Shame of the Nation

 

Jonathon Kozol, National Book Award winning author of Savage Inequalities, once again visits the topic of inequity in America's public schools. Focusing this time on totalitarian teaching methods in urban districts and near apartheid levels of segregation, Kozol examines the growing divide between the haves and have-nots of our public schools and the waning hopes that the levels of desegregation and opportunity once envisioned in former times will one day be achieved.

One shameful and tragic irony that surfaces immediately in Kozol's work, is that to find some of the most segregated and unequal schools, one need only to look for those named after the leaders who fought so hard to against such conditions; leaders such as Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lou Hamer. In states such as Michigan, New York, Illinois, and California, once "bastions of progressive thinking" and homes for politically charged social movements, can now be found these same schools where rates of segregation are the highest in the nation.

The disrepair, unequal funding, and lack of basic resources in many of the schools from Savage Inequalities are still present, while new military style instructional methods and prisonesque management techniques have begun to emerge under the name of "urban education." In some instances, a form of classroom eduspeak has been imposed upon the natural language of children reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. And in this new era of No Child Left Behind accountability measures, subjects that are not directly tested on standardized exams have either been marginalized or dismissed entirely in these urban schools.

Thirteen years have passed since Savage Inequalities, yet Kozol's passionate voice continues to speak out loudly for those children whose voices are rarely heard. It continues to remind a nation of shameful truths that have been long been ignored. The true shame of the nation, as Kozol points out, is that "No matter how complex the reasons that have brought us to the point at which we stand, we have, it seems, been traveling a long way to a place of ultimate surrender that does not look very different from the place where some of us began."

How to Eat Fried Worms

Ingredients: 50 whole dollar bills, 15 ripe earthworms, 4 young boys, 1 disgusting dare

Combine all ingredients into a small book, carefully mix with witty dialogue, stir in unforgettable characters, add a dash of nausea, a pinch of mischief and generously sprinkle with humorous chapters. Let stand for fifteen days, remove from bookshelf and enjoy in large helpings.

How to Eat Fried Worms is a recipe for fun, laughter and possibly an upset stomach. However, it is sure to please even the pickiest of young readers who are reluctant to try new things and tend to stick with those familiar authors or their favorite series.

The fun begins when a conversation over last night’s dinner of salmon casserole and one of the boy’s refusal to eat even two bites of it (yuck!), turns into a contest of I’d eat anything for enough money. Well, it turns out $50 is enough and anything happens to be fifteen worms. One worm a day for fifteen days which adds up to some disgusting concoctions, some devious scheming, and a whole lot of arguing.

The book is filled with such remarkably realistic adolescent behavior that you being to wonder if these kids might happen to be neighbors of yours. Billy, the main character and recipient of 15 worms challenge, is drawn by the author with all the thoughts, actions, and unique characteristics that make for a believable character and one children can connect with easily.

More than just a book about four boys and a slightly disgusting premise, How to Eat Fried Worms is sure to please young readers and older readers who remember their favorite book from fourth grade.

Flush! The Scoop on Poop

Who could resist such a terribly tempting tale on the topic of toiletry? (Or a lengthy alliteration for that matter?) In the grown-up world, books on how everyday household edibles like salt, soda, chocolate, potatoes and even the olive have shaped cultures and civilizations throughout the ages are as common as single-ply toilet paper. So why not a book about the final destination of all of these digestible goodies? And who better to appreciate such a history than kids?!!

"Flush" spirals children through the ages from the time before toilet paper to today's self flushing potties. Along the way kids will discover some downright disgusting dirt on the the story behind doody. They'll learn why kings and queen avoid castle moats, why umbrellas were good on a medieval sunny day, and how differently the business is done depending on where you live.

As you might have already guessed, this scoop on poop is filled with some very amusing and colorful illustrations that please the eye if not the senses. Told entirely in verse, the clever rhymes and rhythmic pace will make the contents of this history a little easier to digest. There is just this one caveat to parents though, "Flush" might make an excellent bathroom reader but should probably steer clear of the other coffee table books to avoid contamination.

Finally, as a sample of just how enjoyable this book can be, my friend and I put together this song from the book on the "Uses of Urine". Enjoy!!

Savage Inequalities

"Savage" is the only word that can begin to describe the system of education portrayed in Jonathon Kozol's 1991 ground breaking work, Savage Inequalities. Often compared to Upton Sinclair's infamous exposé on the dehumanizing and substandard working conditions of the meat packing industry, Kozol's work takes us deep inside many of America's urban school districts and shows us conditions that are equally dehumanizing and substandard. As we listen to individual voices of America's students and begin to see the miserable conditions many have learned to accept unconditionally, Kozol forces us to question some of the fundamental principles of equality and justice upon which our country was founded and our system of education depends.

In the land of plenty, it seems improbable that so many schools throughout our country could go without the basic necessities required for even an "adequate" education. And yet, as Kozol takes us on a field trip to urban classrooms across America, we find children forced to share discarded textbooks, perform schoolwork with non-existent materials, use dilapidated and often dangerous facilities, and learn from a merry-go-round of substitute teachers with little or no investment in their students' futures. Contrasted against the bleak and miserable conditions are the schools within elite city pockets or neighboring suburbs, schools in many cases just a stone throw away, where resources abound and the quality of education is considerably higher. These savage inequalities are sad reminders that not only can such disparity exist, but that separate and unequal public school systems can be found co-existing side by side.

Beyond simply describing material inequities, Kozol explores issues such as federal court rulings, state funding, and local administrative decisions that have either indirectly impacted school equality or have been directly responsible for creating an uneven playing field for millions of students. What surprises and often enrages the reader throughout this book are some of the arguments made for refusing to take action to raise the level of education in these neglected school districts; arguments such as those made by business leaders in the community who consider children of urban schools as poor "economic investments," arguments made by political leaders against providing urban schools with equitable resources, or an argument made by a Supreme Court Justice who states that education "is not among the rights afforded explicit protection under our Federal Constitution."

Despite Kozol's fluid writing and engaging subject matter, his work is a difficult read because of the emotions his material stirs and the feeling that to continue reading is to accept a social responsibility that would simply be easier to ignore. And yet, this is all the more reason that a book like Savage Inequalities needs to be read, for it is one of those rare books that harshly awakens the conscience from its peaceful slumber and refuses to let it sleep again.

Blink*

What's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a quad-core processor, and able to leap to conclusions in a single bound? Your brain, apparently. Malcolm Gladwell's foray into the region of the brain and it's superhuman capacity to judge, reason, decide, and identify, all in the Blink of an eye, make for a compelling narrative that's able to sustain the brain's attention throughout the length of the book.

Gladwell's journalistic prowess is readily apparent as he assembles a variety of sources ranging from pop culture to empirically based research that demonstrate the power of thinking without thinking, and in some cases the danger of thinking too much. Some startling illustrations from the book are a researcher who can accurately predict a couple's likelihood of divorce based on just minutes of conversation, a high-tech billion dollar military machine defeated by a Vietnam vet, and a whole category of musicians judged solely on their gender. Gladwell also introduces us the concept of "thin slicing", or our ability to sift through a massive amount of past experience in a split second, to reach conclusions that seem like irrational intuition but can prove to be as effective as that rational methods of science.

So is it just intuition or is it really thinking without thinking? Everyday we make split second decisions; whether we're deciding between hard shell or soft, sizing up our best friend's new date, or navigating a baffling network web links for information on obscure movie trivia, our brains are actively analyzing information that has been finely tuned from the vast database of our personal knowledge. And all so quickly that we're frequently unaware that we've even had time to think, as if it's some thoughtless reflex. However, Gladwell's examples from the world of cognitive psychology, market research and neuroscience have helped reveal the inner thinker inside us all and develop an appreciation for the hunches we so often rely on.