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Title: Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope by Jonathan Kozol ISBN: 0-06-095645-3 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 20 February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Anything but Ordinary
Comment: This powerful work is at once inspiring, frustrating and captivating. Kozol draws the reader into a world called Mott Haven that is filled with substance, love, service and hope. He poignantly describes the lives of children while blasting the manner in which we have chosen to deal with our most needy sectors of society. Kozol's gifted and powerful storytelling reminds us of several truths:
1. Segregation is potentially a bigger problem today than ever. White flight, private schools, school choice, home-schooling, virtual schools and lack of equitable access to technology are widening the gap.
2. Inequities in education must be addressed with the underlying belief that every child has the potential to achieve his/her dreams. Society must be responsible and held accountable for creating conditions ensuring that this occurs.
3. Teachers and students must all be able to work and learn in optimum conditions that safeguard and ensure dignity.
4. Although children appear to be resilient, we must protect their innocence, ensure they have the chance to dream and be inspired by their eternal optimism and hope. The real heroes of today are those who spend time with our children, listening to and nurturing their dreams.
5. We spend too much on our prison system and must figure out a way to divert that funding to education and healthcare so we can be proactive rather than reactive.
Kozol manages to convey the realities of inner city education by illuminating the complexities behind the daily challenges facing teachers and parents. His manner of connecting the problems to the institutions and practices that society has created to deal with those who do not "fit the system" provides a wake-up call to all of us who are working to make a difference in the lives of children. Kozol shows us that the system we have created is nurturing itself instead of helping people to break out of the vicious cycle characterized by lack of quality education, health care, meaningful work opportunities and dignity. We can no longer ignore the problems in the inner cities of America, not just because it makes economic sense but because it makes human sense to individually develop our most precious resources - our children. Community leaders, parents, educators, and corporate leaders should put this compelling book on the top of their "must read" list.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Need for a Helping Hand
Comment: As the end of the book drew near, I knew that I did not want it to finish. Through Kozol's descriptive, real life language, I felt as if I knew the students and wanted to continue along life's journey with them. I became frustrated, because I want to know what happens to the individual children. Are they able to remain strong with the help of the people at St. Ann's? Or do they fall into a life filled with crimes and drugs? Although I am upset, it is good, almost like a passion that is a direct result of Jonathan Kozol. Within an instant, he invites his readers to come along with him into this world in the South Bronx, a world that many people have not entered and maybe never will. Therefore, I believe Ordinary Resurrections is extremely powerful, for it has the capability to extend its arms and touch many people; there truly is no limit to the people who Kozol may affect. This idea of having no boundaries is crucial in today's society, because people should take the time not only to acknowledge, but help those who are less fortunate. It's a frightening world, especially for our youth, which is why they need our guidance and assistance to make sense of it all and find their own path.
Rating: 1
Summary: overrated
Comment: I really have nothing good to say about this book. Maybe I don't like the book because my chest doesn't hold a bleeding heart. That probably is the case. First of all, what is Kozol's purpose for writing the book? What is he trying to prove? Of course educational situation in slum neighborhoods is poor. Is this a secret? I feel bad for anyone who made this revelation after reading the book. Another complaint would be how Kozol throws the term segregation around as liberally as he does. The students he meets with are not the victims of segregation. Segretation is the forced separation of two things. At best, the residents of Mott Haven are victims of economic segregation. Unfortunately, those people have victimized themselves - they are the victims of their own ways of life. There are no men in the neighborhood - boo hoo, let's shed some tears. Where have all the men gone? - to jail for selling drugs. In short, you get what you deserve. In the end, there are incredible problems with this book and I did not find it enjoyable at all. I suppose I'm supposed to feel sympathetic for these people, but we all control our own destinies. If those youngsters decide to get an education and get themselves out of the neighborhood, then I'll applaud. They can sell drugs like everyone else and end up in prison and get their just deserts for their activity and continue the cycle. Open your eyes when you read this book and realize that Kozol has filled this book with liberalized rants and tears. The only people that I feel for are those who are forced to read this drivel. The system will never be perfect and remember, not everyone can graduate and be a doctor or a lawyer. We need to have the local McDonald's and the local gas station staffed too.
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Title: Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol ISBN: 0060976977 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 October, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools by Jonathan Kozol ISBN: 0060974990 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 August, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America by Jonathan Kozol ISBN: 0449903397 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools by Jonathan Kozol ISBN: 0452262925 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Real Life: Ten Stories of Aging by Patrick L. McKee, Jon Thiem, Patrick McKee ISBN: 0870813552 Publisher: University Press of Colorado Pub. Date: 01 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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