hayes would disagree. He believes that this poem does not explains Dickinson’s poetic riddles, but is symbolically explaining that once we find out what is going to happen in the future, it quickly becomes the past and we are no longer interested. This is an example of how criticism and interpretation can be taken in many ways with Dickinson’s poems. There are numerous articles of Emily Dickenson in the New York Times. Most of which praise her as a writer, a poet, and an artist. In the art review section of the NY Times journalist, Genocchio had this to say about Dickinson, â€Å"Dickinson’s posthumous popularity has since grown to a point where, along with Walt Whitman, she is widely admired as one of the two best American poets of the 19th century. Genocchio has written a full article on Emily Dickinson’s inspirational poems. He explains that because of her seclusion from the outside world and even though she has two biographies, the best way to understand Dickinson is through her poems. It is through her poems and her delicate choice of words that we find her love for nature or as a philosopher named Kant would say, her art and beauty. This article is very helpful to those that have trouble understandi ng Dickinson as a writer because Genocchio does not bash Dickinson for her complexity, but embraces it. This article connects Dickinson to artists such as painters which may be a more simplistic way to view Dickinson’s work because she often tells a story through her vision of things. Genocchio discusses how Dickinson is the inspiration to a numerous amount of paintings. She is the influential drive of many artist. Emily Dickinson is the brush of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Margo Jefferson is another journalist of the New York Times that wrote an article on Emily Dickinson. Jefferson states, â€Å"Dickinson is honored, even worshiped by writers (including me). She is studied ravenously by scholars. Plenty of readers love her. But plenty are still put off. † This is true; many understand and appreciate Dickinson for her contribution to poetry. Yet, many do not understand her life style, her poetry and her reasoning of things. Some of Dickinson’s views are too complex to comprehend, her feelings are sometimes intricate and brutally honest and this could intimidate or maybe even deter some readers and writers. Jefferson also states, â€Å"Dickinson’s fame has always been fed by myth. She was the virgin poetess dressed in white, the tremulous daughter who never left her father’s house, the maiden who turned to art because she was thwarted in love. † This critique I do not agree with. Dickinson is not a product myths, she is not a story told but is a story that is read. Though her story may make her seem as that of a virgin poetess but it is through poetry that she has climaxed to the top. She did not turn to art because she was missing love, but her poems produce both art and love of many things to her readers. I think this article is very opinionated and could easily be misleading. It is criticism that is based off emotion and not fact that gives Dickinson a bad name. It says a lot about the ignorance of the critic. One of the most common sites to browse when having issues fully understanding a piece of literature or when and extra analysis is needed is Spark Notes. Spark Notes prepare character analysis, background analysis and even explains themes, motifs and symbolism of different text. When reviewing the analysis of Dickinson and her poems on Spark Notes some of the ideas and understandings were useful and some weren’t. Some of the analysis I agreed with and others I did not. For example Spark Notes state, â€Å"she explores her own feelings with painstaking and often painful honesty but never loses sight of their universal poetic application; one of her greatest techniques is to write about the particulars of her own emotions in a kind of universal homiletic or adage-like tone (â€Å"After great pain, a formal feeling comes†) that seems to describe the reader’s mind as well as it does the poet’s. † This is very true about Dickinson. It is often easy to relate to Dickinson in her poems because she makes her personal feelings universal and she often includes the reader with poems such as â€Å"I’m nobody! Who re you? † or â€Å"The Soul selects her own society†. Yet, Spark Note goes on to say, â€Å"Dickinson is not a â€Å"philosophical poet†; unlike Wordsworth or Yeats, she makes no effort to organize her thoughts and feelings into a coherent, unified worldview. Rather, her poems simply record thou ghts and feelings experienced naturally over the course of a lifetime devoted to reflection and creativity: the powerful mind represented in these records is by turns astonishing, compelling, moving, and thought-provoking, and emerges much more vividly than if Dickinson had orchestrated her work according to a preconceived philosophical system. Although Dickinson’s poems may seem random, when reading them they appear amalgamated and deeply expressed whether it is four lines or ten. She is very philosophical in her words and had nothing but time in her private life to invest in her preconceived thoughts, reflection and creativity. Though I do not fully agree with this particular statement by Spark Notes, I believe that its analysis article properly describes and explains Dickinson and her poetry. Emily Dickinson is often praised and criticized for her work of art. Though she is brutally honest and intimidating in her poetry, she brings out the beauty of life and nature. She may sometimes seem intrinsic in thought, but she is morally and universally simplistic. Dickinson tells stories through her poetry and though she may fiddle with riddles and appear difficult to understand, it parallels her life. This is why she is often criticized. All critiques have its pros and cons, but not all of it is helpful. How to cite Emily Dickinson Pros/Cons, Papers