FAMOUS EDUCATORS: JONATHAN KOZOL
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I am most known for my passionate advocacy of social equality of unrepresented children
due to inequalities based on race, and socioeconomic factors in the public schools sector. I am
also a passionate advocate of child-centered learning, and I have written a variety of books about
education in America. Death of an Early Age was my first book, which was about my first year
as a teacher in the public school system, and my more recent book About Fire in the Ashes,
which is about “the outcasts of our nation's ingenuity.” I believe our schools are still very much
segregated by race and economic factors even in today’s society. If all our children are of equal
value in the eyes of God, then why not in the eyes of America? Our public educational system is
unjust, undemocratic, and the archaic way we finance public education, our children come into
the classroom with a price tag printed on their forehead. The little ones I write about are the
cheap children, that is just unacceptable in a nation that would like to view itself as a good
society. For these obvious reasons I have pushed for the simple equalities these children deserve.
My educational ideas were influenced by seeing the inequalities in the United States
public educational system, social inequalities in our country during the 1960s. There was this
event I will never forget the summer of 1964 when 3 students from Ohio were murdered by the
Ku Klux Klan, and becasue they were a mix of races, the nation paid attention. That moment in
time changed my perspective on education from then on. I was a Harvard graduate, with no
teaching certification so I started out as a substitute in Boston. Teaching was the hardest thing I
have ever done in my life, and I grew an admiration for teachers and all that they do. I survived
my first day as a kindergarten sub, and then ultimately became a fourth and fifth grade teacher.
This was when my journey to draw attention to the social, racial and socioeconomic inequalities
in public schools began.
FAMOUS EDUCATORS: JONATHAN KOZOL
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One can still see influences of me in today’s American education because race
segregation is still evident in today’s public education system. My passion for education writing
has resulted in many awards, and my experience as a former educator, as well as being an
advocate for equitable public education are all reasons behind my drive and ideology of an
equally distributed education system. I believe my attention to the inequalities in public
education are still very much present today. I delivered a message at Duke University titled,
“Savage Inequalities in the Public Schools of a Divided Nation: The Challenge for Courageous
and Inspired Teachers in the Wake of Ferguson and Charlottesville.”
During my speech I stated “I wish I could stand here tonight and tell you there’s been dramatic
progress…but it wouldn’t be the truth. The savage inequalities in funding between the wealthy
and poor districts in America have not diminished over the years.” Our nation has done little to
change the inequalities these students face everyday. I believe there needs to be a serious change.
I would like every student of teaching to remember my ideology of equality for these
underserved students, and remind themselves of the outside unequal factors that affect their daily
lives. Remember these are the children that need the most guidance from their teachers, they
need that nurture, and that feeling of importance to motivate their learning journey. Children in
most inner city schools do not get that feeling of warmth and motivation from their teachers, due
to many outstanding factors outside of their control. I hope my work and progress towards
change will motivate students of teaching to be that teacher that makes a difference in these
students’ lives, change their perspective of the world, and help me become motivated to be that
change in the world we so desperately need.
FAMOUS EDUCATORS: JONATHAN KOZOL
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Reference Page
YouTube. (2014, August 12). Jonathan Kozol: Education in America [full]. YouTube. Retrieved
June 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgPOso3OTqo&t=1701s
Jonathan Kozol: Year of transforming education: Allegheny College. Allegheny.edu. (n.d.).
Retrieved June 16, 2022, from
https://sites.allegheny.edu/yote/speakers/jonathan-kozol/#:~:text=Ten%20years%20later%2C%2
0in%20The,Board%20of%20Education
Granados, A. (2017, October 26). Jonathan Kozol: The Savage Inequalities of Public School.
EducationNC. Retrieved June 16, 2022, from
https://www.ednc.org/savage-inequalities-public-school/#:~:text=Jonathan%20Kozol%2C%20a
ward%2Dwinning%20education,1991%20are%20still%20present%20today