Journal 8

In my learning factors I learn that the most important about these kids grow up under very difficult circumstances, but they are very young children. Most of the children in this book, such as Elio and Pineapple, are six, seven, eight, nine years old. They still believe in the goodness of the world, they still believe that they live in a fair-minded society, they still believe in God and human decency. They're still very gentle and sweet and innocent. The conditions of their lives are dramatically different from those of suburban children. Environmental problem is one of most negative factors.  About a quarter of the children in this section of the South Bronx have asthma and approximately 75 percent of the men in the neighborhood are unemployed. Nearly 95 percent of the families live on incomes of about $10,000 a year. Also, an awful lot of the children see their fathers only when they visit them in jail or in prison.  Kozol also sees violent street behavior within the area, poor educational supplies and limited resources. Several of the children have seen their siblings killed in drive-by-shootings. Drugs are prevalent in the area and the families put extreme faith in the staff at Mott Haven to influence their children not to become involved with drugs. In the same environment children have both negative and positive factors which influence them in their life.

I think the secondary source is also a helpful to get more information about these children not only from this book but also we can find different inner city school and the surrounding environment like the Hobart Shakespeareans of Hobart Boulevard Elementary School tells the story of the inspirational inner-city Los Angeles school teacher Rafe Esquith whose rigorous fifth-grade curriculum includes English, mathematics, geography, and literature. . Their neighborhood in the heart of Central Los Angeles is better known for crime than for opportunity. They grow up in low-income households. Their school, typically for public education in poor districts, is under-funded and overcrowded. Most of their parents do not speak English. No one is giving these kids educational perks, like class trips and intensive tutoring. And no one is expecting any but the smartest and luckiest to rise beyond the limitations of their environment. No one, that is, except Rafe Esquith.  We can see the similar problems in all inner-city neighborhoods children.

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mitchellyellin.356/community_influence

http://faculty.washington.edu/pkahn/articles/Environmental_Views_Values.pdf

http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/school_child/heducation.htm