Amazing Grace By Jonathan Kozol Quotes - Talking Point 1 - FNED346 Assignment

Amazing Grace By Jonathan Kozol
Harper Perennial Publishing-1995

            This reading assignment was very informative. I found myself reading it at many points and not believing the words on the page. Sadly enough I feel when you are a person in a certain lifestyle you don't think really of how others live. Sometimes your have a type of tunnel vision. Only focusing on what's right in front of you. In this piece by Jonathan Kozol many interesting points are made a glimpse of the world through someone else's life is shown. Among the accounts of people living in the Bronx three quotes effected me and stood out.

• " You just cover up... and hope you wake up the next morning".  This particular quote was made by a father of four referring to fighting against the cold in one of the poorest neighborhood in New York City and the country. Kozol goes on to states that many of the South Bronx residents live in homes owned by the City of New York , these houses can becoming freezing in the Winter months. During these times the city may occasionally distribute space heaters and heated blankets. However during emergency conditions many of these houses can not support the electrical use because of substandard wiring, so tenants are forced to curl up in sleeping bags wearing Winter hats and coats. This quote is meant to represent the conditions that people in our very own country are facing. We often think that EVERYONE has a least the most basic of needs being met, however this is not always true. In relation to the rest of the article this quote just further paints the difficult picture of what is reality for some. This is just another difficult hurtle to have to overcome. How can someone achieve greatness when their basic human rights are not being filled?
• "There are children in the poorest, most abandoned places who,despite the miseries and poisons that the world has pumped into their lives , seem,when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway". This is just a testament I feel to the human spirit being shown in someone that is just starting their life. Children are amazing in the way of being resilient they can over come difficult situations in ways adults sometimes can not. This reading shows that children can find joy in many things , some examples that come to mind where when the small boy saw a familiar dog in the neighborhood and was excited to say "hello". Traveling to the corner store and seeing the friendly cashier that's always there. I think the main example of this behavior represented in this text was emphasized as this author was walking with the small boy. As they walked Kozol  was being told  of the sad things that happen throughout the neighborhood from the boy. Kozol could also clearly see the world around him and the conditions to which this near baby was exposed. During this time the small boy was only concerned with saying "hello" to passer-byers and eating his cookies. The boy despite all that surrounded him was content with his cookies and able to stay happy in small moments.Not to be taken in by all the negative that surrounded him.
• " I believe that we were put here for a purpose, but these people in the streets can't see a purpose.There's a whole world out there if you know it's there, if you can see it. But they're in a cage. They cannot see". This quote was made by Mrs. Washington's son referring to many people in his community. I feel that this quote can directly be connected to the previous. It can sometimes seem to adults that what is happening is the only way. "It is what it is". Children see things in a way that things are not so cut and dry. Good can be taken from any situation and situations can get better. We are taught as children that we can be anything we want to be and sometimes as adults we can loose sight of that. Finding the positive in every situation can never be a bad thing. Optimism can sometimes be the first step in the right direction to change. Sometimes it can be the different view that changes someone's life.

Question for class:
Does changing your point of view change everything? When something bad happens to us or is a part of our life are we victims of circumstance or able to make things better? Does the way we approach a situation change the outcome? Can something positive come from an unlikely place.Like a small plant that springs from the cracks in the city , can hope do the same thing?


A good example of promoting change in urban areas is the act of empowering people through their food. Everyone has to eat and sometimes it's not so easy to go and buy food. What's better than growing your own organic food? People in a community can be proud,it promotes neighbors coming together to form stronger bonds and many times there is little to no cost to the people in the community. More info of one such program can be found at: Organic Garden Project.