Jonathan Kozol's The Shame Of The Nation

In Jonathan Kozol's book, The Shame Of The Nation, he presents the idea that the racial segregation and isolation of schools across America causes harmful effects to the children immersed in segregated schools. Throughout the first chapter, "Dishonoring The Dead," Kozol masterfully draws the reader in to listen to his message using the stories of real people and the shocking facts and figures that he has collected in his experience in the schools in our nation. He is persistent in his efforts to educate his audience about the horrors that exist in urban schools across America.

At the beginning of the chapter, Kozol connects his message to the audience by introducing a child named Pineapple that he met during his teaching career who experienced
He starts by stating that he has found that many Americans are oblivious to the fact that racial isolation exists, and most think segregation is an old problem. Kozol then gives us many facts and figures about the presence of racism. we are informed that although segregation decreased from the 50s to the 80s, it has now risen incredibly high. Statistics show that most black and Hispanic children go to school mainly with others of the same race. Kozol finds that in government the few moves against segregation in the past forty years have all been reversed and recently many schools avoid the topic of segregation altogether. Kozol tells us that schools instituting resegregation treat it as a revolutionary school system instead of telling the truth. The schools label themselves as progressive and pretend as if what they're doing is a positive change. He also found that many schools would pretend to be diverse and claim to cater to all races in their education, when in reality the schools that claim to be ethnically diverse really contain mainly black and Hispanic children. Kozol talks about the efforts to desegregate the school and to build school in locations that promote integration, but he will find that many of the white parents will go out of their way to send their children to school with less black and Hispanic
He tells us that his research shows segregation is not a choice and that many of the people who live in the suburbs do not necessarily want to live in a segregated area. Kozol also states that even surrounding the city, schools will be mostly black and Hispanic, and not for a way, another school will be mostly white. This shows that even in a higher income area, serious segregation still exists. He continues to tell us that in many schools, people have given up on desegregating areas of the city and that the goal of many educators is to make the schools in segregated areas as good as the ones in mire upscale neighborhoods. Kozol states that many people are willing to set aside true equality and integration for the "separate but equal" route. Many principles aim for equality, however those who are more realistic, look for more practical ways to improve schools. Kozol then presents an interesting fact that he observed over his period of research. He says that in many schools he observed, The student body would chant encouraging phrases. These phrases aim to self – motivate, giving children the impression that their future is their choice and up to them. Kozol states however, that these statements are untrue. he argues that in the education of children depends on many others in the