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?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Shame of the Nation 5-4-3-2-1
Ashley Jackson
1/20/10
TED 3380
1/20/10
TED 3380
The Shame of the Nation: 5-4-3-2-1
5 - After reading The Shame of the Nation, I think Jonathan Kozol wants his readers to remember how terrible schools are and not every child goes to a nice, wonderful, and clean school. Kozol talks about some very low income schools and all of the terrible learning styles the students have to deal with. In my view, the primary thesis or philosophy of The Shame of the Nation is that there are some terrible schools and neighborhoods that need so much help. People need to stop living their lives not knowing or caring about people who live and go to schools in low income areas. Kozol talks about how America could afford to help these low income schools but chooses not to. I agree with every issue Kozol talks about in his book. Every child deserves to go to a great school that will teach them correctly and everything they should learn about.
4 – 1.) Page 5: “These were eloquent and straight-talking people who did not equivocate in speaking of the damage done to children by their racial isolation in the poorly staffed…up to now, with equanimity.”
2.) Page 15: “Leaning on her elbows on the picnic table, with a sudden look of serious…What’s it like…Over there-where other people are.”
3.) Page 43: “During the 1900s, physical conditions in some buildings had become so dangerous that a principle at one Bronx school, which had been condemned…rotted and glass panes were falling in the street…that served the truly poor.”
4.) Page 53: “Which of these children will receive the highest scores- those who spent the years from two to four in lovely little Montessori schools…or the ones who spent those years at home in front of a TV or sitting by the window of a slum apartment gazing down into the street?”
3 – Struggle (page 5) - a task or goal requiring much effort to accomplish or achieve
Maladjusted (page 14) - badly or unsatisfactorily adjusted, esp. in relationship to one's social circumstances, environment, etc.
Minority (page 29) - a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population
2 – The reading did not remind me of something else that I have read, however, after moving to Waco I have had many experiences with what the book is talking about. Since I am an education major I work with students in school in Waco. Every school I have worked in here has been a low income school. Two connections I have with the reading are first, last semester I read to a boy named Ricky every Wednesday and Thursday. He went to Doris Miller. This school is made up of mostly black and Hispanic children. Every time I walked into Doris Miller it killed me to see how poor some of these children were and the kind of equipment, bathrooms, and other things in the school that should not be so run down. A second connection with the text is when I thought about my freshman year when I was in TED 1312. I would go to a school and tutor a boy there for one semester. It was through the Baylor program. We would work with reading and spelling. This school was a low income school too and it was really hard to see what these children had to go through and what kind of facilities they learned in.
1 – What are some actions we can take to help these low income schools?
5 - After reading The Shame of the Nation, I think Jonathan Kozol wants his readers to remember how terrible schools are and not every child goes to a nice, wonderful, and clean school. Kozol talks about some very low income schools and all of the terrible learning styles the students have to deal with. In my view, the primary thesis or philosophy of The Shame of the Nation is that there are some terrible schools and neighborhoods that need so much help. People need to stop living their lives not knowing or caring about people who live and go to schools in low income areas. Kozol talks about how America could afford to help these low income schools but chooses not to. I agree with every issue Kozol talks about in his book. Every child deserves to go to a great school that will teach them correctly and everything they should learn about.
4 – 1.) Page 5: “These were eloquent and straight-talking people who did not equivocate in speaking of the damage done to children by their racial isolation in the poorly staffed…up to now, with equanimity.”
2.) Page 15: “Leaning on her elbows on the picnic table, with a sudden look of serious…What’s it like…Over there-where other people are.”
3.) Page 43: “During the 1900s, physical conditions in some buildings had become so dangerous that a principle at one Bronx school, which had been condemned…rotted and glass panes were falling in the street…that served the truly poor.”
4.) Page 53: “Which of these children will receive the highest scores- those who spent the years from two to four in lovely little Montessori schools…or the ones who spent those years at home in front of a TV or sitting by the window of a slum apartment gazing down into the street?”
3 – Struggle (page 5) - a task or goal requiring much effort to accomplish or achieve
Maladjusted (page 14) - badly or unsatisfactorily adjusted, esp. in relationship to one's social circumstances, environment, etc.
Minority (page 29) - a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population
2 – The reading did not remind me of something else that I have read, however, after moving to Waco I have had many experiences with what the book is talking about. Since I am an education major I work with students in school in Waco. Every school I have worked in here has been a low income school. Two connections I have with the reading are first, last semester I read to a boy named Ricky every Wednesday and Thursday. He went to Doris Miller. This school is made up of mostly black and Hispanic children. Every time I walked into Doris Miller it killed me to see how poor some of these children were and the kind of equipment, bathrooms, and other things in the school that should not be so run down. A second connection with the text is when I thought about my freshman year when I was in TED 1312. I would go to a school and tutor a boy there for one semester. It was through the Baylor program. We would work with reading and spelling. This school was a low income school too and it was really hard to see what these children had to go through and what kind of facilities they learned in.
1 – What are some actions we can take to help these low income schools?
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