Margaret Leyva

Introductory Sociology

March 26, 17

Savage Inequalities

Irl Solomon's history class is one of the top courses taught at East St. Louis. It's

ranking can be attributed to Solomon's higher education background. A graduate from

Brandeis University, he decided instead of pursuing law that he wanted to make a real

difference. So Irl went off to teach in one of the toughest places to teach, East St. Louis.

After 30 years of teaching in urban schools, Solomon finds himself still teaching at East

St. Louis. Earlier in the excerpt, Kozol states the prose that a key difference in poor

schools and upper class schools is that those with money are able to attract teachers

with more impressive backgrounds. So it is no wonder why the history class is one of the

better courses. It is taught by not only an educated man, but one who wants to make a

difference.

A young female student, Jennifer, seems to be slightly distant towards those in

poorer neighborhoods. She tells Kozol her parents are from the Bronx, but couldn't wait

to get out. When asked if she had any sympathy for those still stuck in "hell," Jennifer

replied that people must want to have better lives. If they want that, then they'll work to

achieve such things--like her parents. Although she added that everyone should have

access to the same courses, just not at the tax payers expense.

To list off just a few of the problems the schools of East St. Louis face: hallways

with sewage, a brand new school built improperly, unsupervised study halls and

unbelievable cut backs. The education level and facilities combined seem more like a

holding center for the youth of the city rather than a place to learn. The schools of East
St. Louis are grim in comparison to those in Rye, New York. It's a posh school where the

parents alone put in $400,000 (about forty substitute teachers yearly salary at East St.

Louis) in unnecessary remodeling. A place where most students are enrolled in

advanced placement courses and are able to "stretch out" as they read the Times. The

two schools of East St. Louis and Rye, New York could not be more different. They are

polar opposites, one being a place of opportunities and the other a bleak reminder of

poverty.

Personally, I was unaware of such drastically impoverished schools. I assumed

that each state and city had to take better care of their learning institutions. Since I

attended a public performing arts high school in downtown Los Angeles, it left me a little

blindsided to how normal schools run. For me, I was surrounded by rich kids from the

valley as well as kids trekking their way from the depths of South Central. Alongside a

variety of students coming from different social classes and pockets of the city, there was

a fairly equal amount of diversity among race. So, attending such a place gave me the

preconceived notion that most schools were similar. I read Kozol's excerpt in awe, and

felt a disdain for those allowing the children of East St. Louis to attend such a run-down

school.

The only way I could see a place like East St. Louis changing is by those with

money taking an interest in all the abandoned property. The whole city would need to be

restored; that would take two things: people that care and money. So I can't imagine the

American school system changing as a whole for the better without the states, cities,

and small towns taking part in the change as well. Change takes time especially on such

a large level.