Equality in Education
All children deserve a first rate education; classrooms bright and sunny; desks sitting
neatly in rows, all eagerly awaiting a new school year of hungry young eager faces. Teachers
spend hours before the first day of school patiently making name tags, chore charts, sticker
stations, and more for these joyful cherubs soon to arrive. Classrooms are stocked with supplies
that are necessary for a new year of learning, things like new textbooks, workbooks, and
educational posters. At least this is what we think should be happening in the weeks before each
new school year starts, but is this actually happening? This should be the vision of parents all
across the United States, unfortunately this may not be the case at all.
In the essay, “From Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid,”
Jonathan Kozol argues the presence of segregation and inequality in the educational systems. He
states that segregation is still present and on the rise in American schools. He also goes on to
explains that there are educational differences in primarily black or Hispanic populated schools
then in non-segregated schools in the same cities. The article also notes a number of schools and
the percentages of black or Hispanic students enrolled in those various schools. While Kozol’s
emotional appeal is very strong, his use of ethos and logos does not present a persuasive
argument.
As frightening as the statistics are that Kozol presents, they are not at all surprising.
Segregation was and to some point still is present in this country. This is not to say that
segregation is actually happening because of a pointed effort by Americans, it happens more
because of where people have lived for generations. For many people in America, from inner
city Chicago to the mountain areas of Montana, settlement near family or what is familiar just
happens. This brings a new perspective to Kozol’s statement ” Schools that were already deeply
segregated twenty-five or thirty years ago are no less segregated now, while thousands of other
schools around the country that had been integrated either voluntarily or by the force of law have
since been rapidly resegregating” (405).
Kozol tells us that in the 2002-2003 school year the black or Hispanic enrollment in
Chicago was 87 percent; in Washington D.C. it was 94 percent; in St. Louis it was 82 percent; in
Los Angeles it was 84 percent; in New York City it was nearly 75 percent. While these seem like
staggering numbers, looking past the number must happen to get a true picture. When getting to
the heart of enrollment in New York City looking at the different boroughs makes segregation
seem a real and heart wrenching happening. Looking at the Bronx in particular, the enrollment is
more then 90 – 95 percent black or Hispanic. With figures like this segregation looks like a real
and happening issue.
