The shame of the nation: a summary and analysis

Jonathan Kosol's interest in the teaching profession and activism was triggered after the murder of three young civil rights activists in Mississippi in June 1964 while working as an undergraduate teacher in public schools in Boston, Massachusetts. His experience as a teacher in one of Boston's urban segregated schools gave him an idea of ​​the plight of minority children, which motivated him to address the issue of segregation and the inequalities that exist in public schools that have continued to plague the nation to this day.

School segregation
According to him, he visited approximately 60 schools in 30 districts in 11 different states. Most of his visits were in the South Bronx of New York City, Los Angeles – California, Chicago, Detroit – Michigan, Ohio, Seattle – Washington, Boston – Massachusetts and Milwaukee. In the schools he visited, he notes that conditions have worsened for children in the city center in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the historic ruling in Brown v. Board of Education He notes that the number of white students in urban public schools has decreased with the changing pattern of middle-class white families from urban to suburban communities since 1960 (white flight). It speaks of the irony of the school population in relation to integration leaders, which schools bear their names, such as Thurgood Marshal Elementary School in Seattle, Washington, with 95% minority students. According to him, the overwhelming majority of students in urban public schools in the United States are students of color. In Detroit, for example, 95% of students in public schools are black or Hispanic. In Chicago, the figure is 87%, Washington is 94%, while New York is 75%. He noted cynicism in the "Small School Initiative" as the Center School in Seattle that was perceived as a "decisive factor" in school segregation that "attracted 83% of white students and 6% of black students when it opened in 2001, in a city where whites are only 40% of high school students in the entire district "(p. 277). When comparing the School of the Center with the African / American Academy in another section of the city where black students represent 93% and whites represent 3% of the enrollment, the location of the school of the center and its curriculum offer Many opportunities for students. "The Center's school, located in a cultural complex known as the Seattle Center, offers an impressive academic program to prepare its graduates for college and at the same time offers a wide range of opportunities for students to participate in science projects , theater productions, music, ballet, and other cultural activities ", (p.278) while in the African-American Academy such opportunities are lacking. "In a sense, the school represents a local version of" its own Liberia "… the African-American Academy is using a highly directive method of instruction that, in some respects, resembles the approach used in Success for All" (p. 279). He argues that after decades of persistent struggle against school segregation by educators and civil rights activists, social and economic policies have continued to help the growing trend of school segregation.

Inequities
Kozol regrets the lack of basic resources and services in urban public schools: bathrooms, clean classrooms, hallways; Appropriate laboratory supplies, updated books in good condition and supplies and classroom supplies. According to him, this lack of resources moves some teachers to spend between $ 500 and $ 1000 of their own money each academic year to buy supplies and materials in the case of Winton Place Elementary in Ohio. It argues overcrowding of students in a classroom. For example, in Chicago, it is not uncommon to see classrooms with up to 54 students, along with the fact that most teachers are not qualified.

Kozol also points out the problem of the lack of preschool opportunities for a large number of students because they were denied federally funded Head Start programs. It also shows the disparity in money spent on a student and its effect on state tests. In the case of the state of New York, the average expenditure of a student in the city is $ 8,000 while that of the suburb is $ 18,000. Also in New York, spending inequalities between 2002 and 2003 are: NYC $ 11,627, Nassau County $ 22,311, Great Neck $ 19,705. Teacher salaries in poor and rich school districts follow the same pattern. While the average salary of school teachers in poor communities is $ 43.00, the salary of teachers in suburbs such as Rye, Manhurst and Scarsdale in New York ranges from $ 74.00 to $ 81,000. Even the issue of fundraising is a factor in the disparities between schools in poor and rich communities. While schools in rich neighborhoods can raise up to $ 200,000, schools in poor districts can only raise $ 4,000.

Adaptive Strategy Curriculum
Kozol questions the basics of scripted programs that have adapted to the minority school system. "Authentic writing", Active listening "," Rubric for archiving "," Responsible talk "," Zero noise ", etc., according to the teachers' account, are intended to follow the written lesson to bring formality and structure to the environment of learning that raises the levels of anxiety of both students and teachers.High standard language and higher expectations with little support, has assumed the moral and ethical values ​​that used to be an integral part of the curriculum. The "self-hypnotic slogans" used by most schools have become part of the daily rituals and practices that are designed to boost student morale. Students from low-performing schools are encouraged to memorize phrases such as "I am intelligent", "I am sure" of raising your self-confidence and academic performance This, according to him, has formed the framework used to identify the causes of low performance Number of students of color. He argues that teachers are treated as "ns efficiency techniques" who are encouraged to use "strict Skinnerian controls" to administer and teach students in their classrooms, and whose job is to pump some "added value" to undervalued children . (p. 285)

In close similarity to the above is the business perspective "work-related issues" that are being created in these schools, "market-oriented classrooms", "sign contract", "take possession of their learning", "pencil administrator" , "classroom manager", "building managers", "learning managers", etc. According to Kozol, this type of corporate perspective portrays students as "assets," "investments," "productive units," or "team players." The knowledge and skills, which students acquire, are seen as "products" and "products" to be consumed in the "educational market." Kozol argues that the educational administration should not be compared in any way with the factory's production line, and warns that "teachers and principals should not allow the beautiful profession they have chosen to be redefined by those who know much less about the children's heart. " (p. 299)

High risk test
The issue of teaching for tests has replaced the essence of teaching for learning in public schools. According to Kozol, "in some schools, standardized tests begin in kindergarten. Courses that are not included in high-risk tests are often no longer taught or completely removed from the school's curriculum, such as arts and music In some schools, nap time and / or recess has been reduced or completely eliminated to allow more time for state standardized test preparation. Even teacher meetings are discussion-oriented of effective strategies to prepare students for quarterly assessment tests or to review state and district standards Teachers are encouraged to attend workshops and conferences regarding tests to gain more knowledge on how to integrate their teachings to students. state testing standards.

In the bet of all the educational superficiality imposed on the students, they are also tracked and labeled. Labeling children from level one (lowest) to level five (highest) places them in categories supposedly for further instructions. Instead of receiving adequate attention regarding their labels, it is used as a description of their academic position. "She has gone down to level two," "She is in level one." The issue of academic monitoring and labeling in these schools poses a major obstacle to creating equity and democracy in a learning environment. According to Kozol, learning is taught as "a possession", not something in which one "gets involved." Students are encouraged to select "a professional career" during their first year, to adapt their course work. However, there is little stimulus in the professional career of university education. For example, the case of Mireya who attends Fremont High School in Los Angeles, while aspiring to a college education, is rather placed in vocational classes: sewing and hairdressing. She tells Kozol "I expected something else." "Why do students who do not need what we need get much more? And we, those who need it much more, receive much less?" She questioned.

In view of all these structured teaching strategies imposed in urban public schools by the administrative body, both teachers and students exhibit robotic behaviors to achieve the objectives set by the planners. Teachers who tend to deviate from these stipulations face disciplinary actions and could possibly lose their jobs. Students who do not adhere to the rules and follow the stipulated pattern run the risk of not passing their exams. In general, there is loss of creativity and ingenuity in the classroom. Kozol points out that he would prefer reform than a miracle to get schools back on the right track. He argues that desperate schools cannot be changed by the arrival of a charismatic and rude principal. "There are hundreds of principals in our urban schools who are authentic heroes … But there is a difference between recognizing the achievements of capable school officials and the commercialization of individuals as saviors of a persistently unequal system."

Ray of hope
After questioning and criticizing the re-segregation of urban public schools in the United States, Kozol pointed out some schools, teachers, principals, administrators and human rights activists he had met in the course of his study that gives hope to the possibility of integration school. According to him, "practically all truly human elements of teacher motivation have been excluded from the erroneous perceptions of the market that control much of current education policy. But when we go to schools where these market ideologies have resisted bravely, we are reminded of a set of satisfactions and devotions that are very different from those that dominate the current discourse on urban education "(p. 297) …" These are the schools that I call "the treasured places." remember as much as possible "(p. 300).

He recognizes the changes made in most school districts since after his visits for more than three years. At PS 65, a new curriculum was introduced that focuses on the need of children. Manual timers and scripted lesson plans have been removed, and actual children's writings are displayed on the walls. He also recalls the efforts of some school districts in Milwaukee and Louisville, where school leaders have promoted desegregation through district lines.

Kozol sees all the hopes in teachers and administrators like Louis Bedrock (to whom he dedicates this book), Miss Rosa, the retired principal of the PS 30 school, Fern Cruz, the new principal of the PS 65 school and others for his dedication and persistence in the fight for the right course. of education for the minority. He also recognizes the contribution of black activists such as Congressman Lewis, who have publicly expressed and written books that expose the persistence of segregation in the United States.

In his epilogue, he wrote "A segregated education in the United States is unacceptable." "Integration is still the goal worth fighting for" (p. 316).

The shame of the nation: an analysis

This book seems very revealing, intriguing, insightful and, at the same time, unilateral and stubborn, but in short, it is very educational. This book is the result of a good ethnographic researcher who not only puts energy into his work but also has a passion in the subjects of his work: students. The empirical analysis of this book is based on the inequality that stands out in American society. Race, class, culture, gender and economic status that have formed the measuring tape of individuals & # 39; Value in American society has become the basis of administrative bodies in policymaking. Policies such as education, housing, income and property taxes, transportation, etc. they have been formulated with such care to include and exclude some members of society. These policies, of course, favor the dominant group, which are white and disadvantage the target group, which is mostly black and Hispanic.

A critical mind is needed to understand the game in politics. Taking, for example, the financing of urban community schools from community property taxes, one must first think about the nature of the properties in that community, who owns them, what form and what value they have. If most of these properties are individually owned and have good form and value, they are expected to generate good taxes for the community. On the other hand, when the government owns such properties, little can be done in the property tax in that community, and that in turn affects the school supply. This is the game of politics to perpetuate inequality as we have seen in this book.

Who would expect the administration that tends to speak in favor of equal education to contribute to it being unequal? That the promulgation of "No Child Left Behind" and "Equal Opportunity for All" are only frivolities? Who would imagine that some teachers and education administrators could be so robotic that they question their ingenuity and creativity in the face of manipulation, except for a revealing book like this? Also, how can anyone understand the damage caused by these administrative inconsistencies over the years?

There is an idea of ​​the powers of social, economic and cultural capital of society in this book. Parents who are more informed, educated, with good jobs and better media have more voice in the education of their children than those with little or no education and means. They look for good schools for their children, organize themselves as parents of the school and intervene in matters that are not favorable for their children, for example, they raise money to employ more teachers and advocate for fewer children in a class. They come with one voice to exclude others from joining their children's schools and, sometimes, take their children out of a school that is receiving more minority enrollments, as the case may be. They are less dependent and more challenging for school administration and government than parents with less capital. Minority parents who have less capital, complain and depend mainly on the school administration and the government to make the necessary adjustments in their children's schools. The system encourages the posterity of the family state.

In this stratification atmosphere, while the dominant group acts to maintain its status, and the poor subordinate target group agitates its position, children suffer the struggle. A wider gap is created between the rich and the poor. While children in the dominant group perceive themselves as lucky, they are less educated. Let poor children see everything. They face less chance of integrating and facing the realities of multiracial society and, as such, are less likely to adapt to differences in the future. On the other hand, poor minority children become more skeptical and cynical when equity issues arise. In the case of the little boy from the Bronx who wrote Kozol, "You have all things and we don't have all things," and the California high school student who told his classmate "You're a ghetto, so sew" . The disparities in their educational experiences raise innumerable questions in their heads, which only the government can understand in that, while their parents can be "guilty." of not owning the place where, the students are innocent. Kozol's study will predict that following the current pace of the educational strategy in the United States, inequality will persist; Integration will be minimized and desegregation will not only be a nightmare in schools, but will be reduced in the future in society if they are not addressed now. He says: "This nation needs to be a family, and a family sits down to dinner at a table, and we all deserve a place together at that table."

After listing the classic work of Kozol in diagnosing flagrant, ugly and passionate inequities in our urban public schools that affect the United States today, I need to point out the unilateral and stubborn opinion of the issue. In a situation like this, no person can be well and the other completely wrong, there must be a balance of & # 39; a little to the right and a little to the left & # 39 ;. Throughout the book, Kozol addresses the structural approach to educational inequality that sees the school and government administration as the factor that has perpetuated the problem, with little suspicion, if any, of the cultural approach to discourse with the contribution of Parents and students Although there were some mentions of all white public schools, there was little emphasis on their interactions, although it could be argued that they have all the necessary amenities available compared to minority schools that have few amenities.

I call this one-sided and stubborn in the sense that the visa issues of poor minority parents and their children are not addressed as a possible contribution to the problem and as such potential contributing factors to the solution. If in a capitalist society like the United States, where all opportunities are available to all, the & # 39; majority & # 39; of the minority group continues to complain about the marginalization of resources, there is a problem somewhere despite the limitations of limits. The problem could be the derivation of comfort in dependence or the reliability of the false sense of security. The central word is value. With respect to parents, many of them depend on the system and cannot walk towards independence and instill that value of independence in their children. A culture of poverty has evolved among this minority group and they seem very comfortable in that area. So who earns the extra money for the comfort of their children?

Children also, due to the lack of role models of their parents, do not consider it convenient to fight and conquer the inevitable, embrace violence and continue pointing with the finger as their parents instead of realizing that education, not agitation , is your only access to high status in society. I believe that a focus on reorienting minority group children in exploring educational opportunities, regardless of the limitations they face, would help them return to the right path. On the other hand, if they must be happy, respectful, reduce violence and love themselves, that would attract more empathy from any administration that is in place and can be in their own schools without any targets and feel good alone. Understandably, the structural approach often shapes the cultural, which is unstable depending on the economic resources that produce self-reliance and autonomy.

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