4th Blog

New York Times' article on School Segregation and Education Inequality

Overview: The New York Times published this article as an interactive way for people to learn about the issues of education and schooling in the United States. There are five activities to learn about school segregation and education inequality. The first activity is an interactive chart on the inequalities black and Hispanic students face in the United States education system. It includes data on the issues of segregation, discipline, opportunity, and achievement gap in those two minority groups. The second activity is a case study on two African American girls living in Charlottesville, Virginia who go to two different schools based on geographical location. The article discusses the issues between the two schools and how different their experiences were even though they lived in the same town. The third activity discussed how funding and money is directly tied into the inequality and segregation in school systems. Within this is an article that discusses the funding differences in white schools and non-white schools. The fourth activity is reading about families going to the state to remove their students from schools suffering from segregation and placing them in racially diverse schools. Schools that are diverse are more funded and have a better education system then those that are segregated due to them being poorly funded due to the areas they are in. The fifth activity is about alternatives to integration such as designed all black schools. Some parents want their children to be around people like them, so they decide to place their children into these education systems rather than integrate. 

Connection: A big connection that can be made right out of the gate is to Lisa Delpit's work. The laws of power are heavily connected to the issues pointed out by the New York Times. One big one is that the New York Times are acknowledging the power that is being used by white people through the education system and telling the world about this power being used. Another law of power that can be connected is that the issues of power are enacted in classrooms, which is a founding reason why the article was published.

    Another connection that can be made is to Kozol's work, where he goes around a terrible neighborhood and asks the boy that is giving him a tour about the people he knows. The boy knew Oprah but had no idea who George Washington was. This goes to show that children being educated in these areas are not getting any form of valuable teaching when they go to school, because more often than not they are more worried living which is more important than education.

Personal Thoughts: Overall, the information that is provided is lengthy yet incredibly important. Knowing this knowledge will help spread awareness and change towards the education system. This will help to pushing to create more equality and push for integration into schools once again, as it was meant to do many years ago.

Links: 

Precious Knowledge Video Analysis- Logan Tupper - Google Docs

3rd Blog: Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol

 Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace

3rd Blog Post

Argument: In this piece of literature, Jonathan Kozol describes his trip to the South Bronx in New York City and the terrible state it is in. He argues that the environment and development of these areas in New York City is causing issues for the young children that grow up there. He pushes his themes through his own personal experience with a young boy who gave him a tour around the area of St. Ann's Church. The boy named Cliffe states out areas such as the incinerator that was placed there by the city, the trash dump off zones, and the shootings that the boy himself witnessed. Kozol also uses statistics to set the scene, with mentions of how in 1991 when monthly income in that area was $7,600, and the high population of people on drugs and have contracted HIV that in one shape or form affect the children in this area.

    When looking at what I read, it seemed that the area surrounding St. Ann's Church was being used to dump everything that was unwanted in New York City. The incinerator was being used to burn waste and body parts from hospitals but was originally going to be placed in another location in NYC. The people there spoke up about the high risk of cancer due to the toxins, so it was placed South Bronx for the people who are not fortunate enough to be able to speak up. The area the author visited was housed of people that were so poor, drug infested, and/or diseased via STDs. There are areas that are used to leave unwanted things that pile up, and sometimes the people grab to use on a daily basis. It seems that the only thing they have to cling onto is family (if they have one) and religion. These unfortunate situations dramatically affect the children being raised in these areas by seeing violence (shootings and death), drugs, and health effects from the environment and what their parents are carrying (STDs, issues causing their children to get asthma or other defects). Cliffe even told Kozol that he had no idea who George Washington was, which goes to show the issues of education in these areas. He knew who Oprah and Michael Jackson were, showing that the poor being forced to move to the outer parts of the city are racially diverse. Overall, pushing the poor and unfortunate souls farther out from the wealthier areas of New York City is not helping the children or people growing up in these areas, but just making it worse. The children more importantly, are struggling in these conditions due to the drug abuse, disease, environmental hazards, money issues, and familial issues.

Hyperlink: This Is What Happens After a Neighborhood Gets Gentrified - The Atlantic