The children in Savage Inequalities are told on a daily basis to wait for the necessary textbooks, pens, pencils, novels, or usable building space – ultimately, they are forced to wait until it is too late. I have rarely been told I was not capable of something, and I have never been told to wait and try later. My school has provided ample opportunities for me to succeed, and my family has supported me with whatever I chose to strive for – whether it was the lead in a play or a rank in the top ten percent. I have been told all my life to “reach for the stars” and that I am able to do anything I want (with enough hard work, of course). Another shortcoming in the American public school system is the average American’s unwillingness to sacrifice time, money, or resources to help the poor succeed. Through his novel, Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, Jonathan Kozol demonstrated to me that I would become a well-informed, caring citizen if I took time to listen to the stories of the poor, and I will be better equipped to help fix their problems. I have also been guilty of ignoring the struggles of the poor because I do not listen to their stories and personally get to know members of impoverished communities.

Faces, personal narratives, and accounts of crushed dreams do not accompany the statistics, so those who have not personally experienced poverty easily dismiss the problems. We barely consider the injustices in impoverished communities and view their members one way – as lifeless statistics. Our ignorance leads us to believe that if poor Americans were simply more motivated and tried harder they could achieve the same opportunities as the wealthy American wealthier Americans do not take time to talk to poor Americans and therefore are not emotionally impacted by their stories. Like most, I have been guilty of ignoring the problems of the poor and placing my own selfish needs over their plight. Wealthy, middle-class Americans generally view poverty and its hardships as a self-inflicted adversity many may not offer support or help to impoverished communities because they do not see the desperation and need that overwhelms each citizen living in poverty. “The narrative begins when, without warning, Smokey says, ‘My sister has got killed.’ (P.14, Savage Inequalities) Kozol's passion for children and improving the American public school system becomes clear by reading his novel.

Many children add to the story, they are sad of course, but none are outraged – it seems as though they are accustomed to tragedy. One of the most shocking, a young boy recalling his sister’s rape and murder, only a week prior to the interview. Throughout Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, Kozol inserts shocking stories and statistics.

Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol