No Child Left Untested
Hey all. Sorry it has been so long since my last quality post. I have been really busy with school and couple that with living in Michigan in early March you could imagine I have little to be optimistic about.
I just got home from a wonderful lecture at U of M given by the man pictured to the right- Jonathan Kozol author of "Savage Inequalities", "Amazing Grace" and most recently "The Shame of the Nation : The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America"
The lecture was awesome, edifying, and provocative. I need this about once a week.
Kozol is a Rhode Scholar and former teacher who was fired from a Boston school for reading Langston Hughes to his students in the sixties. The talk was exactly what I need to hear. Kozol reminded me that life isn't as dangerous as the older generation would like us to believe- to not be afraid to take a bold stance and take some risks- that when we rob our poorest children we rob our entire society. I forget these things. Most of the time I tell myself that this is " just the way things are" and he said specifically tonight that those words are not a good enough excuse! Things have to change! Rather then celebrating the civil rights movement and Dr. King once a year- honoring them for their courage- GO OUT AND DUPLICATE IT! There are ways to play ball and at the same time to not play ball. I think about my friends who may be reading this, teachers, professors, lawyers, and students all the people that are most responsible for change in everyday life. The answer isn't to test our children more it is to create equality in our society. For this we are responsible.
I just got home from a wonderful lecture at U of M given by the man pictured to the right- Jonathan Kozol author of "Savage Inequalities", "Amazing Grace" and most recently "The Shame of the Nation : The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America"
The lecture was awesome, edifying, and provocative. I need this about once a week.
Kozol is a Rhode Scholar and former teacher who was fired from a Boston school for reading Langston Hughes to his students in the sixties. The talk was exactly what I need to hear. Kozol reminded me that life isn't as dangerous as the older generation would like us to believe- to not be afraid to take a bold stance and take some risks- that when we rob our poorest children we rob our entire society. I forget these things. Most of the time I tell myself that this is " just the way things are" and he said specifically tonight that those words are not a good enough excuse! Things have to change! Rather then celebrating the civil rights movement and Dr. King once a year- honoring them for their courage- GO OUT AND DUPLICATE IT! There are ways to play ball and at the same time to not play ball. I think about my friends who may be reading this, teachers, professors, lawyers, and students all the people that are most responsible for change in everyday life. The answer isn't to test our children more it is to create equality in our society. For this we are responsible.
posted by Griff197 at 7:10 PM
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