Kozol Ch. 5 & 6

“It is a different story in too many inner-city schools where deviations from a charted road set off alarm bells for the supervisory officials” (Kozol P.110)

These are elementary school kids, isn’t part of their job to get off track, to be creative, to be excited about something ANYTHING in school, to find out what makes themselves tick for that matter. It’s a little crass to have to determine what is important to a child based off of state standards and not observations of the teacher. As a teacher you need to be able to learn and understand your student, one can’t follow guide lines or strict standards. Each student is not the same, each of them is interested in different things and each of them learns differently. Teachers need to be allowed to teach and teach in a way that makes the students think. Thinking leads to learning, regurgitating something that was state mandated does not.

“During the three months prior to all-important state exam, fifth grade teachers ha to set aside all other lessons from 8:40 to 11:00, and from 1:45 to 3:00 to drill children for their tests.” (Kozol 113)

Earlier in the text Kozol says “approximately a week of testing” I know from when I was a kid that there would be no way by the end of all these long testing sessions that I would not be trying any more, that I would have been burnt out. It’s unbelievable what they are putting these kids through, three months of drilling for tests, how in any way does this help the child? In my onion I don’t see how it does, you are taking away what it is to be a child, there are other important developments going on in their lives they need to be engaged and exposed to many different stimuli not bubble sheets.

“The rational for giving test like these to children in their elementary years is that the test results will help show their teachers where the children’s weakness may lie, to that they can redirect the focus…this is not the way things generally work, because of the long lapse in time between the taking of these test and the receipt of scores” (Kozol P.115)

First off, if we are in the computer age then why is there no system that teachers can access to get immediate and sorted data on each student. This is unreal, if they make such a big deal about the test then there should be big support as well. Second, if the reason for the test is to gauge where each student is at then maybe an idea would be to give them at the end of the year, with no threat of being held back (unless of course the teacher feels it is necessary or any other reason talked about by professionals and not determined by a test score) this will allow sufficient time to gather information and use it effectively.

“In Atlanta, recess has been systematically abandoned to secure more time for test-related programs…in 80 percent of Chicago schools, recess has been abolished also.” (Kozol P.120)

Ooo I get it, the goal of our education system is to create overweight non critical thinkers. If that’s the case then the system works. Obviously this is not what we as teachers want. America is facing major childhood obesity issues right now, taking away recess will only make them more tired and lazy in the classroom. To me this is as bad as it could get, this really relates to prison, to not allow the students any activity during the day is the most backwards idea yet. We were all kids once, how is it possible to not remember how important it was to have a little time to go run in circles, in my opinion it helps the students refocus.

“Education involves the heart as well as the mind…Learning entails play and risk-taking as well as ordered study…we don’t have time for these things anymore.” (Kozol P.132)

This really sums up how I feel after reading this chapter, too much has been stripped out of what goes into the education a young child.

“I don’t have the least idea of where my life is heading, and these questions that you’re asking make me scared.” (Kozol P.147)

This is the reality that these kids face, something that overcrowded, un-segregated, testing schools create. Testing and drilling students for these tests won’t change anything. Sooner or later most will give up when they understand their individual reality and with no support they will give up. These environments don’t give support. A school built for 1,800 kids held 3,400 kids this is not an environment that is effective for students of teachers. Many get lost and in turn they have no idea of what the future can bring instead they think life is supposed to be what it is like at school.

“There were 1,275 ninth graders in the fall of 1999… but only 400 of these students were enrolled in twelfth grade…of these survivors…only 188…met the requirements for graduation” (Kozol P.150)

This to me supports my idea that students get lost in these big systems where they over populate the schools. Once a student feels like no one cares for them plus their hate for school due to factors like insignificant class and unfair high-stakes tests then why would a student continue to come back? Even those that made it to twelfth grade less than 50% graduated this is not what education should be about. The environment and the material need to be engaging and interesting to the student, not something they hate and fear.