kozol/goldberg... yikes.

bear with me, I am tired and sore. 

NAME OF AUTHOR and TEXT 

Bernard Goldberg and 110 People: Jonathan Kozol

AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT 

Author specifically blames pretty much one guy, Jonathan Kozol, as the main reason kids these days are not growing up patriotic. That there is something seriously wrong with the way we are teaching our kids in America when our students aren’t fond of their own home country.

QUOTES

There’s a place when the author is talking about how kids these days have no idea about America’s history and no American Pride. He says “How did it happen?... It's a complicated question, But an excellent place to start is with one man who, despite his considerable popularity in some circles, you may not know. His name is Jonathan Kozol” (page 294). Essentially, he credits this guy for students not having any american pride. Goldberg talks about his “liberalness” a lot, babbling about Cuba and China

Another one I like...”Kozol is a fierce opponent of traditional learning, which he says deadens children's souls” (page 294) Since Goldberg doesn’t really talk about what teaching tactic  Kozol uses it is kind of hard to form an opinion on this. But if he is referring to the traditional style of learning that doesn’t reflect students understanding of material, I still don’t think it “deadens” the souls. 

“A typical chapter in On Being a Teacher is called  "Disobedience Instruction"-about how important it is for students to have skepticism of authority.” (page 295)

I never needed to learn how to be skeptical of authority, I kind of got that on my own. Everybody knows there are times where authority figures are ruthless power happy grumpy people who need to become a hermit and leave society alone. I just don’t think teachers need to teach such a subject.

To which his friend replied: "Do they have to love their country? Is that a requirement?"  - If you don’t like it, get out. Canada is just up north.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/POINTS TO SHARE

I kind of agree with Goldberg to a point. It was disturbing to me when some of my classes spend so much time telling me what is wrong with America. I feel like it goes back to the whole complain about what’s wrong with your life instead of being grateful for what you do have. America is not perfect. No country is. But when you spend so much time standing in the rain, you never see the sun.

NAME OF AUTHOR and TEXT 

Jonathan Kozol and Amazing Grace

AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT

I am super tired so don’t argue with me if I am wrong

I think kozol is more or less pointing out that people who are born poor don’t stay poor because they are lazy, stupid or misbehaved. That sometimes the system fails miserably in helping those who deserve it.  that people who believe and do everything they are supposed to do somehow lose anyway because of circumstances beyond their control.

QUOTES

"If poor people behaved rationally," says Lawrence Mead, a professor of political science at New York University, "they would seldom be poor for long in the first place." 

Sometimes poor people manage to get out of the economic class they were born in. However, probably the most of the people born into poor economic status never get out. 

“At the elementary school that serves the neighborhood across the avenue, only seven of 800 children do not qualify for free school lunches. "FIve of those seven', says the principal "get reduced-price lunches”

Growing up the way I did, where most people try to avoid acting like they get reduced lunch, these kids all either get free or reduced. I wonder if their food is any good though.

"I don't think my mother's asking for something she does not deserve. She worked hard all her life. She's a very honest person. She's kind to other people. She's a nicer person than a lot of the rich people that I notice on TV. She gives more of herself to other people. “

Here is a son who is talking about his mother. She lost her SSI benefits and he wants to know why. His mother is a great woman, and he cannot understand why she cannot get the benefits she needs, and definitely deserve. He looks at the people of power as the system screws those who need it the most, and wonders do they not care? Why should they care, it’s not their life. It’s people they don’t know, people they don’t care about.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/POINTS TO SHARE

I am not really sure how this article pertains to Goldberg’s in the sense that goldberg talks about kozol’s teaching style whereas this article is stories about people who live in harlem. Kozol stories were nice to read. It always stinks though, reading about people in this country that we can’t bother to help. We have to look good so we ship billions of dollars to other countries to help, but we can’t help our people first.