Final Blog Post - Spencer Burdette
Welcome to my final blog post!
In his book Shame of the Nation, author Jonathan Kozol argues that schools servicing minority populations are underfunded and underequipped to adequately educate their students.
Throughout his book, Kozol develops his argument by exploring the inequalities faced by students attending these schools. One of the major points he uses is the disparity in the quality of teaching in inner-city, mostly minority schools. Many times, he points out that the cause of this lack of quality is due to a single focus on preparation for standardized tests. In fact, Kozol describes students that were crying or even wetting themselves because they were so morbidly unprepared for even basic tests. Some of the students couldn't even read the words on the page. A quote that describes the injustice of this all, I felt, hit me particularly hard:
“There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old "accountable" for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years before"(Kozol 53, 54).
Kozol appeals to logos and pathos in this passage. He first appeals to pathos by bringing up the young age of the child, which immediately makes the reader think that a child this young cannot possibly be expected to do well on a standardized test. The reader's heart aches for the child, and they empathize with their struggles. Then, he appeals to logos by pointing out the hypocrisy of the government in ensuring their own children were prepared for those same tests, while not doing the same for all children across the nation.
Kozol's argument is summarized perfectly in this passage. By criticizing the institutional nature of the failings of the American school system, he is calling for a reform and stating that the problem lies not with individual schools or teachers, but with the whole system. I believe this is what makes Kozol's argument effective. It makes him more credible when he chooses to analyze specific instances of injustice instead of just lamenting about general problems with the school system.
Overall, I believe Kozol's argument hinges on the analysis of systemic problems within the American education system. It is made effective by relying on specific examples and anecdotes to help connect the reader to the characters, and he makes many solid points.
When it came down to it, I enjoyed this book greatly. It gave me a sense of perspective on issues that don’t affect me nearly as much as they do other people, and I believe that is important if I want to be an educated and informed citizen. Hopefully this book has helped raise awareness to some degree of the radical inequalities taking place in our schools, and will lead to action being taken by the government.
Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling
in America. New York, Broadway Paperbacks, 2006.
Hi Spencer,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your summary of Kozol's argument and what makes it effective. I found that your use of a quote was a nice way to bring it all together and conclude a blog.
I also enjoy your discussion of the perspective it gave you. I can relate to that. It's amazing just how many issues in public schooling have never been on my radar before. I wonder... do you plan on doing anything with your new perspective? Do you think it will change the way you look at school or inspire any changes? Obviously, it is difficult to inspire change at 16 years old. However, Kozol is trying to tell the reader to take action through pro-integration activism. How do you think readers of this book can lead to action being taken by the government?
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you were able to gain a better perspective on matters that are not too apparent in our community compared to others. I think it is really important to not only be educated on our own well being in regards to the school system, but know what is happening in other school systems. As for the quote you used in this post, it was helpful for you to explain both the pathos appeal and the logos appeal. It helped the authors argument by using both in such a short time span. My author had done a similar thing and I found it to be effective.
Reading a book you can enjoy is a much better task than just going through the motions so I am happy to hear that you enjoyed this book. Nice job on your blog post.
-Meg
Spencer, while I enjoyed your summary of the novel, your closing paragraph especially resonated with me. I also discussed this perspective in my Final Thoughts blog of not having similar experiences as these children, and the subsequent thoughts and emotions that have been stirred within me. Personally, I am pretty outraged that discrimination to this extent is still occurring in a country that many of us are proud to call home, and in the future, I would love to work towards the full desegregation of schools in America.
ReplyDelete