Chapter 3, "The Savage Inequalities of Public Education in New York," Summary and Analysis

Speaking over a hundred years ago, a social critic named Lord Acton said that Americans allow all of their children the things they need to compete at the highest levels of success.

Kozol expresses sadness at how untrue these words are today, especially when it comes to education. He points out that in New York the unfairness is even more extreme since each kid in the suburbs receives an education worth $11,000 a year, whereas an inner city child receives only $5,500. The author wonders why the Board of Education of the United States complains about unequal spending between cities across the county but lets the spending be so unequal in communities side by side.

New York City schools are broken into 32 districts...