Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, Essay Example

That savage inequalities have become the distinctive feature of the modern social reality cannot be denied. Such inequalities are particularly visible in school education. According to Kozol, savage inequalities are “differences between schools for children from poor families in inner cities or poor suburbs compared to children from rich communities” (311). Such inequalities manifest in a variety of ways: poorer schools are persistently overcrowded, while average class size in a school from a rich community is 24 (Kozol 315). Poor schools lack the most necessary school equipment: science classes are absent, and science teachers have to carry all science equipment with them (Kozol 313). In the meantime, schools like New Tier’s have superior technologies and science labs (Kozol 314). Dance classes and gyms in rich schools compared with collapsing ceilings and rooms without windows present a gloomy picture of dramatic inequalities in the present day system of education.

The question is not only in how serious these inequalities are but how they influence the life chances of children in our society. Apparently, the lack of science labs and sports equipment in schools does not improve children’s chances to graduate and make a decent career. Racial inequalities do play their role in how educational resources are being distributed within the system of education. In this situation, poor children do not have a single opportunity to move up the social ladder. Kozol is correct in that someday, the society will pay its price for these savage inequalities, either through violence or in economic terms (314). Children who are not prepared to cope with the educational and job market challenges will fight to survive by all possible means. Violence, crime, deviance, and prison overcrowding are the direct results of the poor life chances of children in our society. These chances depend on the quality and effectiveness of school education. Contemporary social issues cannot be resolved, unless the society takes an active step to provide all children, regardless of their racial background, with equal access to educational resources.

Works Cited

Kozol, J. “Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools.” Pp. 311-15.