The definition of a social problem, is as follows: "conditions, processes, or events that are identified as negative by analysts or by significant numbers of other people and that affect large numbers of people, stem from social causes, and/or can be solved through social action". The first clause in this definition of a social problem is its negativity, and whether or not it is recognized as a problem. It is difficult to argue that the conditions of these schools, and the areas in which they are located, can be anything but negative. These schools have administrative problems (Kozol 124), decaying buildings (Kozol 23-24, among dozens of oth

Kozol begins by stating the following: "'Children in a true sense, writes John Coons of Berkeley University, are all poor because they are dependent on adults. There is

If the school board has sufficient money, it can exercise some real control over these matters. If it has very little money, it has almost no control; or rather it has only negative control. Its freedom is to choose which of the children's needs should be denied. But, where the long-standing problems are more basic (adequate space, sufficient teachers for all classrooms, heating fuel, repair of missing windowpanes and leaking roofs and toilet doors), none of the pretended power over tone and style has much meaning. Style, in the long run, is determined by the caliber and character of teachers, and this is an area in which the poorest schools have no real choice at all. (Kozol 213)

Now we take a closer look at the chapters in Jonathan Kozol book Savage Inequalities.

The Dream Deferred, Again, in San Antonio

"We spend about $4,000 yearly on each student," he reports, as we are heading to the cafeteria for lunch. "The statewide average is about $5,000, but our children are competing also with the kids in places such as Cherry Hill, which spends over $6,000, Summit, which is up to $7,000, Princeton, which is past $8,000 now." (Kozol 149)

In this chapter Kozol focuses on East St. Louis, which is a city that presents itself as essentially a wasteland, a forgotten city. The city, in fact, has declared bankruptcy. There are no businesses and no services, and frighteningly enough, even the garbage hasn't been picked up since 1987. Kozol illustrates that even the simple atmosphere of the city is depressing and certainly not conducive to any form of adequate education. Children ride their bicycles along a dry creek bed, which is so polluted that it "smokes by day and glows on moonless nights" (Kozol NA). In light of this we clearly see Kozol's descriptions of the school system and see how it emulates the surroundings, for the schools possess science labs without water or lab tables, windows that have no glass, and classrooms that have no books.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3091
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)