Savage Inequalities

            Jonathon Kozol makes some very vivid and frightening contrasts in American education today but I think he fell short of addressing the root of the problem.  I felt like a viewer of a drama show from a producer who had some political agenda he was either promoting or destroying.  I understand that there are horrible conditions that exist in these inner city school systems where just an hour away or less there is the utopian counterpart, and I understand that funding would help to some degree but I have several criticisms of Kozol and his approach to solving these injustices. 
            My largest criticism of Kozol is his belief that education is simply the end all solution to bring the poor out of their low status and welcome them into a better society.  Education in of itself is good but just knowing is not enough; it is the want for something more and the understanding of morals of society that will shape how a person is to grab onto their responsibility to be citizens of a productive society.  What I have found in my teaching experience is that I am teaching more responsibility in the individual rather than teaching them actual material or how to think.  This is not something that can be taught in school because if it is still needed by high school, it is probably too late to instill it into a child.    
            The second criticism I have of Kozol is that he also believes that money, if enough is thrown into a situation to create equality, will solve the problem.  Now, in many cases I believe it will help but it will not get rid of the systemic failures of many students in these low income areas.  He also seems to be ignoring major studies done on the impacts of spending versus the success of the student.  I understand that in most of the cases he mentions the money would greatly increase the quality of the school overall but there are many poor areas of America that money would greatly help and yet the schooling is done without the best of funding with good success.  I also understand his idea that in many of the cases the people with money were excluding the people without money and this is a tragedy that perpetuates throughout the world and history itself.  Will government policy ever truly end the injustices created by the haves versus the have nots?  I especially thought he shot down the idea of a school voucher for a viable alternative as somewhat illogical.  He first makes the point that these children already know that their school is below second rate, but he says they would not be capable of making a good choice or wouldn’t really be given the choice.  Perhaps he is right but he doesn’t give it a realistic argument.  Many of the alternative ideas he gives little or no voice to be heard.
            The final criticism I would make is that Kozol does not address the root of the problem which is basic human selfishness.  It may be a cynical approach but no one if push comes to shove will ever fend for anyone but himself or his family or his team.  If someone does not believe this they could be simply lacking is introspective or just need to be in a kindergarten class for a couple weeks to see that at the most basic level we operate for ourselves.  This selfishness is not only in the rich, white snobby people that have the wonderful schools and shun any colored children but it also exists in the poor, black neighborhoods that have little or nothing.  What I am amazed at is how Kozol writes such a black and white, oppressed and oppressor picture where those with money are the snobby, uncaring inheritors of a silver spoon and the poor are loving, innocent receivers of a harsh future.  I felt it was a shallow picture of the world Kozol was seeking to describe and he was using the picture he painted to push ahead an agenda of his choice. 
            In closing, I felt he made some good points but overall he appeared to be writing from a political angle or with some agenda.  He did not allow much of the arguments of the other side to be presented or of alternate solutions to the problem.