Jonathan Kozol
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"Jonathan Kozol" is a American writer, educator, and activist. best known for his books on public education in the United States.

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I write books to change the world. Perhaps I can only change one little piece of that world. But if I can empower teachers and good citizens to give these children, who are the poorest of the poor, the same opportunity we give our own kids, then I'll feel my life has been worth it.

I do feel heartsick that the inequalities, if anything, are worse today than they were when I wrote 'Savage Inequalities,' and that segregation is now back at the point where it was when I published my first book.

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.

Apartheid does not happen spontaneously, like bad weather conditions.

These are children whom this nation does not truly value and of whom, despite our president's rhetoric of 'high expectations,' we in fact expect so little that we will not let them go to the same schools our [white] children attend. The kind of schooling that we give to children is the most important determinant of their future options in life.

Let's concede that we have decided to let our children grow up in two separate nations, and lead two separate kinds of lives. If, on the other hand, we have the courage to rise to this challenge to name what's happening within our inner-city schools, then we also need the courage to be activist and go out and fight like hell to change it.

The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America.

There's a reason why politicians and the pedagogic establishment keep churning out these lists of new 'how to fix it' plans. It's because they don't dare speak about the central point. It is not that we don't know what works in public education.... All we have to do is go out and visit Glencoe, Ill., Scarsdale, N.Y., or any of the wealthiest districts in California and we find out right away.

We do not have the things you have ... Can you help us?