U.S. Prison Myth vs. Mayhem

    This article spoke on the inefficiency of prisons in the United States. The “goal” of sending people to prison is to punish them for their wrongdoings by taking away their liberty. This concept certainly works for little kids, but it doesn’t work for grown men (and women). What tends to happen to inmates in these prisons are nothing short of negative. They either become more hardened from the presence of other inmates and they become more vulnerable through acts of violence and rape. The article goes on to say that prisons act only as a holding place for criminals, they do not make them change their behavior. If anything, they reinforce it through putting them with bad company. There is no easy solution to fix this problem. The article does mention sending inmates convicted of non-violent crimes to community rehabilitation centers. This, if anything, is a better solution than simply sending them where killers are. If inmates aren’t a threat to society, meaning they are non-violent, then they can rehabilitate in a community center. This would lower prison overcrowding as well as yield better results for the inmate. Inmates who are sent to these centers would not be in bad company, and would actually receive support from people focused on helping them. As mentioned in the article, correction facility officers cannot protect inmates from other inmates and certainly can’t help them. This problem can be erased for non-violent inmates if they are sent to facilities other than prison. Another problem mentioned with prisons is the cost to uphold them and the prisoners. Prison facilities are expected to yield decent living conditions but this is often not the case. Prisons are over crowded and they aren't suitable for living. Costs to repair or build prisons can go into the billions. Add that with prisoner expenses and it gets very expensive. Each inmate costs thousands of dollars a year to take care of. All of that cash comes from tax payers. This money is essentially being thrown away because the prisoners aren’t changing. They simply go back to crime. This makes rehabilitation centers all the more appealing because they offer an alternate solution for punishment. They are constructive and not destructive. If liberty is to be taken away something must be done to help the inmate change. It is obvious through the behavior of inmates that putting them in prison doesn’t teach them anything. Tax payer’s money will be put to better use if prisoners were actually changing for the better through the money spent on them. The prison system, if left unaltered, will continue to yield more dangerous inmates and will be a waste of tax payer money.

Parable

     There was a young boy who came from a poor and broken family. His father was an abusive drunk and his mother was a drug addict. As time went on the child grew hardened from these living conditions. He became bitter and carried much hate in his heart. Wanting to avoid his family, he looked elsewhere for a sense of belonging. Two men soon came into his life. One of the men, a pastor, spent time with him and saw potential. The boy just wanted to be accepted and cared for. The pastor decided to offer the boy a way out but said he must first let go of all of the hate and bitterness he carried inside of him. The other man, who was the leader of a violent gang, saw the young man as a potential gang banger, knowing that he had the hate necessary to do it. The gang leader offered him a way out but said he must harness the bitterness and hate in his heart to dominate over others. The boy, now a young man, decided to go with the gang leader as he could not let go of all of the hate that he carried from the past. A time came where, under the instruction of his leader, the young man shot and killed two teens who were a part of a rival gang. Once he had done this, all of the hate the young man had in him turned into guilt and despair. Unable to cope with this, the young man turned the gun on himself, taking his own life. The police soon arrived on the scene, stating that “Two young men were victims of a viscous killer who took his own life”. Later, at the young man’s funeral, the pastor that had once reached out to him spoke a different message, saying “Here lies a young man who was the victim of hate, abuse, and the influence of evil men. The darkness of his past took away the brightness of his future”.

Should We Have Compassion For Gang Members?

 Gregory Boyle does an excellent job of capturing the lives of gang members. Many of them are young teenagers and easily influenced. Others are in their twenties and want a way out. Both age groups tend to come from dysfunctional families. Since they don’t have any role models in their lives and don’t have a chance at making honest money they tend to drift towards trouble. When Boyle enters their lives, though, he manages to prod their hearts and turn them in the right direction. This type of commitment Boyle has for gang members shows that we should have compassion for gang members. Luis, a big time drug dealer, is a prime example of how gang members can change for the better. He was well known for dealing drugs and not getting caught but Boyle always tried to get him out of drug dealing by offering him a job. Luis would refuse each time, but when he had a daughter, he decided to change his life and accept the job offer. Eventually he was able to give his family a place of their own to live. He was happy and felt accomplished. This type of achievement shows that gang members can change. Unfortunately, Luis was executed shortly after this had occurred. It is likely that the gang members who killed Luis had problems of their own. They’re humans to, and even though they committed an evil act, they could change if people give them a chance. An instance occurred when Benito, one of the teens Boyle was working with, got shot and later died at a hospital. Boyle found out that he knew the men who had killed his friend. He describes the situation. “But for lack of someone to reveal the truth to them, they had evaded healing, and the task of returning them to themselves got more hardened and difficult. But are they less worthy of compassion than Benito?” (66). Benito, like the men who killed them, had been involved in gang activity. Boyle was able to help him though and lead him to change. The men that killed Benito never had Boyle to help them change the destructive path they were on. Boyle proves a good point. Although the murders were guilty of what they did, they still were no different than Benito. The only difference was that Benito was able to receive help. This shows how we should have compassion on gang members, for we will never know their full potential unless we seek to help and care for them.

3 Focus Questions (Nine Paragraphs)

     Materials may only be affective if there are faculty members monitoring them. Some materials can be valuable and may need to be watched so they aren’t stolen. Other types of equipment may need adult supervision for safety reasons. East St. Louis High had a lab with good working equipment but it could not be utilized due to lack of faculty members. The teacher spoke saying, “I have 30 children in a class and cannot supervise them safely. Chemical lab work is unsafe with more than 20 students to a teacher. If I had some lab assistants, we could make use of the lab” (Kozol 28). It is a shame that a school with little supplies could not make use of the lab. The lab was ready and available to be used by students. It would have aided in the learning process. In these types of situations materials can only be useful if there are teachers or staff watching them while they are in use.

     School materials are useful but they must be relevant to the course. If a class gets textbooks that are badly out-of-date or are irrelevant then they cannot be used. There was an instance in the novel Savage Inequalities where the author, Jonathan Kozol noted that eighth grader were using out-of-date textbooks, “Slow reader in an eighth grade history class are taught from  15-year-old textbooks in which Richard Nixon is still president” (63). This kind of quality for school textbooks is absolutely unacceptable. Textbooks that are older than the students themselves should not be used in any school, regardless of the institution’s financial status. A child cannot use resources like that, they are simply irrelevant to that time. Another example of outdated resources can be found in East St. Louis High’s science labs. “The science labs at East St. Louis High are 30 to 50 years outdated” (Kozol 27). Labs like these are inoperable. “The six lab stations in the rooms have empty holes where pipes were one attached” (27). The teacher at the school also notes there isn’t even running water in the labs. These rooms are essentially useless without proper repair. Materials must be up-to-date and fully functional in order for them to make a difference.

     In order for students to be able to take advantage of resources they must have a proper learning environment. If the class or space being used is noisy or too small it will prove distracting for students. This is the case for a classroom at a high school located in the Bronx. “They’re doing construction all around me so the noise is quite amazing. They’re actually drilling in the hall outside my room. I have more kids than desks in all five classes” (Kozol 111). This teacher has to deal with the noise of construction work as well as kids having to stand up or sit on the floor. This is both unfair for the teacher and the students. Teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn under these types of conditions. Even if there are an abundance of resources at the teacher’s disposal, the distraction of noise and the lack of space would prove too difficult to learn. Not having space could prove distracting but it could also hinder resources from being utilized in another respect. Some programs are ready to begin, however they may not have rooms to start them. The principal of Public School 261 in District 10 of New York explains, “Lack of space, she says, prevents the school from operating a pre-kindergarten program” (Kozol 86). This program very well could have acted like a preschool. Preschool is known to help children. It is a shame that this program could have taken place had there been a space designated for it. This is why materials can only be used when there is a good learning facility.

     If a school is under supplied the morale of the students will drop. Students notice when they don’t have much. When they see others and realize how little they have, they feel inferior. East St. Louis High in the 1980s had a football team that used nine-year-old jerseys, had a field without goal posts, and locker rooms that needed desperate repair. The coach, Bob Shannon, mentioned his players in the novel Savage Inequalities, “The basic essentials are simply missing here. When we go to wealthier schools I look at the faces of my boys. They don’t say a lot. They have their faces to the windows, lookin’ out. I can’t tell what they are thinking” (Kozol 26). The kids in this school took notice of the other schools they had to play against. They kept silent. Perhaps because they realized they had nothing to be proud about. They had outdated jerseys, a field not worth mentioning, and a school that couldn’t back the team up financially. The only positive thing they had was their faithful coach who did his very best to sustain them. These types of observations cannot be expressed with words, only the hearts of the children could express how they felt. Even Coach Shannon couldn’t tell what his players were thinking when they were on the bus. This demonstrates how school materials impact the morale of the students. 

     When materials aren’t supplied at school, it breaks down the student, and can even lead them to give up on school. A student’s thoughts were recorded in the novel Savage Inequalities, “I don’t go to physics class, because my lab has no equipment” (Kozol 30). This student wouldn’t go to class because there simply wasn’t a reason for them to go. It is very sad and depressing when students can’t be corrected for not showing up to class. Why should they go to class when they can’t perform activities that are necessary for them to learn? In order for a student to learn and discover at the highest capacity they must have adequate supplies to give them that chance. Without supplies, the student’s education is worthless. No student can feel good when they know they aren't learning anything valuable at school. This is why materials matter. 

     Not having materials in school makes students feel vulnerable. This leads them to perform negative actions that affect others. When one doesn't have something, and things are scarce, they tend to be selfish. If necessary, the person will make amends by stealing. This is obviously wrong, but although it’s unacceptable, it is not unreasonable. People who don’t have much may be desperate enough to steal in order to get ahead. A teacher is mentioned in the book Savage Inequalities who witnessed her student ripping a word out of a dictionary. The teacher asked the student what he was doing and said the dictionary must be shared. The student simply replied, “That’s their problem, this is my word” (Kozol 65). While the student had no right to rip a word out of the dictionary, they had a right to be concerned. The school they were attending didn't have much. When the student realized he had a chance to learn a certain word, he decided to take action by taking the word for himself. This should never have to happen. Students at school are supposed to feel free to learn without anything holding them back. They should not have to worry about how they are going to learn. They should not have to steal in order to be content. Schools are supposed to supply students so that the students are able to give their full focus on developing their knowledge bases on various subjects. Another illustration can be seen in the novel where a student is reprimanded by her teacher. “Keisha has been fighting with her classmate. Over what? As it turns out, over a crayon. The child is terrified and starts to cry” (Kozol 63-64). Keisha’s teacher yelled at her for her disrupting the class. Although she was being disruptive, Keisha simply wanted a crayon, nothing more. It’s quite stunning to realize that such a basic art tool as a crayon can be something that’s highly valued by a student. Why did Keisha want the crayon? One can assume that she wanted it because there weren't enough. “In January the school begins to ration crayons, pencils, writing paper” (64). These types of rations affect students and cause them to fight, steal, and fend for themselves. Students have a reasonable explanation for doing this at school, even if it isn't acceptable. It is the school’s job to supply students with materials so the students can focus on learning.

     Poorly funded schools produce citizens that are homeless as well as unemployed. Without a proper education, it is very hard to make a living. Many well paying jobs require a degree of some sort. Minimum wage jobs may be attained without an education, but they still won’t guarantee enough money to live off of. One cannot expect to survive in America without money. East St. Louis shows what happens to people who come from poorly funded schools. “Dozens of men are living in the streets or sleeping in small, isolated camps between the burnt-out buildings” (Kozol 15). These men were victims of a poor education. The schools themselves may not be at fault, however the lack of funds they had definitely damaged the futures of many people. Unemployment can also be seen where there are poorly funded schools in North Lawndale. “According to the 1980 census, 58 percent of men and women 17 and older in North Lawndale had no jobs” (42). Considering these people most likely came from a poorly funded school, this does not come as a surprise, although it is very troubling to see. People cannot be expected to achieve at a high level of success if they don’t have a proper education. Citizens get crippled when their chances of learning in school are slim at best. 

     Schools that don’t have much financially produce people that resort to violence. It may either be through gang affiliations or outright hatred. When a school cannot offer a good education students have no longing to be there. This in turn causes them to look elsewhere for answers. North Lawndale, a city that has poorly funded education, is ridden with crime. A reverend speaks out about it, “With the arrival of gangs there is, of course, more violence and death. I buried a young man 21 years old a week ago. Most people that I bury are between the ages of 18 and 30” (Kozol 42). Many factors, such as upbringing and safety, may contribute to why there’s gang violence. Poorly funded schools may be a big factor in contributing to that. If children have nowhere to go after school, they look to others for help. Gangs often offer protection and a sense of belonging in return for unquestioned loyalty. Since this is often the case with gangs, it is not a surprise that many young people turn to this for answers since their educational institutions provide none. Other than gangs, out-of-control adults contribute to violence as well. A young boy named Smokey explained what happened to his sister who was offered a quarter to go behind a building, “They had beat her in the head and raped her” (Kozol 13). This type of violence, both sexual and physical abuse, is not uncommon in these areas where many people are uneducated. It is very sad to observe the consequences of a bad education (as well as the other factors that contribute to violence). Citizens produced through these poorly funded schools are often led to violence and other bad activities. 

     Poorly funded schools create citizens that are dependent on others. People are needy when they don’t have much, and as mentioned, people who come from poorly funded schools typically don’t make much money. Without money one must depend on someone else for survival. Whether it be a person or institution, an individual will rely on someone if they do not have enough supplies to live independently. East St. Louis contains people that are forced to depend on others. “Every child, every mother, in this city is, to a degree, in the position of a supplicant for someone else’s help” (41). Perhaps the reason for this are the many health hazards in the city. “Immediately behind these houses are the giant buildings of Monsanto, Big River Zinc, Cerro Copper, the American Bottoms Sewage Plant and Trade Waste Incineration- one of the largest hazardous-waste-incineration companies in the United States” (Kozol 15). People are exposed to toxic pollutants and often get sick from them. With no money one can assume health care is out of the question. Welfare is no doubt a necessity. These people are in the middle of a toxic wasteland which causes many problems for them. This puts them in need. No one can fight against these plants due to lack of money. People cannot afford lawyers or another place to live so they have to simply call out for charity. If the schools they attended had many resources and provided them with an education they would have a chance at going to college and making decent money, putting them out of need. They’d have an opportunity to either fight against the chemical plants or move away from them. This is simply not the case though because they have no real chance at getting a good education. 

Do Materials Really Matter? (3 paragraphs)

     School materials are a necessity. They are critical to a student’s success. Without them, many consequences can arise. One such consequence is low student morale. Students notice when they don’t have much. When they see others and realize how little they have, they feel inferior. East St. Louis High in the 1980s had a football team that used nine-year-old jerseys, had a field without goal posts, and locker rooms that needed desperate repair. The coach, Bob Shannon, mentioned his players in the novel Savage Inequalities, “The basic essentials are simply missing here. When we go to wealthier schools I look at the faces of my boys. They don’t say a lot. They have their faces to the windows, lookin’ out. I can’t tell what they are thinking” (Kozol 26). The kids in this school took notice of the other schools they went to. They kept silent. Perhaps because they realized they had nothing to be proud about. They had outdated jerseys, a field not worth mentioning, and a school that couldn’t back the team up financially. The only positive thing they had was their faithful coach who did his very best to sustain them. These types of observations cannot be expressed with words, only the hearts of the children could express how they felt. Even Coach Shannon couldn’t tell what his players were thinking when they were on the bus. Not having supplies breaks down the student, and can even lead them to give up on school. Another student’s thoughts were recorded in the novel Savage Inequalities, “I don’t go to physics class, because my lab has no equipment” (Kozol 30). This student directly said they didn’t go to class because there wasn’t any equipment. It is very sad and depressing when students can’t be corrected for not showing up to class. Why should they go to class when they can’t perform activities that are necessary for them to learn? In order for a student to learn and discover at the highest capacity they must have adequate supplies to give them that chance. This is why materials matter.

      Not having materials in a school can also lead to students displaying negative actions that affect others. When one doesn’t have something, and things are scarce, they tend to be selfish. If necessary, the person will make amends by stealing. This is obviously wrong, but although it’s unacceptable, it is not unreasonable. People who don’t have much may be desperate enough to steal. A teacher is mentioned in the book Savage Inequalities who witnessed her student ripping a word out of a dictionary. The teacher asked the student what he was doing and said the dictionary must be shared. The student simply replied, “That’s their problem, this is my word” (Kozol 65). While the student had no right to rip a word out of the dictionary, they had a right to be concerned. The school they were attending didn’t have much. When the student realized he had a chance to learn a certain word, he decided to take action by taking the word for himself. This should never have to happen. Students at school are supposed to feel free to learn without anything holding them back. They should not have to worry about how they are going to learn. They should not have to steal in order to be content. Schools are supposed to supply students so that the students are able to give their full focus on developing their knowledge bases on various subjects. Another illustration can be seen in the novel where a student is reprimanded by her teacher. “Keisha has been fighting with her classmate. Over what? As it turns out, over a crayon. The child is terrified and starts to cry” (Kozol 63-64). Keisha’s teacher yelled at her for her disrupting the class. Although she was being disruptive, Keisha simply wanted a crayon, nothing more. It’s quite stunning to realize that such a basic art tool as a crayon can be something so valued by a student. Why did Keisha want the crayon? One can assume that she wanted it because there weren’t enough. “In January the school begins to ration crayons, pencils, writing paper” (64). These types of rationings affect students and cause them to fight, steal, and fend for themselves. Students have a reasonable explanation for doing this at school, even if it isn’t acceptable. It is the school’s job to supply students with materials so the students can focus on learning.

     Not having materials has bad affects on a school, but what happens if materials are adequately supplied? If materials are adequately supplied students gain a huge academic advantage. Children have a better chance of getting good grades, going to college, and generally have higher chances at success. New Trier High, a well-funded school at Illinois, is a prime example of what a school can do if it supplies its students in abundance. “By the time they enter ninth grade at New Trier High, they are in a world of academic possibilities that far exceed the hopes and dreams of most schoolchildren in Chicago” (Kozol 65). Ninth graders already have an advantage over most kids in the city of Chicago! How can this be? Perhaps due to the various courses that are offered to the students. “Courses in music, art and drama are so varied and abundant that students can virtually major in these subjects in addition to their academic programs” (Kozol 65-66). With many courses at one’s disposal, a students has many options and paths that they can choose to go on. This indeed can inspire a student to pursue what they truly desire. Materials do matter, whether they be a crayon or an entire selection of courses, they aid to a student’s success. New Trier High has so many resources available to its students, and that allows them to achieve their goal- helping students find success. “With 93 percent of seniors going on to four-year colleges- many to schools like Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Brown and Yale- this goal is largely realized” (Kozol 65). If a student it to be successful they must have options of what they want to learn. From a young age children need to have materials they can use in school so that they can learn how to make choices on their own. Once they reach high school they should have many courses available to them that allow them to go on a path they wish to explore. In order for this to happen, in order for students to be successful, materials must be present. Materials are an essential part of a student’s chances at finding success.