The aim of this essay is to present you with an analysis of Jonathan Kozol’s book titled ‘Letters to a young teacher’ which was first published in 2008, appealing to most people of all those involved in the educational procedure and gathering various positive reviews since it appeared to talk to the heart of the majority of those involved in the educational field one way or another.
The analysis of the book will focus on portraying the main ideas of the book and mostly highlighting the way these ideas depicted in the book could be applied to the procedure of education. Emphasis will be given in examining the merit of such a book and its beneficial reflections upon its reading. Jonathan Kozol has been a teacher and writer specialized on educational issues who is greatly acknowledged within the educational and literary community for the innovation, spontaneity, clarity and contribution of his ideas to the evolution and improvement of the educational procedure.
The book ‘Letters to a young teacher’ follows the preceding books of his of relevant nature and content such as ‘The Shame of the Nation’ and ‘On Being a Teacher’ which have also proven to be of greatly beneficial contribution to the educational field.
Main Theme
‘Letters to a Young Teacher’ is a book of a content which is represented by what the title expresses. Kozol writes sixteen (16) letters to a young teacher who is called Francesca.
Francesca is a young teacher working as a first-grade teacher at an inner-city public school in Boston. Kozol’s letters are letters addressed to her as part of his effort to encourage her while she is experiencing her first year of teaching. Each letter emphasizes in a way on one individual and controversial issue of Education. The fact that the writer has chosen to write letters give his content and his writing style a kind of familiarity since there is a personal tone.
The young teacher Francesca is given the opportunity to become aware with issues which have been controversial in the field in which she has found herself working. So Francesca becomes familiar with potential problems of her work which of course she may have heard about, she may have already encountered or she may be lucky in a way not to have dealt with yet.
The fact remains that Kozol seems to be talking to Francesca like a teacher could address his / her students in his / her effort to make them aware of potential dangers. it is common knowledge that the older ones who are supposed to have gained experience on life and its problems and dangers, are characterized by their wish to warn their beloved ones and mostly the younger generations on the existing and other potential dangers and problems so that they can help them to be protected against falling in the unpleasant trap of experiencing them.
Also, teachers are supposed to be there not only to warn their younger students so that they can prevent them from being hurt but most important to prepare them on the idea that dangers, mistakes and difficulties are part of life so they are supposed to be prepared to deal with them.
Therefore, teachers who have gained experience are there to share this valuable piece of knowledge as far as the nature of life is concerned so that the younger ones are not disappointed and end up losing their interest in life and ambition.
All this above mentioned behavior which teachers are supposed to have towards their younger students, can be considered to be similar to the behavior adopted by parents as well. Parents are also conquered to their majority by their strong wish to advise their younger children, to protect them again potential difficulties and to prepare them for anything traumatic or problematic they may encounter. It seems that parents try at least to make anything difficult known to the children so that they become familiar with what they may encounter and they are not feared to death by any kind of difficulty they may encounter.
This above mentioned behavioral profile of both teachers and parents as far as their personal behavior and attitude towards teachers is concerned, is the attitude that characterizes Kozol’s writing style. Every piece of advice is not given ‘expressis –verbis’ like the Latin phrase characterizes whatever is to be said clearly. Each letter focuses on one of the issues of great concern existing in the educational field.
But Kozol’s attitude is characterized by traits which remind his readers of the above mentioned behavioral background. What is that supposed to mean? In plain words Kozol seems to approach each issue in such a way that no clear advice is given to the young teacher. Kozol seems to wish to awake Francesca as far as the existing and emerging dangers in her field of work are concerned.
At first level Kozol wishes to shed light on the problems which have already existed in the educational field or on the dangers which he seems to believe that ought to be treated cautiously since they are possible to happen. So Kozol does not give knowledge in hand. He wishes to make his young teacher and his readers as well, suspicious of what may be going on in the educational field and of things they may have not become suspected of before. He wants to highlight those problems and issues which according to his own experience and opinion are dangerous and ought to be dealt with successfully and efficiently.
At a second level Kozol seems to take his young teacher and his readers as well of course to a step forward. He starts analyzing each problem he has decided to highlight. Admiration is the first reaction on behalf of the readers of Kozol’s book since Kozol is the kind of writer who has decided to express his own ideas and beliefs but in such a way that he lets his readers free to develop their own ones. Kozol does not present himself as an authenticity or as the one who knows everything. He is very discrete and mature in the way he approaches each issue. He expresses his own ideas and he shares his own experiences in such a way that he leads his readers to think on what he says, to reflect on the truth of what he says, to develop a critical attitude and point of view and to end up forming their own belief and attitude after having spent quality time researching and evaluating each piece of information they have been provided with. This is after all what a good teacher does. The good teacher, the one who loves what he / she is doing and is really interested in doing it properly, elicits the knowledge his audience has. A good teacher does not give knowledge to his teachers. He leads his students to the path of learning how to gain knowledge themselves.
Kozol succeeds in doing that because he is a good teacher himself since he admits to have loved what he spent his whole life in. he proves through his words and advice in these letters that what he wants is to share his knowledge and help young teachers become good teachers. He wants to share his knowledge and experience so that young, new teachers can adopt successfully and efficiently to the demands of their profession.
The main issues which are presented in Kozol’s letters are the obsession of modern teachers representatives of the new modern trends in education to make their students sit exams all the time. Kozol believes that this is a dangerous trend since it has transformed classrooms into modern test laboratories.
Another issue Kozol puts lots of emphasis on is the intervention of private factors in the educational procedure. Kozol seems to believe that there are many cases in which public schools fall into the trap of being privately controlled since they seem to be in desperate need for grants and financial help so they end up asking for the help of private factors. The result is a very unfortunate one though since Kozol highlights the danger of those getting involved in controlling the educational procedure without having really a place within it or another role than the one of those who wish to control everything.
Last but no least Kozol seems to highlight the problem lying in the segregation of public schools. This kind of segregation is humiliating since it is a problem which is supposed to have been dealt with successfully.
Conclusion
If Education is to be treated as the cornerstone of a society then it is easily understood what the effect of such a book is on the educational community. Lots of things ought to change in education and improve and Kozol highlights the most serious ones.
Education is not a system which should be controlled according to the economic power of those having authorities. Education is a live system which can work effectively and meet the demands of all those involved in it only if active and equal dialogue is established. Teachers ought to love what they are doing and not enter the teaching field expecting to earn their living by just doing their job. Teaching is not just a job. Teaching is a kind of ceremony in terms of being a procedure in which interactive relationships are developed and not only certain actions of exchanging certain kinds of knowledge are entailed. Teachers ought to be pedagogically skilled. What is that supposed to mean? That teachers ought to know that their role carries a very high responsibility. Teachers ought to make students understand that learning is supposed to be and ought to be an active, alive procedure within which they learn to love learning. Learning is not something which should be seen and treated as the privilege of those having since poor families seem to be unable to access certain educational opportunities. Learning should not be an obligation which is supposed to be performed on behalf of students just because there is no other way out and they cannot do otherwise.
Learning according to Kozol is what the soul is to a body. Present and future generations are asked to find their place and take on their roles in a society which is under the quickest ever paces of progressing.
Nowadays demands are the demands for critical thought, ambition, collaboration, ability and skills. Nowadays’ era asks for people who are always able to find the best way to deal with their problems. This is what the ideal of an educated person ought to be today and this what teachers ought to service.
Works cited
Kozol, Jonathan (2008) Letters to a Young Teacher, Three Rivers Press, First Trade Paperback Edition, First Printing Edition
