Untold America Summary

Nelson Mandela once said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (Make Poverty History, 2005). Gwinnett county is third in the country when it comes to a high poverty rate, with 14% of the population living below poverty (Family Promise of Gwinnet County, 2013). As an educator it is important to familiarize with the county of which one is to teach in, and poverty is an issue in Gwinnett county. One must understand the affects of poverty on

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

For decades now, there have been educational problems in the inner city schools in the United States. The schools inability to teach some students relates to the poor conditions in the public schools. Some of the conditions are the lack of funds that give students with the proper supplies, inexperienced teachers, inadequate resources, low testing scores and the crime-infested neighborhoods. These conditions have been an issue for centuries, but there is nothing being done about it. Yet, state and local governments focus on other priorities, including schools with better academics. It is fair to say that some schools need more attention than other does. However, when schools have no academic problems then the attention should be focused

America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s

     In Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol documents the devastating inequalities in American schools, focusing on public education’s “savage inequalities” between affluent districts and poor districts. From 1988 till 1990, Kozol visited schools in over thirty neighborhoods, including East St. Louis, the Bronx, Chicago, Harlem, Jersey City, and San Antonio. Kozol describes horrifying conditions in these schools. He spends a chapter on each area, and provides a description of the city and a historical basis for the impoverished state of its school. These schools, usually in high crime areas, lack the most basic needs. Kozol creates a scene of rooms without heat, few supplies or text, labs with no

In the poem “America,” by Tony Hoagland, the idea of Americans being consumed with their money is shown using symbolism and metaphors. The speaker in this poem is a teacher whose name is never mentioned. One thing revealed in the poem is that the speaker has a father who is presumably very wealthy and successful. One of the teacher’s students compares America to a maximum security prison. A recurring theme throughout “America” is Hoagland showing examples of America’s greedy society using a teacher, student, and a father’s experiences. Using metaphors of money and symbols of rivers filled with merchandise, Tony Hoagland captures how the teacher begins to think after he hears his student compare America to a maximum security prison.

Our America by LeAlan Jones and LLoyd Newman makes readers feel bad about children deaths in Chicago which inspires people to help even though it makes readers feel bad.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne builds a model for combating poverty by tackling it at the earliest level of perpetuation-in schools. Schools, Payne advocates, should be the first line of defense against encroaching poverty and also the most effective weapon to beat it back. Unlike most economic tools, schools should be fine-tuned and deployed according to strict frameworks. Payne identifies two types of poverty and list eight resources which makes one a candidate. The thrust is thus primarily on how to deal with poverty in schools and how to equip the students with tools and education

Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol explains the inequalities of school systems in different poor neighborhoods. Kozol was originally a teacher in a public school in Boston. This school didn’t have very many resources and was unable to keep teachers for very long. After pursuing other interests, Kozol took the time from 1988-1990 to meet with children and teachers in several different neighborhoods to better understand issues relating to the inequality and segregation in the school systems. Kozol writes from his own perspective as he visits six different cities and the poorest schools in those cities. These cities consist of East St. Louis in Illinois, the South Side of Chicago in Illinois, New York City, Camden in New Jersey, Washington

Unfortunately, the school's lack of appropriate education results directly from poor government funding. So even with hard work, the lower-class student is still held down by his socio-economic status. Poverty-stricken parents are unable to offer their children the same attention and motivation as parents of a higher-class can, therefore never providing these children with the mindset that they are able to accomplish the American dream. According to Mantsios, 40 million Americans live in poverty, and the mental and physical affects the low standard of living has on them is undeniable (Mantsios 328). Citizens who live in poverty work long hours for little pay, yet return to a household that in no way symbolizes the hard work put forth. Within this environment, very few people have the positive outlook to mentor children successfully.

By 1600, England’s feudal system was nearing extinction, as a new family (Tudor’s) came to power and wanted support from the middleclass and the establishment of new liberties for Englishman (i.e. trial by jury and no arrest without a warrant), which resulted in a large amount of local and self initiative to prosper in the community: yet many beggars now existed, culminating in an increased need for colonial expansion both for personal prosperity and more space for the existing population.

Residential segregation is a wide spread topic of discussion throughout cities across the United States. With population in larger cities growing, the separation of groups into neighborhoods is common — placing different standards of living on each section depending on the wealth and race of the inhabitants. In There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub explore a new areas of Chicago and the residential segregation taking place there by creating a

Not only are impoverished children suffering from a late start in education, it is known that the neediest schools are the schools who's students are below the poverty line. The students with the greatest needs receive the least funding and resources. In New York the average poor student will receive about $1,000 year in resources at public school; whereas the school's with the least amount of poor children receive around $3,000 per student in public schools. Not necessarily the same number wise but this is the case in at least 37 of our 50 states (Schemo). Inadequate education for impoverished children only worsens their chances of making it out of poverty.

However, Wacquant brings the term “inner city” to light, breaking down its meaning: “black and poor.” Living in Chicago gives one an exemplary example of the term “inner city” meaning “poor, black ghettos.” The references to “inner city” schools being synonymous with “poor quality” and “mostly African American” are damaging to urban terminology and creating a predetermined perspective of those who call the “inner city” home. The “hypersegregation” of the city of Chicago is a topic within itself, but the institution of segregation is, without question, existent here. In addition, “inner city” is becoming a label which implies unavoidable incarceration.

Every city has poverty. Travel around the world, I bet it wouldn’t be difficult to find a city that doesn 't have an impoverished community. Poverty is a global issue, but most importantly it’s a local issue to me in the city that I live in. Among the 10 largest cities in America, Chicago has the third highest poverty rate with 40-60% of our residents living under the poverty level. People who live in poverty are given less opportunities, resources and tools than people who live in the middle or upper class. Poverty is not a pleasant subject, however, poverty is real. In the daily lives of the poor, poverty becomes a network of disadvantages. The end result is that there is a lack of access to education, employment, health care, affordable housing, proper sanitation and good nutrition among many generations of the poor (End Poverty). Of the issues associated with poverty, the lack of access to an education stands out to me the most. In Chicago, education is greatly valued and is vital for all development and growth achievements in people. Education is the process in which people gain knowledge, help form and shape attitudes and opinions, and allow people to gain a set of skills that they can further use in areas outside of a school environment. However, education systems in Chicago are taking a huge deficit due to the effects of poverty. The effects of poverty are already big factors toward the concern about Chicago, and why it is portrayed as negatively as it is, but those