Within the next few pages here I intend to address two issues. First I will try to give a personal review of what I saw this book to hold, and second I will try explain the revelence which this book has to the field of Public Administration. First try to picture children in a slum where the squalor in their homes is just as bad as that which is in the streets. Where prostitution is rampant, thievery a common place and murder and death a daily occurrence. Crack-cocaine and heroin are sold in corner markets, and the dead eyes of men and women wandering about aimlessly in the streets of Mott Haven are all to common., Their bodies riddled with disease, disease which seems to control the neighborhood. This is Mott Haven, in New York City’s South Bronx, the outback of this American nation’s poorest congressional district, also the setting of Jonathan Kozol’s disturbing representation of poverty in this country. The stories, which are captured Amazing Grace, are told in the simplest terms. They are told by children who have seen their parents die of AIDS and other disease, by mothers who complain about teenagers bagging dope and loading guns on fire escapes, by clergy who teach the poor to fight injustice and by police who are afraid to answer 911 calls.
Kozol seems to be disparage about the situation of the poor in American today, especially when more and more the poor are blamed for being poor. Kozol?s portrait of life in Mott Haven is gentle and passionate. Even though rats may chew through apartment walls in the homes of Mott Haven, the children still say their prayers at night. What seems to bother Kozol is that many people do not even want to look at this picture of America, but in Amazing Grace he dares us to recognize it does exist. Kozol spent a year wandering through Mott Haven and its neighboring communities; visiting churches, schools, hospitals, parks, and homes. Talking with parents and kids, social workers, religious leaders, and principals and teachers; struggling to try to understand how these children and parents cope with poverty and violence. Kozol trys to determine how their fellow citizens can tolerate, even demand policies that guarantee misery and death for those living a few subway stops north of glitzy midtown Manhattan. Perhaps nothing can halt the tides of social policy where citizens of this nation are allowed to live in such conditions. If on the other hand anything can, it may be Kozol’s forecasting visions and the openness and humanity of the remarkable people whose ?amazing grace? he so vividly shows us. In his book, Kozol tells the stories of a handful of children who have–through the love and support of their families and dedicated community leaders not yet lost their battle with the perils of life in America’s most hopeless, helpless, and dangerous neighborhoods.
The Term Paper on Divorced Parents Children Vs Married Parents Children part 1
Divorced parents' children vs. Married parents children Each year, more than 1 million children experience the divorce of their parents. In 1995, less than 60% of US children were living with both biologic parents, almost 25% were living with their mother only, approximately 4% were living with their father only, and the rest were living with step - families, adoptive families, or foster families ...
A profile of the impoverished people of Mott Haven, South Bronx, reveals to the reader difficult lives these people must live. Also, Kozol in implicitly posing questions about the value of such children to an unsupportive nation. Amazing Grace reveals the hearts of children who grow up in the SouthBronx–and has produced, perhaps, the most affecting book in trying to portray the problems faced by poor Americans. Many people would like to believe in the phrase, NIMBY(Not in My Back Yard), when thinking of the poor and destitute in America. I believe that in his book Amazing Grace, Kozol has made the important point that poor children that have no opportunities for an education and the hope it can give them don’t just live in the ghettos of the inner city. They can be found in every state, in every city, town and rural area. You don’t have to go to New York to find them, it is just a matter of paying attention to your own backyard. As I read this book I thought about all of the creative and brilliant ideas that I have been expose to over the years and how I would not have the chance to benefit from them if I were a poor child, not given the chance to properly learn and grow, like those of Kozol?s book in Mott Haven.
The Essay on Support Positive Outcomes For Children And Young People
1. Understand how the social, economic and cultural environment can impact on the outcomes of life chances of children and young people 1.1. Describe the social, economic and cultural factors that will impact on the lives of children and young people. There is a chart on page 186 of your text book with outlines all the factors and the possible effect on the lives of children. When you read through ...
As a country, we don’t seem to understand yet that each person, regardless of who they are or where they came from, has something to teach us. If the children and adults like those Kozol describes had the chance to write, sing, do scientific experiments, start businesses, just imagine what we could gain. I was thoroughly moved by the stories of the people in Amazing Grace. I can see hoe it might be possible to see this book as manipulating and only telling on part of the story. It could be argued that this book unfairly blames the government, society and particularly New York Mayor Guilliani for the problems in the Bronx. There was little discussion about how much of the situation was owned by the people in the story. Regardless you would still have to feel badly for the people in the book, especially the children.
The fact remains that the children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. They are tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and honesty about the poverty and racial isolation that have wounded but not hardened them, such as Anthony did through out the book. The book does not romanticize or soften the effects of violence and sickness. I believe that Kozol says at one point something like, one fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods, where these children live, test positive for HIV. He also tell us that Pediatric AIDS, life-consuming fires and gang rivalries take just as high a toll on this society of Mott Haven. Several children, some 23, die during the year in which this narrative takes place. I believe that Kozol has written a amazing piece of work here. Amazing Grace asks questions that are at once political and theological. What is the value of a child’s life? What exactly do we plan to do with those whom we appear to have defined as economically and humanly disadvantaged? How cold, how cruel, how tough — do we dare be? Why do we not seem to be able to fix it?
The Term Paper on Explain the Principals of Relationship Building with Children, Young People and Adults
When children are very young, always bring yourself down to their level. Sit on the ground next to them or sit on a chair equal to the size of their own. Having an adult towering over them whilst in conversation must be very intimidating. This in turn helps the child have eye contact with you so they can be assured of your full attention. Looking around the room while you are talking to them is ...
