Essay on Amazing Grace

Following the civil rights acts in the late 1960s, Kozol has been an activist for equal education among children regardless of their racial or economic background. He has published many books portraying the declining levels of equality throughout the nation; his most praised being Amazing Grace. He travels to the Mott Haven division of the South Bronx, which happens to be one of the poorest nations in the country. While in Mott Haven, Kozol meets many people including children, parents, and ministers; and speaks with them about their living conditions and how they see the world around them.

Overall, the book gives an incredibly unique outlook on such an underserved community and exposes the harsh economical and social realities these people face under the ruse of “family” and “community.”

While reading Amazing Grace, one is unable to escape the seemingly endless tales of hardship and pain. The setting behind this gripping story is the South Bronx of New York City, with the main focus on the Mott Haven housing project and its surrounding neighborhood. Here black and Hispanic families try to cope with the disparity that surrounds them. Mott Haven is a place where children must place in the hallways of the building, because playing outside is to much of a risk. The building is filled with rats and cockroaches in the summer, and lacks heat and decent water in the winter. This picture of the "ghetto" is not one of hope, but one of fear. Even the hospitals servicing the neighborhoods

Have you ever felt there is no hope? In the book Peak by Roland Smith, Peak seems to have no hope when he is told he will have to serve jail time for climbing a skyscraper. But where there is no hope, there is hope, and hope comes along with Trouble and Grace. Doug, in Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt, is also troubled by his home life. Grace shows through this when Doug starts to find friends and gets to know more teachers at his school making him feel more comfortable. But where there is no hope, there is hope along with Trouble and Grace.

The Grace That Keeps This World, by Tom Bailey, is an enthralling novel about the Hazen family who have lived in Lost Lake their whole lives. In this novel Kevin Hazen, a young man of 19, is searching for where he belongs in the world and in his own family. He wants more for his life than the life of survival that his parents have lived their whole lives. The story of the Hazen family is centered around the first day of deer season. For the Hazens, this hunt is more than just a sport. They use the meat of every deer they shoot to help them survive through the winter.

My mother sees past the perceived barriers of poverty and crime, through to the real Detroit. When my mother started tutoring in Detroit, I was concerned. “Is the school you’re teaching at safe? What do you do when your students are disrespectful?” My mother was quick to respond. “When they are disrespectful? Maria, do you realize most of my students are just like you? They love to learn, listen to music, play games…” My mother started telling me stories about her students, showing me their feelings, beliefs, and dreams. Now, Detroit is more than just a city to me – it is a collection of stories, of children just like myself.

Using the themes we have examined in this course discuss the situation of the children in Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace. Who defines them as 'other'? How? What makes them feel like 'nobodies'? What makes them feel like 'somebodies'? What is the role of religion in this daily struggle for human dignity?

After a long day of moving boxes and bags into my brother’s new home in the Wall dorms, my parent’s and I filed into the truck and headed for the hotel, just a few blocks from campus. That evening was spent exploring the French Quarter and driving through the city in search of food. My father decided to take a detour down Claiborne Ave. Initially, I did not know what father was looking for, but as we got closer to our destination, I soon realized we were entering Lower Ninth Ward. “Why are going through here?” I asked confusingly. I received no response. I peered out of my window curiously, and immediately understood my father’s hidden agenda. It was clear that Ninth Ward had been deeply impacted by Katrina. Despite the fact that nearly three years had past, this area was still in terrible condition. We had heard about the damage when everyone sought refuge in Houston, but seeing the poverty first hand put the situation in perspective.

Today’s children can grow up with this same feeling of animosity. Because of the environment they are exposed to, mothers worry about the effects of poverty on their children. Parker predicts that because “your children won’t play with my boys, they will turn to other boys who steal to get what they want. I can already see them behind the bars of their prison instead of behind the bars of my poverty” (Source I). The goal of any parent, rich or poor, is to provide their children with a good life. And these parents are trying their best to provide their children will the best lives they can. But when you’re living in destitution, the odds are continuously stacked against you. Parker “once I saved for two months to buy a jar of vaseline for my hands and the baby’s diaper rash.” But when she went to buy it “the price had gone up two cents” Source (I). It's hard to provide for your family when injustice continues and spread. When families are troubled with poverty, the anger and animosity boils in their blood due to this rejection from most of society. Since they are rejected society due to their social

The reality that one faces on an everyday level does not coincide with the reality of everyday life another has to endure. The truth is we live our lives in a state of general awareness of others, however, we lack full awareness of their presence. “Every day there are poor people and comfortable people living in the same world, ignoring (or not seeing) each other and having wildly divergent experiences,” says an observing graduate student for the study. (Lareau, 2003: 354) These experiences differ for each individual as it pertains to them, which causes them to be ignorant of the experiences of those around them. Annette Lareau, the author of, “Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race and Family Life,” uses this book to show the many sides and experiences of children in different socio-economic stratums.

The type of health hazards foreseen in this neighborhood surrounding Howard University Hospital ER are associated with physical threats, malnourish children, lack of quality grocery stores, lead poisoning, alcohol and substance abuse, mental health issues, housing discrimination causing stress, cardiovascular disease, organs failures, cancer, ADD/ADHD, domestic violence, stress, HIV/AIDS & STI/STD, teen pregnancy, and drug trafficking. These factors associate to poverty are the stem of health inequalities that puts all people’s lives at risk in these urban communities, especially children (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2008; Laureate Education, 2012b). In looking at the health of children, who is at great risk since they are the most vulnerable, the substandard housing in this neighborhood expose children to the possibility of poor quality of water, lead paint, mold, and pest infestation in their homes (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2008). Perhaps increases a child chance of becoming asthmatic and have a higher chance of mental and physical developmental delays

Being a first generation US citizen and the youngest of eight, poverty and its struggles played an intricate role in my life. Growing up I have witnessed the struggles of the “Ghetto” and its hardships to the people living in it. I have witnessed the product of the “ghetto” and its very low margin of success. I’ve experienced this first hand in my immediate family, being the youngest of a family of eight i have seen the positives and definitely its failures.

Jonathan Kozol’s Fire in the Ashes is an honest depiction of the hardships and triumphs of families in the South Bronx, New York. In this book, Kozol introduces us to several Hispanic and Black families that he originally met in the Mott Haven/Martinique Hotel in the 1980’s and allows us to view their trajectory in the proceeding 25 years. By allowing the reader a look into the lives of these families, he provides us with a realistic depiction of the disadvantages families living in poverty encounter despite interventions from charity organizations and philanthropic donors. Kozol identifies that without “systematic justice and systematic equity in public education” (Kozol, 2013, pg 304) students in these impoverished neighborhoods will continue to lack the same economic opportunities that may potentially lead them out of the welfare system. Kozol emphasizes lack of stable housing, and unequal educational opportunities, as primarily conditions to perpetuating poverty. Despite the challenges that the families endure, Kozol is able to show that they are resilient.

     I had many different reactions to this book. At first, I was horrified and shocked to learn about the conditions of these poor schools. Growing

Willingly, Beatty admits her lack of knowledge in situations with the children of poorer backgrounds than she felt accustomed to, moreover, she makes a conscientious effort to reveal her previous ignorance of the poverty in her city as a whole. Beatty openly displays her honesty throughout her writing in small phrases, like “for what?”, and accordingly, this acknowledgement of her confusion attempts to reveal how she writes the entire account of her experience with an underprivileged school district, both positive and negative. Purposely, Beatty provides a simple inclusion of her thought train nevertheless, she records her personal experience with children who changed her perspective.