Blog Post #1

Johnathan Kozol
"Amazing Grace"


QUOTES

"As confident and grown-up as he sounds, he has the round face of a baby and is scarcely more than three and a half feet tall" (Kozol 8).

This quote is describing a seven year old boy named Cliffe.  Cliffe takes the narrator around his city, South Bronx, and shows him what goes on within his neighborhood.  As they walk the streets of the city, Cliffe describes various places and what goes on there, including a place where they are "burning bodies" and a park where he saw a boy be shot in the head.  This quote reminds the reader that the boy is only seven years old.  It also puts into perspective how much young children in this area, and others just like it, are exposed to especially at such a young age.  Violence, drugs, murders, and crime in general are all a part of this young boys everyday life.  When I think of being seven years old, it would surprise me if I had even known much about any of those things, never mind experience and encounter them on a daily basis.

"A nurse who works there, according to one press account, carries a card in her wallet with the message: 'Do Not Take Me To Harlem Hospital in an Emergency'" (Kozol 16).

This quote really put the condition of this hospital into perspective for me as I was reading.  Hospitals are not always the cleanest and quickest of places as we all may know.  However, for an employee of that institution to refuse to be brought there, even in an emergency situation tells a lot about a place.  This quote is relevant to the text as it is another way for the author to depict to the reader how terrible the conditions of this hospital really were.

"My teacher says 'We came here in chains and now we buy our own chains and put them on ourselves'" (Kozol 24).

This quote refers to the coming of African Americans to America as slaves, reference to "chains", and how the use of drugs, violence, prostitution, and other crimes are restricting ourselves right back into those "chains".  Putting themselves back into these chains does not necessarily refer to being put in jail, but also the restrictions people are putting on themselves.  Participating in these street crimes and activities is continuing the vicious cycle that so many are trying to escape from by getting a better life.  If the crime, violence, and drugs continue, areas such as where the text refers, the South Bronx, will never have a shot at coming out of its present state.


Point to Share:

While reading this text, I kept its title in mind the entire time.  As I neared the end of the piece I  was continuously thinking that there would be some turning point, change for the better, or some "happy ending".  As I reached the end of the text I was almost disappointed to see that there was no "happy ending" like I had hoped there to be.  It was then that I realized that this is reality, not just a story.  For the unfortunate children and families in this city, they don't get that happy ending either.  It then made me wonder what the significance of the title "Amazing Grace" was to the text.  Why did Kozol pick that to be the title of such a sad piece of writing?
How as teachers can we help and improve the lives of students who come from similar backgrounds and experiences such as this?

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/kids-struggling-bx-bklyn-article-1.1261803