Savage Inequalities

Irl Solomon is a 54 year old history teacher at Martin Luther King High School in East
St. Louis. Solomons classes are referred to as the highlight of the school.Some of his students
are driven to learn things their school can sadly not offer them while other students believe that
it does not matter anyway. As Solomon explained, there are four pregnant teenage girls in the
senior history class he teaches whom believe that there is no reason not to have a baby since
their education does not offer much. There are many students in his class, however, who are
disappointed that their school is not able to offer them a better education which to them requires
more diverse classes, functioning equipment, and an overall hygienic school. As noted, students
in Solomons class are motivated to become better people, but sadly do not have the resources to
do so.
During his visit to a school in Rye, New York, Kozol finds himself in a debate with the
much educated and well spoken students from the suburban neighborhood. One of the students,
Jennifer, who is originally from Bronx, gives her views on equality and race when it comes to
the education differences between the poorer cities, like East St. Louis, and the richer cities,
such as Rye. Jennifer mentions that she believes it is not the responisibility of the rich to pay
their taxes in order to provide for the poor, especially since she was once in that position. She
adds that those in the poor conditions need to want a better life instead of others wanting it for
them. Only then, they will be able to advance in a poor education system. Lastly, she does say
that everyone should have an equal opportunity to take the same courses, but does not see how
paying more taxes for others to do so will benefit her.
When comparing and contrasting the schools in East St. Louis and in Rye, New York,
many factors, including race, education and financial stability, play a role in their evident

differences. In East St. Louis, the majority, 98%, of the population is black and there is a lack of
financial stability.The school in East St. Louis is duped by the lack of financial stability the city
has, so they can no longer afford to have so many teachers and staff members in service, classes
are taken from the schedule and the equipment is starting to fail. The mentality of the students
of East St. Louis mindset vary, but some are still motivated to get an education regardless of
their schools situation. In contrast, in the suburb of Rye, New York, the population consists of
families who are much more financially stable and better educated. The schools student body
consists out of almost all-white teenagers with a small number of Hispanics and blacks. The
school in Rye has nice painted walls, carpeted and wooden floors, and classrooms that are much
smaller. It also offers AP courses and students are able to focus on their education rather than
their environment. Overall, the environment of the schools differ because of the situation
surrounding the schools. In East St. Louis, students are limited to classes they can take and are
stuck on while in Rye, New York, students are able to take many different courses that helps
them advance academically.
In my opinion, this article was well-written and showed how the situations differed.
However, I would have liked if there was a bit more information about the Rye, New York
school and area in general. This article opened my eyes about how bad some people really have
it and how they cannot advance even if they wanted to due to the lack of resources in their city. I
am awfully new to the American system, but to my knowledge I do believe there are things have
changed and things other things that have not changed in the system. One thing that has
changed is the separation between black and white and how the races are interrelated to the
environment, financial stability and their education. Nowadays, there are much larger numbers
of African Americans who live in suburbs and who are doing very well in their education. I

believe courses given in schools are somewhat the same and they are not so different from
others.