Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol- Quotes

In his article Amazing Grace, Jonathan Kozol travels to the South Bronx in New York to explore and understand the culture and neighborhood. South Bronx is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. Most of the residents are suffering from terminal diseases, crime rates are high, and the residents are so desperate for money that they turn to drugs or prostitution. Because crimes can occur in their homes, the residents' safe haven is the local church, St. Ann's  The people who live in this area are mostly Hispanic or of color. Based on this fact, one can tell that one of the reasons why they have ended up where they are is because of our country's  ongoing issue of racism. Finding a job is hard enough because of the United State's poor economy, but if a person is not white, the chances of getting a job are even more difficult. Kozol gets some culture shock during his visit in the South Bronx. As I was reading this article, I had so many mixed emotions that included, sadness, shock, anger, and irritation. Choosing only three quotes from this article was very difficult for me because there are so many quotes that either stood out to me or left me in complete shock.

1. "The dogs disappear into a section of the churchyard where, she [Reverend Overall] says, one of our nation's Founding Father, Governeur Morris, who wrote the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, has his resting place." (pg. 12)

This quote shows that poor neighborhoods that cannot afford appropriate school material is an ongoing generational problem. The minister of St. Ann's church drives Kozol back to Manhattan and when they pass the cemetery, the minister tells Kozol this incorrect historical fact. This quote reminded me of another article that we read: "Pathologizing the Poor" by Kerri Ulucci. In her article, Ulucci mentioned how impoverished students do not learn the right material because the school does not have the money to buy the proper school materials that can make the children become successful. Because of this, the students fall behind very easily.  Reading this quote made me sad because in my opinion, citizens  should be able to know the basic history of their countries. Schools should help other  schools out by promoting fund raisers that can help schools get the right material so that students will never fall behind. 

2. "'I saw a boy shot in the head right over there' he [Cliffie] says a moment later, in a voice that does not sound particularly sad, then looks up at me and asks politely, 'Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?'" (pg. 6)

Kozol and Cliffie, a seven year old resident of the South Bronx, walk around the neighborhood and Kozol notices stuffed animals that are attached to a tree. When he asks Cliffie why the stuffed animals are there, Cliffie casually answers that he saw a boy shot in that location and quickly changes the subject like it is no big deal. The children in this neighborhood are exposed to so many crimes, because they occur on an almost everyday basis right on their street. What shocks me is how Cliffie and the other children are not traumatized and can move on so easily. Because of what happens in their neighborhoods, the children are not that innocent either, which is hard for me to picture.  What disgusts me is that the parents in the neighborhood are supposed to be role models to their children, and instead they are buying drugs, getting high, and becoming too sick to take care of them.

3. "If poor people behaved rationally, they would seldom be poor for long in the first place." (pg. 21)

This quote comes from Lawrence Mead, who is a political science professor at New York University. I strongly disagree with Mead because some impoverished people are well behaved, properly educated, and follow all of society's rules because they want to fit in. Unfortunately, people just discriminate them because they are not the dominant race, in other words, not Caucasian. There are impoverished people out there who work just as hard, if not harder than some average white people. Many people have a tendency to overlook and stereotype poor people as "lazy" or "uneducated". I am tired  of people labeling others just because they do not look or come from the same background.  Don't they know that if we all looked alike and had the same background, the world would be a boring place? It irritated the living daylights out of me that a professor, who is supposed to be well educated, talks about impoverished people like that! Whatever happened to not saying anything when we have nothing nice to say?

The point I would like to share is that even though our society has become slightly more accepting and open to new cultures, we still live in a world full of cruelty, hatred, and ignorance. As much as I wish that we can all just get along, I know that will unfortunately never be the case. As future teachers, we cannot make assumptions on our students, based on their backgrounds or how they look. Every student should be treated equally and not be left behind. One of our biggest faux pas in America is that we have a tendency to overlook issues and think that they are not as serious as a problem than they actually are.

3 comments:

  1. I liked your choice of quotes from this article, and i enjoyed reading your take and interpretation of Kozol's article. I also disagreed with the Professor in your 3rd quote, for the same reasons you did. Poverty is not a simple thing, and the solution is not as simple as he would like it to be.

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  2. While I liked your first two quote choices from Kozol's reading, I completely disagreed with the quote from the political science professor at NYU. Poor people, more often than not, do act rationally, doing as much as they can to try to better their lives in any way possible, whether it is by taking on multiple jobs every day of the week or taking in more and more hours of work where they are already employed. Everyone has the chance to get out of poverty, it just all depends on how they choose to go about doing it. Anyways, good job overall on your quotes and explanations!

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  3. You are absolutely right. Each child, each person, needs to be treated equally. Everyone deserves respect, regardless of their background, race or anything else. We are all people trying to make it and survive in this world. Let's work together and help one another! Also, you are right about overlooking and belittling issues. It is a very common case. Good choices on your quotes!

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