An awful lot of people come to college with this strange idea that there's no longer segregation in America's schools, that our schools are basically equal; neither of these things is true.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the misconception that schools in America are free of segregation and inequality.
Jonathan Kozol's quote emphasizes the persistent issues of segregation and inequality in American schools, challenging the naive belief that education is equitable for all. It serves as a critical reminder that despite advancements, many students still face disparities based on race and socioeconomic status, calling for awareness and action to address these ongoing injustices.
In practice
In a speech addressing educational reforms, one might cite this quote to underline the need for equity in schools.
A great deal has been written in recent years about the purported lack of motivation in the children of the Negro ghettos. Little in my experience supports this, yet the phrase has been repeated endlessly, and the blame in almost all cases is placed somewhere outside the classroom.
Schooling should not be left to the whim or wealth of village elders. I believe that we should fund all schools in the U.S. with our national resources. All these kids are being educated to be Americans, not citizens of Minneapolis or San Francisco.
Hypersegregated inner-city schools - in which one finds no more than five or ten white children, at the very most, within a student population of as many as 3,000 - are the norm, not the exception, in most northern urban areas today.
I wrote the first book, and I thought people would say: 'Separate and unequal schools in the City of Boston? I didn't know that. Let's go out and fix it.'
The trouble is not that schools don't work; they do. They're excellent machines for achieving historically accepted purposes. In suburban schools are children of the rich, who grow up to privilege and anesthetic oblivion to pain - and who then use the servants produced by ghetto schools.
Children are not simply commodities to be herded into line and trained for the jobs that white people who live in segregated neighborhoods have available.
Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education.
I've been in so many writing workshops where someone hands in a story, and when the other writers in the workshop are giving feedback, they say, 'This is unbelievable.' And the writer says, 'Well, actually, the events are based in real life. This actually happened.'
Stay curious, keep learning and keep growing. And always strive to be more interested than interesting.
In order to learn, one must change one's mind.
Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind.
Headmasters have powers at their disposal with which Prime ministers have never yet been invested.
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