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Loading... Death at an Early Ageby Jonathan Kozol
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 12/6/22 I think the subtitle says it all; a nonfiction account of a first-time fourth grade teacher in a less than stellar school system in Roxbury, Massachusetts. "They had desks and a teacher, but they really did not have a class" (p 29). While Kozol is talking about a physical space (he had to share a large auditorium with three, sometimes four other activities (including drama and band practices), I really think he was also referring to the lack of togetherness as a group. There wasn't a sense of community. There wasn't a unified eagerness to learn. Nothing bound them to the reason they were there. This is to say nothing of the lack of support Kozol received as an educator from his peers and administration. He was constantly criticized for the amount of time, resources and energy he gave to "the Negro student." Death at an Early Age is a continuous report of the different instances of abuse and neglect the students endured, culminating with Kozol's unjustified dismissal after the inclusion of a Langston Hughes poem, "The Landlord." The experiences of a young idealistic teacher in the Boston Public school system. This was one of the books that influenced my decision to become a teacher; it is powerfully written, sure in its assumptions, and often hits the nail on the head. It is a heartbreaking book to read in some ways, especially to see how the black students in the system were so subject to a policy of benign neglect designed to make them acceptive of their lot in life, or at least desirous of bettering themselves without rocking the boat. no reviews | add a review
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The story of the year the author spent teaching in a predominantly black school in Boston. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)306.4320974461Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and Institutions Specific aspects of culture Education School and societyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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