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Justin Martin

Sociology 1
Dr. Price
07/17/16
Savage Inequalities Reflection
After reading the excerpt Jonathan Kozols book Savage Inequalities, it is
evident that social inequality is still a problem in the United Sates. The setting of Irl
Solomons history class reminds me the stigma brought upon schools in the ghetto.
Movies such as Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, and Dangerous Minds, all have a
common theme of the hopelessness and disadvantage a student of color is face with. In
this history class are four teens who have had or are pregnant who see no reason to obtain
a diploma from a ghetto high school. Because of the socio-economic disparity in this East
St. Louis high school, the students have no self-esteem; they lack the basic school
supplies and reading materials, and read the same speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
all these students have are dreams. Although Irl Solomon has a passion to teach these
students, the students hopes are deteriorating just like their school, just like their
community.
Jennifer is a student who attends school in Rye, New York tells the story
of how her parents moved from the Bronx to allow her to obtain a better education. An
interesting thing to note with Jennifer is her use of the term them, which indicates that she
does not see herself in the hell she was in when attending school from the Bronx. What I
find different with Jennifer than the students in East St. Louis is her willingness to attain
upward mobility for her education, where her counterparts in the Bronx could not.
Jennifer explains, someoneelsecan'twantagoodlifeforyon.Youhavegotto

wantitforyourself.Ithinkthereshouldbesupportfromthefamilyforachildto
succeedandattaintheeducationtheydeserve.Ifthereisnoneedorwillingness
fromthestudenttowanttolearn,thentheschoolcannotbeatfaultforfailingthe
child.Schoolsdonothavetheinfluenceofmakingachildgotoschool,itis
merelybychoice.Theonlytimetheschoolshouldbeatfaultisiftheyarenot
providingthestudentswithadequateteachers,supplies,andfacilities.
ThereisastarkcontrastbetweentheschoolsinEastSt.Louisand
Rye,NewYork.ThesocioeconomicclassofEastSt.Louisispredominately
AfricanAmerican,mostofwhoaresurvivingonwelfare.Thecommunitiesas
wellastheschoolsareexposedtorawsewageandinadequatemaintenance.The
schoolsaredilapidated,thesuppliesandlearningequipmentareoutdated,and
thereisalackofqualityteachers.Conversely,theschoolinRye,NewYorkis
furnishedhandsomelyandresemblesaNewEnglandPrepSchool.Thereis
definitelymorefinancialaidtosupplytheschoolwiththetoolstheirstudentsneed
toexcelintheartsandsciences.Studentsaregivenformaleducation,yetthe
socialdynamicofthisschoolispredominatelywhitewithonly1or2percentof
thestudentsbeingBlackorHispanic.
Ihonestlythinkschoolsareslightlybetterthantheywere20years
ago.WhatIdonotagreeonisthelackofqualityeducationthatisstillevident.I
graduatedfromEagleRockHighSchoolin2012,andIcanseethatmyqualityof

educationwaslowerthanstudentswhograduatedafterme.Althoughtheschool
wasconsideredthebest,itcouldnotcompetewiththepreparatoryschoolslike
LaSalle,andLaCanada.Ifeellikewiththenewergenerationtakingoverthe
babyboomers,therecanbebetterreformofhowschoolsshouldservetheir
studentsdespitereligiousbackground,culture,andlanguage.

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