for shame

It's supposed to be a cold next several days, so I thought I'd spend some time curled up under blankets catching up on my reading. I've had the same book on my nightstand for over 2 years -- The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. I read it until find myself getting very, very angry (I made it through Chapter 6 today!), then I put it down and try again several months later once I've calmed down. It's an important book that I need to get through since it's all about the topic I plan to do my PhD work on -- the resegregation of America's schools and the dumbing down of education for our poorest students.

I read about the magnitude of the problem and the "solutions" (which I also see with my own eyes every day) that inevitably make things so much worse for resegregated schools: scripted teaching manuals, non-licensed and under-prepared teachers (my school likes to hire people without teaching degrees to teach the neediest ESE students!), funding cuts for the poorest of schools, parents unsure of their rights regarding their child's education, falling apart buildings, and -- of course -- the latest cure-all, standardized testing. The weight of each of these issues is formidable. Combined, it seems as though there is no way out of the mess state and federal bureaucrats have created for the neediest of our children -- seemingly on purpose!

Kozol's Savage Inequalities got me into teaching. I was so moved by the horror stories outlined in that book that I volunteered immediately in a low-income local public school and have been working there for nine years now. I am frustrated by many things I see every day that I can do nothing about. I know I make a difference in my small corner of the world to the best of my abilities, but I'm ready to do something more. Maybe once I can make it through this book I'll be ready.