The following quotes are taken from the Kozol text, 'Framing the Poor' by Tim Wise, 'Keeping Track, Part 1' by Jeannie Oakes, as well as the Spring text.


Quote 1 - Kozol 90

"Work related themes and managerial ideas were carried over into almost every classroom of the school."

Is this such a bad thing? The underlying idea could have a positive effect but how it is described in the book (Kozol's viewpoint) it seems he has no positive point to say about it. It could be that he is viewing this in schools where the idea is abused and has been taken to the extremes. He is also witnessing this practice in areas where the educators and/or administrators do not hold much hope for the children who attend the school. Therefore, it is being utilized as training for the only type of employment these adults believe these the young individuals can achieve. I know from my experience as a substitute teacher, that when I walk into a classroom, especially a K,1, or 2 classroom, if I allow a student to do the incorrect job, I hear about it. These youngsters take their jobs very seriously and they are proud of the fact that each has an assigned position. I once let a student be the line leader and that job was already assigned to another student for that week and that child cried when he thought I was letting someone else do his job. This may seem insignificant but to these young students it has great meaning and as long as it is not being abused, I think this system of assigning jobs in schools can be a good thing.


Quote 2 - Kozol 94

"The package of skills they learn, or do not learn is called 'the product.' Sometimes the educated child is referred to as 'the product' too."

This is where I feel education has gotten out of control. Kozol mentions in various sections of the book that the "human" aspect of education has disappeared and this quote supports that statement entirely. His criticism of the standardization mentality and only looking at numbers, looking at children as if they are a material item should be broadcasted across national television. This is a disgrace because it proves that this mentality has taken over a system that at one time (I believe) had some good. No one knows what kind of effect this will have on the young people in the school system now but I do not have much hope that it will be a positive effect.


Quote 3 - Kozol 95

"Childhood is not merely basic training for utilitarian adulthood."

If this is what these children are dealing with now, what does that mean for their future? This reality is even more severe for the young individuals who are growing up in an already unstable environment. They are disadvantaged from the start and upon entering school, their first academic experiences are in a struggling school. Any childhood freedom they deserve is being stripped away from them. I am not saying that school should be fun and games 100% of the time, but children need to have that release, a chance to be kids. Otherwise, they are going to be burned out by the time enter middle school and what good is that going to do them? They might be less likely to want to go to school which would be the worst case scenario.


Quote 4 - Kozol 97

"Did you ever stop to think that these robots will never burglarize your home and will never snatch your pocket books?"

This comment is alarming regardless of the context in which it is used. However, what makes this even more grave is the fact that it was spoken by the head of a Chicago school. Are there no other options for the future of the individuals attending the school than that of tax paying robots or thieves? Even further, what about a purposeful life and a career that challenges these students instead of mundane work simply to add to the country's tax pool. If the head of the school expresses this kind of attitude, what are the members of the community thinking? Are they allowing this kind of publicity or fighting it? Even if they do fight it, will their voices be heard?


Quote 5 - Kozol 103

"Nobody ever told me I could do it."

I read this quote by an inner city school student and I wonder who the 'nobody' is? Based on the context, I am assuming a great part of the 'nobody' is the staff and team of educators from her school, but so many other aspects of society play a role as well. It is disheartening to think that between family, extended family, friends, religious organizations, members of sports teams, activity groups, social and volunteer organizations, that this child has never once been told that she can do better. Is it really possible that this child has gone through her entire life (she is in high school) without any sense of encouragement. I am not trying to defend this inner city school because I only know what Kozol has expressed in his book, but shouldn't family and society take responsibility for this as well? I know Kozol has pointed out that when he goes to certain urban areas, he does not believe that the community has faith in these students either. Is it possible for schools, families, and communities to make a collaborative effort to encourage these students? If not, we may never see the minimally funded, inner-city school leading to a low paying job cycle broken.


Quote 6 - Tim Wise 2

"Which brings us to the other big lie told about the poor in New Orleans: one that has yet to be addressed in the media, despite how easily it can be disproved by a mere five minutes worth of research."

Wise talks about the devastation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and not to take anything away from that, but I am focusing the section of his quote that states how something so extreme can be reversed by five minutes of research and probably five minutes of airtime as well. If the media, which we all know nowadays is found in every corner of our lives, is not setting the record straight, who will? One of his main arguments is that it is much easier to believe the stereotype than the address the issue and fight it. The public has a much easier time listening to media that confirms their stereotypes of other races. Therefore, he knows the information is incorrect yet who is doing anything about it? Nobody.

I think the same holds true for inner-city schools. The public, mainly white suburban public, hears what they want to hear. They hear the information that confirms their stereotype and rather than dig deeper to research all of the facts, they would rather accept what they hear in the media. It is less time consuming and ignoring the problem can be a lot easier than trying to mend the problem.


Quote 7 - Oakes 421

"Tracking forces schools to play an active role in perpetuating social and economic inequalities."

Quote 8 - Spring 57

"Simply defined, social reproduction means that the schools reproduce the social-class structure of society."

I put these two quotes together because this is a huge issue and both authors do an excellent job supporting how this tends to be true in inner-city schools. Oakes focuses on the issue of "tracking" and how it leads to separating students based on academic level which more often than not leads to segregating students based on color and income levels. The students who are placed in the lower levels have probably not received the same type of education as those who come from advantaged families. Oakes correlates how these lower groups are usually comprised of minority groups.

Spring addresses the teaching style that low-income and inner-city schools use. There tends to be more conformity, and the schools are more authoritarian than schools with higher-income families (Spring 58). The common theme of my quote is: When and where does this end? Who is the first to put an end to this? Who can we rely on, if anybody, to step up and challenge the education system, the media, and society as a whole?