The racial issue has always been especially acute given the historical past of this problem. Today, politics has chosen the direction of equality and the elimination of racial discrimination or any of its manifestations. However, there are still some facts about racial separation, and one of the most prominent examples is the separation of children in schools. In the book, Jonathan Kozol analyzes and studies the problems of student segregation in US schools. The author came to the conclusion that the problem is particularly acute, and students are still confronted with manifestations of the racial issue. The goal is to analyze the first two chapters of the book, namely Dishonoring the Dead and Hitting Them Hardest When They’re Small.
The main object of the book’s study was the description of how African American and Hispanic students are concentrated in separate schools, where they make up almost all students. Before writing the book, the author visited about 60 public schools in order to collect enough reliable information. Jonathan found that over the past 50 years, conditions for students in urban schools have deteriorated. It is due to the fact that wealthier families in many cities continued to leave the cities and settle in the suburbs. In addition, minorities made up the majority of families remaining in the city. Besides, it is alleged that American schools have been in the process of re-segregation in recent years. The proportion of black students in schools has declined significantly, leading to divisions into certain groups.
In the first chapter of the book, Dishonoring the Dead, the author studies and analyzes the current state of segregation in schools. The author finds an ironic fact in studying this issue, namely that schools named after people who fought against segregation have the highest rates. For example, the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Seattle, Washington (95% minority) or a school named after Rosa Parks in San Diego, California (80% minority) (Kozol 25). In addition, the author indicated that students are not aware of the actions of the leaders after whom these schools were named.
This information surprised me, and I was shocked when I found out that there is a lower level of segregation in the circling communities. It seems that the title of this chapter is related to the fact that people do not know about the activities of the deceased leaders. In addition, segregation rates show that these leaders have become dishonored. Thus, one may notice how the author leads the public to this problem.
Further, the author points out the problems that students face within institutions and during the educational process. In the second chapter, Hitting Them Hardest When They’re Small, the author stated that students of color have limited resources and support from the educational system (Kozol 44). In addition, problems were discounted and received less attention. There were additional educational programs, but they were available only to those who could afford to pay for them. Thus, children from wealthy families had better outcomes than those from poorer families. The title of the chapter refers to the fact that children face such problems at an early age, which can cause difficulties in the future.
To conclude, the racial issue has been a topical problem for a long period of the country’s history. In two chapters, Jonathan Kozol was able to show that the problem of segregation in schools still exists. Moreover, the author points out the ironic fact that segregation rates are high among schools named after fighters for equality. All these factors formulate the necessity to develop strategies in order to deal with the current issue.
Work Cited
Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. Crown, 2005.