Analysis Of James W. Loewen's Still Separate Still Unequal

America’s education system is one of the most respectable, reputable and sought after commodities in our society, but it is also the most overcrowded, discriminatory, and controversial system ever established. Most people yearn for a higher education because it 's what 's expected in this society in order to get ahead. It means a better job, more money, power, prestige and a sense of entitlement. But this system has let down the children that are supposed to benefit from it. Education discriminates against minorities, and poorer class students are not expected nor encouraged to attain a higher education. The education system is set up to ensure that every child get a basic

Expansion of education is closely related to idealistic views of democracy. In developing and wealthy nations, education is valued because it helps the individual mind to develop capabilities. In contrast, education has also been seen as a way to promote equality. Having access to public education, in theory, has the potential to reduce poverty and promote equality. If all are entitled to the same public education, not to mention they are required by law, why do school systems seem segregate their students? Researchers have searched for the answer and have theorized that economic background, tracking, and hidden curriculum are a few things that help contribute to the imaginary lines drawn between students in society.

As a young child, we are given certain opportunities and guidance to expand our knowledge right off the bat when it comes to reading and writing. Going to school to get an education is what every parent aspires their child to do. Parents want the best for their children, to be accepted and to learn to their fullest extent just like every other child their age. However, there are many children and families who are not as privileged when it comes to receiving these certain opportunities. I ask myself a simple question: is education really taken for granted as if it is just a given and not a privilege? It seems that these days, going to school and learning is just

In Jonathan Kozol “Still Separate Still Unequal” the author discusses how education for inner city school kids greatly differs from white school kids. “Schools that were already deeply segregated twenty-five or thirty years ago are no less segregated now” (Kozol 143). Although in 1954 the popular court case Brown vs Board of Education should have ended segregation in schools. The author shows how “the achievement gap between black and white children continues to widen or remain unchanged,” (Kozol 164) due to society’s grouping of privileges. Kozol relies heavily on logos to show how socio-economic privileges affects the education that inner city schools kids receive, those being blacks and Hispanics, compared to white schools kids.

Education should not be denied because of financial reasons. Children shouldn’t be denied an education because of their “wealth status”; they should be guaranteed an equal, fair education.

“Most high school history courses do nothing whatever to prepare Americans of the future to think imaginatively about the problem … blinding students to the need for change, thus making change that much more difficult” (290). Here he is saying how because of the way history classes are taught, and the archetype of progress, leaves students unaware of the real issues that they will be faced with and in turn unable to solve them effectively. With Lies My Teacher Told Me Loewen shows the true conditions of America and how they are very relevant to us today in hopes that he will be able to inspire his readers to think critically about the world today using the past as their knowledge base, since that is where history class is seriously

In John Kozol’s article, Still Separate Still Unequal, Kozol aims to inform readers, mainly ones that are not familiar with the public-school system in urban areas, how exactly these public schools have not changed much from segregated times and in fact worse than times before. Kozol uses many statistics and appalling facts to get the readers to comprehend exactly how these public schools are Still Separate, and Still Unequal. Kozol states in the beginning of his essay, “…Even these statistics, as stark as they are, cannot begin to convey how deeply isolated children in the poorest and most segregated sections of these cities have become” (Kozol). This quote gives the readers an emotional connection early on in fact that the statistics he states

The character of a nation can be discovered or disclosed in the way that it treats its indigenous population, I have chosen Japan and Australia for my comparison and will be giving a brief summary about the Japanese Ainu People and the Australian Aborigines, their histories as we know them and how they have been treated by the peoples that have taken over the lands to which they themselves had laid claim as their own thousands of years beforehand.

He introduced topics that he knew would attract and make the reader feel involved. For example, he expresses his thoughts about Christopher Columbus, the First Thanksgiving, and Abraham Lincoln. As a student is reading all of these familiar names and events, he wants them to have a connection and be interested in the matter. In spite of Loewen having the skill of incorporating outside connections, the area of his sources was not a strong choice. Evidently the theme was to coerce students and teachers how to properly learn history and to not believe the textbooks. Although, his evidence came from 18 American History textbooks, contradicting his own sayings and beliefs. Loewen had his mind set on helping students learn and appreciate history even more. “Students will start learning history when they believe history might relate to their lives and futures. Students will start finding history interesting when their teachers and textbooks stop lying to them” (Loewen 354). All information of the past should always be relevant in the present, considering history shouldn’t be forgotten, mainly so the nation is precautious for it not to occur

Education is a privilege. This remains true, even as I sit in one of the most grueling lectures of my life and ask myself questions like, "When am I ever going to use this in real life?" or "Can it be lunch already?" We often believe that education is a right. However, when something is not accessible to all, it is a privilege, not a right.

The battle to achieve a sense of fairness and equality has been relevant amongst humans since the beginning of time. Advocates who effortlessly argue the need for an equal socioeconomic system recognize that little to no change has been made throughout time. Philosopher John Rawls’s principles of fairness and equality state that everyone has a right to basic liberties and the greatest social and economic privileges are granted only if the greatest social and economic benefits are granted to the most disadvantaged people. The articles, “Still Separate, Still Unequal” by Jonathan Kozol, “Rethinking Affirmative Action” by David Leonhardt, and "Progress Made, but Science Still a Man 's World: News" by David Matthews, all illustrate how John Rawls’s principles are still not being realized today to their fullest extent. In Jonathan Kozol’s article, he demonstrates how the educational system in America is still racially divided despite the end of segregation in the 1900s. In David Leonhardt’s article, he conveys the notion that although people have equal rights there still exists a gap in fairness. In David Matthews’s article, he focuses on the fact that women are still overruled by men in the workplace despite previous strong efforts of gender equality in the United States.

Each of these little incidents then lead to the end result, at which one’s social class would strongly correlated with their aptitude test results, and therefore people from higher classes are more likely to be well educated and land with a white-collar job, lastly continue the upper class status in the family. Although the situations he described aren’t always going to be the same, but since the idea is generally accepted, he use it to support his main points. Outside sources was also incorporated, and by stating their position or success with phrases like “Researcher Reba Page” and “in the words of Theodore Sizer’s best-selling study of American high schools, Horace’s Compromise,” Loewen made them seem very

What is learned in school, be it public or private, determines, for the most part, what position an individual will find themselves in - in the future. In “White Privilege and Male Privilege,” Peggy McIntosh, an author known for doing something that is rarely done in the white community--speaking of her race--makes references to education, to her privileged education, to support her argument on white and male privilege. Sometimes I wonder what society would look like without education; would there be any norms, or rules? Education is so deeply instituted into most Americans' lives that those questions will probably never be answered. One thing is certain; some people are able to get

Money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy education. In this great country of ours, education is not a privilege it is a right. All children are given the opportunity to a free education. An education that should allow them to become high school graduates, 21st Century scholars, and prepare them as leaders to sustain this nation. What happens though when this is not the future for all children? The problem at hand is not all children are receiving the same educational opportunities. Not all children graduate from high school and not all lead successful careers as adults. Why is this the outcome for some and not others?

Imagine growing up not having a formal education. Determining if good education is a right or a privilege is a very debated topic in the United States. Not only could an informal education harm the student, but it could impair their future. Therefore, acquiring a degree is essential for ninety percent of jobs on the market today. Having a good education should be a right in order to enroll into college, obtain a degree, and have a brighter future.