War on Ignorance - Assignment Example

War on Ignorance The essays of Kozol (p. 283ff), Barry (p. 307ff), and Gardner (p. 319) point out that the future of America is in danger because Americans are losing the war against ignorance. Each of the three authors gave different reasons why this is happening. However, while the over-all picture painted is a sad and gloomy one, each one offers a glimmer of hope that there continues to be a light at the end of the tunnel, although chances are that light may well be an oncoming train if the reader does not do well to heed the appeals of the authors. Kozol's passion explodes from his writing about the human cost of illiteracy, the eradication of which as a social evil should be like a holy war where everyone should get involved and no one can remain as a passive observer. He involves the reader in the emotional frustrations and embarrassment of his characters, estimated at 60 million Americans (at the time) who cannot function properly in our society: the unemployed, the hungry, and the suffering multitude in hospitals that undergo procedures without knowing why. He punctuates his lamentations with a litany of what illiterates cannot do: "Illiterates cannot read the menu at a restaurantcannot look up numbers in a telephone directorycannot read the notices they receive from welfare offices" (284). Kozol puts some of the blame on the parents of the past who neglected their duty to educate themselves, passing off to their illiteracy as an heirloom to their offspring, misery begetting more misery when human survival in our society is almost impossible without the mental ability needed to do so. He, however, puts most of the blame on the government and the education officials whose job it is to ensure that as many as possible should benefit in our democratic and wealthy society, crying that "so long as 60 million Americans are denied significant participation, the government is neither of, nor for, nor by the people" (286). After laying out the costs paid both by those who suffer from or are victimized by illiteracy, Kozol ends with a challenge that is equally hopeful and frustrating: Do we posses that character and courage to address a problem which so many nations, poorer than our own, have found it natural to correct" (289). If Cuba can do it, of course we can, can't we Barry's short essay, while contrasting with Kozol's polemics, even more dramatically points out a deeper problem in society that is related to our thesis that America is losing its mental edge: parents who don't care about their family because they are too busy taking care of a thousand and one details about their family (308). Yes, this seems like a chicken-and-egg argument, but Barry brings home the point that in an America where working hard and smart is the norm, children are not getting the encouragement to prepare themselves for the future. We can only lose if we continue neglecting our children. This is not to say that Barry was not motivated to go to school nor, like Stephen in Kozol's essay, she was illiterate. She was intelligent and smart, and her opening statements revealed it: School "was a world I absolutely relied on. Without it, I don't know where I would have gone that morning." (307). School was her sanctuary, and it was probably what gave her and her brother the sense to do better than their parents and get out of trouble. In a way, Barry is more optimistic because school for her became the home she yearned for, a safe and secure haven where people cared and where her teacher, Mrs. Lesane, gave love to those who needed it (308). She showed that if America's teachers are dedicated as her teacher, many children who would otherwise be lost to ignorance can be won over and recovered and can grow up to be happy, creative, and useful citizens who can contribute to making this country great. Like Kozol, Barry directs her appeal to parents not to neglect their children. Lynda's parents were lucky, because she and her brother were smart, so they turned out alright. Her essay, however, leaves us wondering what happens to those less-gifted and whose frustrations end up destroying whatever ambitions they may have, resigned to the fact that if their parents never cared what happened to them, then neither would they. While Kozol is polemic and uses several examples, and Barry is dramatic in using her own experience as an example, Gardner is academic, clinical, and precise as he tackles the issue of intelligence, a quality of people where the war against ignorance is being fought. Gardner discusses the map of the grounds where the battles are taking place with his opening salvo: "Intelligence should not be expanded to include personality, motivation, will, attention, character, creativity, and other important and significant human capacities" (319). Gardner attacks those who are obsessed with coming up with a single measurement of human personality - the IQ (319). He declares that what matters "is the use of intelligences, individually and in concert, to carry out tasks valued by a society" and that "we should be assessing people's success in carrying out valued tasks that presumably involve certain intelligences" (322). He calls for expanding our concept of intelligence beyond narrow definitions and to include the emotions, virtues, and other human qualities that make each one of us unique (324-327). Conclusion The three writers approach the war against ignorance from different perspectives. Kozol discusses the victims and the consequences. Barry shows how the officers (parents) are delegating their task to those in the field (the teachers). Gardner is hopeful that the war will be won, and that the secret to winning is to know where it should be fought, what weapons should be used, and how to know if we are winning. Each one of the writers is effective in shouting a call to action so that the reader gets involved by pointing out that not doing so will bring about consequences that are too tragically difficult to imagine. Works Cited Bloom, Lynn Z. and Louise Z. Smith. The Brief Arlington Reader: Canons and Contexts. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004. The following essays were used: Barry, Lynda. "The Sanctuary of School", p. 307-310. Gardner, Howard. "Who Owns Intelligence" p. 319-332. Kozol, Jonathan. "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society", p. 283-289. Read More