Inspiration by Kozol

I can honestly say that my favorite theorist that we've read from our articles during this class was Jonathan Kozol. Kozol seemed like a very carrying, outgoing man who truly cared about making a change for students everywhere. He believed that schools that did not have the material things and resources other upper class schools had should not go unnoticed or ignored. He told in his article of first hand experiences of stepping into inner city schools and seeing what the students and teachers had to put up with. This included walls falling down, floors slowly deteriorating, and leaks within the buildings whenever it would rain. He also elaborated on the problem with racism in our country. Kozol explained how racism is still a huge issue a lot in school systems and this type of treatment was also unacceptable and something no one should have to put up with. Noticing that these conditions were unacceptable for any school and students to have to learn through , he began to take steps towards making a change towards a better educational life for these children who experience the unprivileged school life.

A big thing I noticed even the first day I went in for VIPS was the condition of the school. All the walls were in tact and the floors didn't seem to be deteriorating, but it was a school that had the appearance that I have not seen a lot. Mr. Snow's classroom was very bland. A lot of the desks were not in the best shape, and I noticed the carpet was very old looking and was coming apart on all sides. The classroom did not have computers, except for the one on the teacher's desk which did not even look in use.

One day sitting in the classroom, I noticed during my observation a lot of pictures made by the students themselves hanging on the walls. The pictures included images of flowers, and others were of superheroes. Curious, I asked Mr. Snow if the pictures were a certain project that the children had to do. He told me that every year he asks his students to draw, just draw. He asks them to draw whatever comes to their mind, whats their favorite thing or maybe a favorite day they had. The purpose of the children doing so was to make the pictures for the sole purpose of hanging them up around the classroom. Mr. Snow realizes that the school lacks some resources, so to make his classroom feel a little more friendly and elementary-like, hanging up pictures the students make themselves is a great way to do so. I asked one of the girls in the classroom Bella what her favorite part of the classroom was. She answered that it was the pictures all the students made. She said she had a lot of fun using her imagination to create a picture of what she called a candy palace. She also said how great it was to be able to come in the classroom everyday and see her picture hanging on the wall with the other children's and how it made the classroom a lot more fun.

Mr. Snow's decision to do this project with his students reminded me a lot of Kozol. He noticed that the school lacked some resources and used that to work with the students to make the classroom a more friendly place. It was good because the children loved to do this. The students got to use their imaginations and apply it to a classroom they had to spend almost everyday in. I have to say Mr. Snow surprised me. My other visits gave me the impression that he was not the best teacher and did not handle certain situations the way a teacher should. Although I do not agree with a lot of things Mr. Snow has said or done, this proved to me that he took the time with his students to make just a little difference in his classroom.