---Since I have been in this class, there have been many discussions on very general topics. It really amazed me a few weeks ago when we began a discussion on Jonathan Kozol's book Savage Inequalities. What really amazed me the most were the looks of amazement from many of my fellow classmates when we began to discuss issues from the book. Few seemed paralyzed from their amazement. Many, if not all, were shocked at such "injustices" and "realities"; this just goes to show me that many of my fellow classmates are very, if not completely, disconnected from such realities and only think that these problems exist in Boston, East St. Louis, Mississippi and so on. What they fail to realize is, such problems exist in their own backyard, here in New London, Hartford, Norwich, Bloomfield and any other major urban area and adjoining suburbs.These realities of poor/low achievement, low-motivation, decrepit schools, poor teachers and teaching strategies are common-place to the poor, mis-educated urban population. Having worked for several years in an urban and suburban (both predominantly accessed by people of African descent-including Latino), I have seen, experienced and lived with the realities and inequalities that Kozol mentions.This really hits home hard for me because seeing these inequalities has given me the drive and determination to be the best educator I can be. This is fuel for the fire. From the reading, I have developed 5 insights I would like to bring to the table. -Why has racial segregation intensified over the years?-How do we control the drop-out rate and why is it so high?-What role does economic and political power play concerning education?-What can be done in urban schools so that urban youth perform at the similar levels as suburban children?-Parental involvement. The first insight, why has racial segregation intensified over the years, really is a trick question. The very essence and basis of this Capitalist society (The C...
