[4] Social Injustice in Our Schools

            Our modern society, imperfect as it is, has come a long way since the Civil Rights Era, when African Americans suffered from tremendous bias and social injustice, which often led to economic disadvantages. Progress has been made in the areas of some injustices which were once commonplace.  Many people in our country now believe that with the advantage of free public education, any member of society can rise to success. However, one of the more disturbing articles I have read in my independent reading life recently is "In Public Education, Edge Still Goes to the Rich" (Eduardo Porter, New York Times, Nov. 5 2013). This article exposes a tremendous injustice in our public education system which affects the poorer segments of the African American community as well as their counterparts in other ethnic groups. The problem is that many schools that serve wealthier school districts gain larger funding, in contrast to districts serving poorer areas. Current politicians have tried to resolve this issue but have failed to allocate adequate resources, which they must do in order to solve the issue of underfunded schools.

            According to research done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among thirty-four nations surveyed by the O.E.C.D., only the U.S., Israel, and Turkey allocate more resources to schools which serve wealthier districts, as opposed to their poorer counterparts.  The article "In Public Education, Edge Still Goes to the Rich" states: "In New York, schools spend an average of $19,000 per student. In Tennessee they spend $8,200. The Alpine school district in Utah spends only $5,321. And funding in some states is even more skewed than in New York." The article also says that rich enclaves like Bridgehampton and Amagansett spent $25,505 on each student, while poorer districts spent an average of only $12,861. An even more disturbing fact is that only seventeen states in the entire U.S. spend more on poorer districts than wealthy districts. Those in the seventeen which spend more include New Jersey, Vermont, and Massachusetts, according to the article. It also says that funding is the same for all schools in only fifteen states. And another sixteen states, which provide large sums of money for education and distribute it equitably, are regressively cutting the funding for their schools.

            This issue is one of the most heavily dodged in politics today. David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, an advocacy group for disadvantaged students, said on education reform, “To a large extent it is a huge distraction. We never get to the question of what resources we need to get the students to meet the standards.” Education reform and the government will not solve this tremendous problem, however, many activism groups are taking charge and attempting to dislodge this injustice. We can only hope that, in the precedent created by the No Child Left Behind Act, laws which stop this practice will be passed.

            

[3] Writing In Blood

            Sherman Alexie’s article Why the Best Books are Written in Blood, published in the Wall Street Journal, gives us a unique perspective on the issue of what material is appropriate for young adult readers. Alexie is the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, an autobiographical novel of a poor Indian boy. The story includes Alexie’s battles against both addiction and mental illness. The book is frequently challenged, and many libraries and schools have attempted to ban it. When he tells us about his thoughts on banning books. Alexie argues that not only does his book not hurt teens, but also it helps those teens who are in deep trouble similar to that of his protagonist. When Mr. Alexie describes himself as having once been a “poverty-stricken, sexually and physically abused self-loathing Native American teenager,” he shows us how he can relate to the problems of troubled teenagers, and he expresses that relation through his writing. One of Mr. Alexie’s main opponents is Meghan Cox Gurdon, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal; however, Mr. Alexie offhandedly dismisses her article, “Darkness Too Visible,” which, in a patronizing tone, attacks YA books as being “lurid.” Mr. Alexie says, “Does Ms. Gurdon honestly believe that a sexually explicit YA novel might somehow traumatize a teen mother . . . Does she believe a dystopian novel will frighten a kid who already lives in hell?” He gives examples of teenagers he has met who have said they were “inspired” by his book, contrary to what many of the people who want to censor his work have attempted to prove. He says “almost every day, my mailbox is filled with handwritten letters from students . . . who have read my YA book and loved it. I have yet to receive a letter from a child somehow debilitated . . . by my book.” He concludes his article by telling us how his book helps kids place their issues into perspective and how his book comforts them by knowing that others have gone through similar things.

            Mr. Alexie uses subtle craft moves to strengthen his argument, such as only using examples that support his point and not including contradictory ones. He dismisses Ms. Gurdon’s complaints about his work by saying “I laughed at her condescension.” In addition, Mr. Alexie uses powerful examples from his own life to reinforce his point, which help his side by showing the reader that these are real problems, even if they may be far from home. When he talks about conservative “would-be saviors” who were worried about his “moral development,” he uses loaded works that cannot fail to affect the reader: “They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped.” Further, he incites teens by using imagery that creates emotion: “I write to give [teens] weapons—in the form of words and ideas—that will help them fight their monsters.”

            I agree with Mr. Alexie’s position. Describing and revealing things about the world for teenagers is a much better way for them to discover more advanced topics than to learn about them from actual personal experience. If they understand something from a book, chances are they will know more about it if they have to confront that issue in their own life. YA books such as Mr. Alexie’s can also offer inspiration and comfort to people with similar issues to those inside the book by showing readers that other people have the same problems, and that they are not alone. One of Mr. Alexie’s most powerful lines summed the article up for me: “I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.” It is impossible to read that line and fail be moved.