Savage Inequalities in American Schools - Essay Example

Essay In the article, the Jonathan Kozol writes a painful picture of all the hardships faced by people living in East St. Louis in Illinois especially its educational system and contrasts this to the situation in New York. East St. Louis hosts a majority of black population, has one of the poorest sanitation facilities and a huge number of unemployed people due to fiscal shortages. The increasing piles of garbage and sewage, in addition to the chemical spills across the city have increased the risk of hepatitis and cholera outbreaks and other health problems especially among young children.

The huge amounts of garbage are burnt due to insufficient funds available for vacuuming out the garbage and inadequate manpower. Kozol also discovers that schooling has taken a backseat in the city with children simply not aware of their grades and their school timings. A group of children whom the author caught up narrate, in their innocent ways, incidences of violence and hate that is brewing across the city. East St.Louis also has a distinction of a highest number of fetal deaths in the whole of Illinois due to insufficient maternity care.

In addition there is also the widely increasing number of children with dental problems, malnutrition and underimunized children. The city also witnesses constant closure of schools due to sewage overflow and has lain off several teachers which has had a devastating effect on the students. While the governor maintains that there is money flow within the community and it is not spent wisely, other government officials have said that it is quite impossible for the city to come out of the present circumstances on its own.

The educational system has taken a beating with a large number of teachers being sent home with only sports and other vocational activities left for the children to take up. Even these facilities have been affected owing to insufficient funds and highly unsuitable working areas. The school labs do not have basic water facilities and teachers who are coping with what is available, mainly due to their interest to serve, have voiced that they feel truly deprived of the amenities that exists in modern schools.

The facilities in a school regarded as a top school is no better either and one of the student even talks about the irony associated with a school named after Martin Luther King but which has only black children. Kozol draws a striking contrast between these schools and another school in New York where students have a comfortable space and good amenities and the teachers unlike those at East St. Louis paid well. Students here openly voice out their views about the inequalities in the educational system and the importance of fiscal funding for schools, racism and how poverty would still be a hindrance for development.

However to Kozol the whole interactive session seemed more like a theoretical discussion where only the speaking skills of the students was evident without much depth and a certain degree of unreality was present throughout the discussion. They seemed to prefer being separate from those underprivileged kids while admitting that their education should be bettered through proper utility of tax money. Thus Kozol does recognize some wise sentiments and ideas being raised during the conversation though he is not sure of its outcomes.

While most children agree on the inequalities present in the educational system and want them to be corrected, some also feel that environment also plays a vital role in shaping the future of children. Both parents and people who can make a change are part of this environment and only a collective effort can help one realize the change to reality. In conclusion, Kozol draws a neat but striking contrast between two cities, the living standards, the lives of children and their views. Kozol leaves the reader to decide what is best and what can be done to better underprivileged cities and its educational system.