In Chapter One of our text, Bob Shannon (the football coach from East St. Louis High) talks of life in East St. Louis in comparison to his struggles in Natchez, Mississippi. In this discussion he states that one reason that life is harder here is "because in those days [in Mississippi] it was a clear enemy you had to face, a man in a hood and not a statistician" (26). This idea stayed with me while revisiting the assigned section of Savage Inequalities. In fact, I began to take note of Kozol and his statistical moods- and began to make notes in the margins. What I have found is a full margin. I have come to conclude that in many ways this book itself exists as a huge metaphor- the American statistic. This is no typical statistic though, this is one that dauntingly reveals the true state of conditions and circumstances of urban America. This statistic is one that brings the numbers, faces and names to a meeting point- a reality for me. A reflection of this really makes me concerned. In the past I have read other books, with stories just as disheartening (The Water is Wide, Among Schoolchildren) about poverty and public education, however this one struck a nerve. The statistics somehow made the book so much more real for me. For example, in Chapter Two, Kozol stands in the doorway of a kindergarten classroom in Chicago, and examines the faces of the children. Statistically he shares the number that will drop out, the number that will graduate and then the number that will go to prison (45). I find it troubling that my emotions and concern were so dependent upon those statistics. Why would/should I have to have numbers to be concerned for these students? Why must the stats be my determining factor in their reality? In many ways I feel like that is why Kozol wrote this book. We as Americans and as people have isolated ourselves from the stories of individuals such as these. They are so far and distant from us that we are immune to their stories… in fact- that is what we see them as… stories. As a writer I believe that Kozol sees this. I truly commend the approach he has taken to writing the book. Perhaps I am overly dramatic, however this poses the philosophical question of whether some people have to have numbers in order to comprehend, acknowledge or understand situations. I know that I myself would have empathized with the stories of book- statistics or not- however I had to admit that it was the statistics that solidified my concern and awe. Ironically, one of the first “statisticsâ€

I agree, Jen. It seems like everything is linked to a statistic. I began taking notes when I started reading Savage Inequalities. It got to be too overwhelming and I stopped. It is apparent that these children were destined for failure. What happened to high expectations?