Talking Points #1 on Kozol/Goldberg

Jonathan Kozol- Amazing Grace
Bernard Goldberg- 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

Context/Premise: These two articles are about poverty, ghetto neighborhoods, parents, children, poorness, starvation, destitution, herion and crack cocaine addictions, HIV and AIDS, depression, fear, anxiety, asthma, faith, relegion, violence, murder, homicide, death, drugs, guns, unfair medical treatment, prejudice, racism, welfare, minorities, unemployment, abuse, homelessness, sickness, awareness, patriotism, political correctness, and education.

Argument: Kozol and Goldberg argue that poverty is a serious problem that unfortunately affects childrens rights to education because of elements such as starvation, diseases, destitution, drugs, violence, and homicide, which are all factors that work against a child properly learning, and that this is becoming a more significant issue in today's society.


Evidence: Kozol- One statistic that truly shocked me and forced me to realize just how serious the situation of poverty is comes from this quote.
"Only seven out of 800 children do not qualify for free school lunches." (3)

Kozol- With children having to deal with things like homicide, which is clearly beyond their maturity level, it is no wonder how that affects their emotional stability.
"Depression is common among children in Mott Haven." (4)

Kozol- "What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them? Do they believe that they are being shunned or hidden by society?" (5)

Kozol interviews a boy named Cliffie, a seven year old boy with a less then desirable life, yet the boy like many other children living in poverty offers up high spirits rather then crying about what he does not have. "There are children in the poorest, most abandoned places who, despite the miseries and poisons in the world has pumped into their lives, seem, when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway." (6)

Kozol interviews a teenage boy named David, whose mother is suffering from AIDS. This quote is David's response to when Kozol asks him what he means by "the evil on the earth."
"I believe that what the rich have done to the poor people in this city is something that a preacher could call evil. Somebody has power. Pretending that they don't so that they don't need to use it to help people-that is my idea of evil. (23)

Goldberg- "The teachers are predictable liberals." (293)

Goldberg- This next quote I found relates to Lisa Delpit's theory that issues of pwer are enacted in the classroom. "We are taught U.S. history out of politically correct textbooks..." (294)
This relates to Delpit because she believes that "the power of publishers of textbooks and of the developers of the curriculum to determine the view of the world presented." (24)


Other Issues to Consider- Although the harsh reality of poverty was a bit to graphic at times, I feel like a learned a lot from reading Kozol's Amazing Grace. It is hard to truly understand the depth of what these children are going through, especially because I have been fortunate enough to have a good life. Children are impressionable beings, and I cannot imagine how hard it must be to go withought a meal or worse, witness extreme acts of violence. Kozol's writing style is unbiased and well researched, as shown by his various interviews throughout the reading. His writing enabled me to visually see the roach infested apartment and the mother who was shot while holding her baby.