My Thoughts on Learning

When I think about learning I think about Jonathon Kozol’s In The Shame of the Nation. In his novel, Kozol relays his experiences with underprivileged and under educated minorities in the country, specifically focusing on impoverished schools in New York City. He emphasizes the fact that public schools with majority minorities such as many public schools in New York, are underprivileged and not taken care of. Many schools are over filled with students and at the same time have cut important classes such as art and music classes, which help initiate creativity, and provide a healthy and legitimate way to stay active. These electives also help cultivate well rounded and experienced children. In many cases as well, the schools themselves are deteriorating around the children as they ascend through the public school system.  Kid’s education is being deteriorated as the buildings that they are being taught in are literally falling apart. Mold is growing in buildings, which is affecting the health of many kids, windows are literally falling into the road and ceilings are caving in, all while the middle class and more privileged public schools as seen in the other parts of New York,  maintain higher standards of maintenance as well as education.

Kozol also speaks about the strictness and almost robotic-like teaching methods in the failing public schools in United States. It seems as though if the students even think out of place that it is considered to be wrong, which is teaching you students that there is only one way to do each and every specific thing. -----The sad thing is that children learn through failure, they learn from engaging in activities and through experimentation and socializing with others which many of the rules of these schools deny their students of----- This “educational system” is limiting the minds of young ones, and limiting their aspirations as their “education” is preparing them not for college, but for standardized tests and primarily industrial jobs.

(I personally learned a lot from reading this book because I feel like I really gained insight on things that I was completely unaware of beforehand.)