Sophia Skorupski

Professor Sullivan

Educational Psychology

23 February 2023

Savage Inequalities Reflection

I truly believe Jonathon Kozol’s book, “Savage Inequalities” is a book that every student

and educator in America needs to read. Throughout the reading of this book, I could not help but

reflect back on my own experiences in my public education. My high school had multiple

gymnasiums, an auditorium, a weight room, a fitness center, a wrestling room, and basically any

club or sports team imaginable. Despite the fact that we were extremely blessed to have so many

facilities, I remember my fellow classmates constantly complaining about how horrible our

school was. I wish I was able to go back in time and shove this book in their face. Reading about

the other districts in our country that have been so neglected opened my eyes to the incredible

inequalities and inconsistencies throughout our nation’s public schools.

I realized that this book would change my entire perspective on the American school

system within the very first chapter. The description of every school district in this book is

honestly beyond my comprehension but I think back to the ways that Kozol describes the

bathrooms in the East St. Louis schools. He explained the raw sewage that would seep up

through the drains and spill over into the kitchens where school lunches were being prepped.

What shocked me the most about that was the fact that the school did not shut down until the

second day it was happening. Something like that would never happen in the high schools I grew

up around, yet it is a very sad reality for the students that happened to be born in that area. Just as

I cannot imagine trying to learn in that type of environment, my high school would most likely
be just as foreign to any of the East St. Louis students. Kozol also describes the overall lack of

funding in the districts which translates to a subpar teaching staff and virtually zero materials and

textbooks for all students. Any teacher that would be courageous enough to attempt teaching a

room full of students who never had the privilege of an effective learning environment is cut due

to a lack of money. Instead, the school hires permanent substitute teachers who either do not

truly care about their students or simply do not have the education or professional skills to

effectively teach. Putting all of these unfortunate circumstances aside, I truly believe the most

heartbreaking moment of this chapter was when Kozol was talking with local children in the

neighborhood. These children were about 9-12 years old and seemed to have no general

knowledge about anything. These children were born into an area where they have been

surrounded by pain and violence their entire lives. Nine-year old Smokey tells the story of his

older sister being kidnapped, raped, and murdered with her body being dumped behind their

school in the middle of the day. Although he knew enough about this unthinkable crime to

recount it, it did not seem like he genuinely comprehended what any of the words meant.Why

would he? In what world should an 9 year old boy have to know what rape is for any reason,

much less in the context of his own sister being taken advantage of and then having her body be

discarded like a piece of trash on the side of the road. Yet this boy most likely did not have this

information penetrate his mind. For him, this is just what happens in East St. Louis.

One thing that I really resonated with was the ideas that Kozol touched on regarding the

parental involvement with these children he was studying. I loved the way that Kozol took a

more empathetic approach to the parent’s possible shortcomings. I feel like a common opinion

among Americans when it comes to the way certain school districts fall short for providing for

their students, is that the parents are at fault. People may look at school districts that are
succeeding with a positive learning environment and high test scores, and make the connection

that those parents are extremely involved in their child’s education. I suppose it would be easy to

make an assumption that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the parent’s

involvement and a child’s success. With that perspective, wouldn’t it be easy to say that if the

parents in these poorer school districts were more involved or if they poured more of their own

money into the funding of the school, perhaps their children would not be failing? Yes, it would

be easy but it would not be accurate at all. Most of the parents that live within these

impoverished school districts are working multiple jobs and unimaginably long hours. As a

result, these parents unfortunately do not have the luxury of being in the PTA or donating

money/school supplies to their child’s classroom. I am positive that if any of the parents living in

those districts had the option to be more involved in their child’s education or school, they would

take that opportunity without a second thought. Many people would go even further to make

their argument for why it is partially the parents’ fault and cite the increased levels of drug use

and addiction in these areas. However, there was a section within the text about how drug use is

a side effect of being subjected to these conditions, as opposed to a reason the schools and

communities are failing. These people are stuck in an environment and there is literally nothing

for them to do to help their situation. It is understandable why they would turn to drugs to numb

their pain or help them cope with the realization that they were not able to give their children the

lives they wanted for them. It is heartbreaking and I feel like the parents’ suffering and lack of

control is something that is commonly overlooked when Americans are first presented with the

issue of failing school districts in poor neighborhoods.

I genuinely believe that although Kozol probably did have an agenda, it was with a

purpose. I think that Kozol’s purpose in writing this book was to educate the rest of the
American public about the dangers of neglecting urban school districts and to show them how

badly these schools were being run. I think that Kozol wanted to shock his audience. However, I

do not think he only addressed one side of the situation. In fact, I feel that Kozol was probably

more empathetic than most people would be after witnessing such atrocious neglect. Kozol

discusses how rich families in rich neighborhoods could continue sending their children to

expensive private schools to get a quality education and leave the poor students to suffer in

disgustingly underfunded schools. One thing I appreciate about Kozol’s perspective on the rich

families is that he does not paint them to be villains. I think that most people would probably see

them as the “bad guys” but Kozol understands that they are not doing this to be evil. Every

parent simply wants the best for their children. I love that Kozol shines the spotlight on the

school districts and the government for allowing the schools in the poorer neighborhoods to run

in such inefficient ways. Kozol attacks the people who are actually able to make a difference

rather than pinning the parents of different districts against each other.

Personally, I would like to think that I could work in an environment like St. Louis or

Camden. I genuinely believe that I have what it takes to work with the students there who were

so cheated out of a quality education. I think that to work in a place like that, it is important to be

selfless and patient. I think I have both of those qualities. I know that these are crucial traits for

any teacher but I think that they are exceptionally more important in a school setting where the

climate is very grim. I feel like I bring a certain level of positivity wherever I go so I think that I

would be able to help students get the motivation they need to succeed in their academics

especially knowing that it will be that much more difficult for them. I think one of the biggest

drawbacks to working in one of those environments would be fear for my personal safety. In the

chapter about St. Louis and Camden, they discussed the high concentration of violent crime in
the neighborhoods. I feel like if I could feel safe in that area or school, I would 100% teach there

and help myself and my students be successful.

I think this book is still relevant simply because even if the conditions improve in one

spot, there will always be another school that is not providing its students with the education they

deserve. I think that there will always be some form of this in the United States because the

biggest issue with working toward fixing the districts, is that it will take a long time. It took years

and years for the East St. Louis schools to get to such a low point, but I feel like if the

government started pouring money into their district, they would be upset that it did not help

instantaneously. As a result, they stop giving them money altogether. I did some research on the

East St. Louis District 189 to see how much has changed today and I was shocked. I looked at a

website that displays statistics for a given school district’s demographics, test scores, and

reviews from parents and students. When I looked at East St. Louis, I was nervous at first

because I saw that the district was below the state average for student progress, meaning that the

students in this district were not keeping up with students in other districts in Illinois. However,

as I kept reading, I was surprised to see that the high school graduation rate had increased from

55% in 1989 to 70% in 2019. Although this may not seem like a huge impact over the course of

30 years, I feel like any improvement is enough when starting in a place that was as poorly

structured as the East St. Louis schools. One thing that has not changed about East St. Louis is

the overwhelming percentage of black students in comparison to other races. Of all students in

the district, 97% are black and less than 1% are white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or

Pacific Islander. To me, this shows that the idea of racial injustice being linked to the poor

quality of the schools is still as present today as it was when Kozol first visited these schools. I

realize that this is a problem in American society that most likely will never be completely fixed,
but I think that the progress made by the East St. Louis school district proves that there is hope

even in the darkest places.

When I read the chapter on East St. Louis, which is the first one in the book, I could not

imagine how any school district could get worse. I am so happy that they were able to make

some progress but I also hope that the people in power realize that they cannot stop here. Despite

the massive improvement in graduation rates, East St. Louis is still miles behind the state

average. Looking at any of the cities addressed in this book is gut-wrenching. It will take a lot of

hard work and a very long time but I think that with enough awareness spread about the dangers

of neglecting minority students’ education, people will realize that these conditions are

completely unacceptable and find inspiration to make a meaningful change.