Kozol, from Amazing Grace Talking points

Kelly C.

1.) "'If poor people behaved rationally' said Lawrence MEad, a professor of political science at NYU, "they would seldom be poor for long in the first place"... then later, Kozol, referring to Mrs. Washington, says"I have yet to figure out what she has done that is irrational."

To understand one each other we need to know each other's story. If I believe your life was full of roses I wouldn't hesitate to ask what your parents did for a living, where you grew up, etc. But when we are around hardships we are often afraid to ask in case we get "I didn't have a dad", "I had 3 brothers but one of them died", or "I grew up in a shelter". But by being polite and not asking we can never begin to understand who these people are. A city is full of individual people and why are they there. I'm glad Kozol let us get to know Mrs. Washington.

2.)"Pretending that they don't (know they have power) so they don't need to use it to help us- that is my idea of evil"

This is incredibly cogent statement referring to s.c.h.w.a.m.p. and power which has been a thread in all of our readings. We all have power. Just being in America we have so much power. Being in College gives us power. But we often feel powerless. We could skip going out to dinner and instead give a couple of dollars to the people we see begging. We could go watch a sports game or take that time to tutor a child to read. We could go to a cheaper big box store or spend slightly more at a smaller, more local company where we know the workers receive better pay and benefits. We have power great and small but we do nothing but hurt mankind if we pretend it doesn't exist at all.

3.) "I believe we were put here for a purpose, but these people here on the streets can't see a purpose."

I feel like that will be a lot of the children we get, rich or poor. We often let each other down, forgetting to instill a sense of worth and empowerment in each other. What a loss of potential it will be if I child thinks the future is written and they hold no ability to help steer the course of time. It is our job to tell them they are good, capable, strong, and owe it to the world to live life well.; to give them a sense of purpose.

I enjoyed this reading for the fact that it painted a picture through a the story of St. Anne's and the little boy and Mrs. Washington. To think of social issues across mankind is daunting. Instead, to take the drama one person or family at a time is something that I can digest much more easily. This work is a good reminder of what many students may be facing without us having any idea of what it is even like.