Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools looks at the ways the government, the society, and the educational system fail poor children, especially poor black children, in the United States. Kozol's work examines six cities, where he finds common problems which work against the education of poor children. His major argument is that the government simply does not spend enough on the schooling of poor children, while spending far more on the schooling of more wealthy, white children. To Kozol, the problems of the schools are not the fault of the children themselves, but rather of the system which has let them down. He does not merely offer this view as an opinion, but bases it on his thorough research, including his Appendix which shows clearly how far more is spent on children living in wealthy districts than on children living in poor districts. This spending pattern is a central part of a public policy at all levels of government and it cheats minorities and the poor out of their rightful education and out of the life of success and self-development which come from a good education. Although his work is thoroughly researched and documented, the strongest part of Kozol's book is his decision to let the children speak for themselves. He is not trying to win an argument or a contest of theories, but keeps in mind the fact that these are very real children who suffer because the nation has unfairly treated them as second-class citizens because of their race and their socioeconomic status, or lack thereof. Therefore, he writes, "I decided . . . to listen very carefully to children and . . . to let their voices and their judgments and their longings find a place within this book (Kozol 6).
Kozol's theme is that the failure to properly educate poor minorities in this country is a political and financial one, but it is also a spiritual and moral failure. The heart and soul of the nation is its youth, and to fail ...