Ashley Jackson
1/31/10
TED 3380

The Shame of Nation 5- 4- 3- 2- 1: Chapters 8 & 12

5 – After reading Chapters 8 and 12 of The Shame of the Nation, I think Jonathan Kozol wants us to remember that programs are always being put into place in schools trying to help them and give their students a better education; however they do not always work. Most of the time people create a program that works at first and then money begins to be reduced, which results in the ending of the program just like Higher Horizons after 7 years. It was good at first and people began to see results in the student’s grades, but it fell through. Even though Kozol talks about how programs fail and schools are sometimes not clean or good enough, in his last chapter he talks about how there are miracles and great things that happen in segregated schools. There are teachers and principals that do make a difference. Kozol is trying to show us that we should not give up on programs that are put forth and know that there are people working in these school that do make an impact.

4 – 1.)Page 189: “The problem as it soon turned out, was that the program had become too cheap too rapidly.”
2.) Page 195: “An entirely different kind of promise, one that seems much easier to understand in human terms, is the high set of expectations that attach themselves to changes in the topmost personnel.”
3.) Page 197: “Exaggerated expectations have exacted an especially high toll on urban school officials.”
4.) Page 317: “You cannot give it up. We cannot give it up. As a nation, as a people, I don’t think that we have any choice but to reject this acquiescence, to reject defeat.”

3 – Ineptitude (page 198) – quality or condition of being inept; without skill or aptitude for a particular task or assignment
Lassitude (page 198) - weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness; languor
Acquiescence (page 317) - to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert

2 – Two connection that came to my mind after reading these two chapters were first that we have put in place the No Child Left Behind Act which I am not sure is a good thing. This act was put into schools in 2001 and says that all children will go onto the next grade. They will do this by the state making sure that schooling is the best it can be and if a student does not past the testing, he or she cannot go onto the next grade. I think it might start out good and then fail. The second connection I have with the text is that I agree with Kozol in chapter 20 when he talks about how there are people in schools who do make a difference. Yes there are many things wrong with schools today; however teachers and principals work very hard to make students lives better, not only by educating them but by actually caring for them.

1 – What are some of the programs, besides No Child Left Behind, that are being put into place to help schools become better?