110 People Who Are Screwing Up America - Goldberg

Context: This article was about how Golberg believes that Jonathan Kozol is one of many people who are screwing up America. Kozol's attitude towards education is very liberal and that education should not be politically neutral.

- "Kozol is the patron saint of today's powerful liberal educational establishment."

Argument: Goldberg argues that Kozol's attitude towards education is too liberal. Goldberg finds it "alarming" that so many of "Kozol's education techniques are used all across America from high school to pre school." He feels that Kozol's ways of teaching has children not even questioning their heritage, but just believing in this liberal way to where they are blinded by it.

Evidence:
"Kozol is a fierce opponent of traditional learning, which he says deadens children's souls."
This quote says a lot about the article because it shows many different things. It shows that Kozol has a problem, basically, because the way teachers have been teaching for years is somewhat not good enough in his eyes anymore. This quote also shows how Goldberg likes the traditional ways. This quote leads into the passion Goldberg has in writing this piece because he feels so strongly about Kozol's ways of teaching.

Other Issues: I find this piece to be worth reading. I dont mind change in the way of constructing your classes, but if you are teaching with ur head set on liberal ways without being open to anything else, then there is a problem. Open-ness is key in society....you can't live without it.





Jonathan Kozol- Amazing Grace.

Context: This artical was about many poor (and when I say poor I mean like nothing!!) cities in NY, as well as this lady's journey through these cities with a little boy who seems to know the streets pretty well.

Argument: Kozol's argument in this piece is that it is hard to be poor living in the poorest cities in NY. You get treated like the garbage that surrounds you. You learn not to depend on the little resources you do have, such as hospitals and welfare. You are on your own in these cities; you want something done, you go do it, you need money, you get it the best way you know how.

Evidence: "Either you wait for hours until someone cleans the room or else you clean the room yourself." This quote made me sick because I can not imagine being so ill that you can barely move and not being treated for hours or days. I can't believe that you walk in to a dirty, bloody bed and have no one there to clean it. Like I said before, you want something done you do it yourself.

I mean that quote alone gives you a pretty good idea of how bad things are there. I thought I had it bad, but I was wrong. People are infested with AIDs all around and there are children walking the streets with these infected people. You have prostitutes harrassing your children when they pass. Children know more about the bad things around them than the good that is everywhere else because to them there is no good, there is only bad. Having three different locks on your door with 3 different keys to open them is insane! I couldn't imagine living in fear all of the time. Always wondering if my child will be shot tomorrow or catch some rancid disease. Even children have to worry about their parent's health and whether they will have a mom in the morning....this article made me so depressed thinking about the children and how so many people don't deserve the life they live.