Gabriella Hertania

Professor Lookholder
Sociology 1
03/26/2017

Savage Inequalities Reading & Reflection

Summary:

I. Irl Solomon's history class

Mr. Salomon is a 54-year-old man, who has been teaching in urban schools for

almost 30 years. He initially went for a law school but withdraw after the first

semester because he didnt like it. After that he decided to challenge himself by going

to a rural area to teach and to to see if it might be his true passion. He shares that after

that day he never left East St. Louis. He knew that people who are graduating from a

ghetto high school wont bring anywhere else. Most of them know about it, that there

seems to be no future from them as he shares that 4 students from his senior class

chose to raise a kid instead of studying.

II. Jennifer's views on schools in poor area (Bronx & East St. Louis)

Jennifer is a student whose parents was originally come from a city called Bronx

in New York. She argues that if the poor area wants a change, they have to be the one

who want it. Because no matter how much money people invest to that area by paying

tax, she feels that people in those poor are are just hopeless. She also states that if

people from that poor areas want a better education; they should have the will that
 come from themselves. She says that if the will only come from other peoples, it

wont give them anything but merely wasting money on them.

III. Contrast East St Louis with the school in Rye, New York

The author then continues her journey to suburban Rye in New York by train from

Grand Central Station which takes her about a half hour. Compared to the previous

school that she visited earlier, this high school has a courtyard and grand solid

building. The principal is very welcoming and seems grateful to have her visiting the

school. It has a very neat environment and a carpeted study hall for the students

comfort for them to study. The students in this high school has access to library and

they also have foreign language and literature class. She also noticed that compared to

other school which population is all black people, this school has only a tiny amount

of black people admitted here. The teachers salaries in this school is almost seven

times higher than the one in East St. Louis. When she has a discussion with the

students there, she can tell that they have different understanding skill and a well-

thought language. They can even have a debate with her about if bringing those

students from the poor area to the town will make difference or not.

Reflection:

I honestly have no idea how hard it is to not be able to go to a proper school. I have heard

a lot of story of kids in poor areas in my country that has to walk 3 hours to get to school by

going across a river and a very narrow bridge. It really makes me sad to think how unfair life is

for people who have born in those area. They might really have no idea how life look like outside

their society. From my 17 years of school experience, I definitely saw a lot of change coming to
the school system I went to, which are public schools in cities. However, even then we still have

a lot of other small schools in the city that are not receiving much attention from the government.

After reading this article, I think I might have to agree with Jennifer. I think she has a point that

if a person wants to get educated, that person has to have the will to do so. I know that if the

student cannot afford going to the school in the city, they have to stuck with their conditions.

Like the kid who walks 3 hours to school in the suburb area. However, I also believed that if the

government pay more attention to them by giving them more proper facility to study. At least

those students who cannot study properly because they only have one classroom to fit all the

students and a few teachers can have a chance to get a better education. I think that this

inequality just happened because we all have different societies. Even after many years, when

there are not much changes to the poorer district or if they dont keep up with the growth from

the cities, I think it will all just remain the same.