Savage Inequalities

Savage Inequalities written by Jonathan Kozol (1991) described the conditions of several American's public schools. He found out that there was a wide disparity or difference in the conditions between the schools in the poorest inner-city communities and schools in the wealthier suburban communities (Goslee, 1999). It became obvious that many poor children who were not given an equal opportunity from the start begin their young lives with an education that is far inferior to that of the children who grow up in wealthier communities (Goslee, 1999). Being the essential factors to be determined that affects the lives of many children, Kozol stressed the importance in the improvement in education, poverty, homelessness, and hope for the future of young people (Kreider, 1991).

Further, he believed that there was a need to do more than merely study the psychological effects of poverty and oppression on children to find solutions to social problems that were being faced (Farahmandpur, 2006).

Unequal funding of public schools was one of the issues discussed by Kozol (1991).This unequal funding lead to inferior schools and creates a wide disparity between schools in the poorest and wealthiest communities (Goslee, 1999). Because of the unequal funding, the rich were given greater knowledge and cultural capital. This ensured their continued affluence. On the contrary, the poor remained segregated in falling public schools. Thus, the poor learned only how to function in a service-sector economy or to be in the growing underclass of unemployed American citizens (Kreider, 1991). The second problem raised was the school overcrowding which forces some classes to be held in bathrooms and the lack of funds that make it impossible to teach science labs and have textbooks for students. Conversely to that situation of the poor, rich academic institutions enjoyed the luxuries of campuses with newly remodeled auditoriums, student lounges, wood-paneled libraries and extensive computer laboratories (Kreider, 1991).

The third issue raised was the state and local control to education. The author claimed that the business approach to education reiterates mediocrity instead of introducing excellence (Kreider, 1991).In addition to the three issues being emphasized, cases of affluence discrimination and inequality in public schools was also discussed. If the majorities living in an area, according to the author, are poor citizens, then the majority of students in academic institutions are also poor. Thus, they became prone to discrimination and inequality simply because they were poor Kreider, 1991).