East St. Louis-which The Local Press Refers

More Money Is Put Into Prisons Than Into Schools. That, In Itself, Is The Description Of A Nation Bent On Suicide. I Mean, What Is More Precious To Us Than Our Own Children? We Are Going To Build A Lot More Prisons If We Do Not Deal With The Schools And Their Inequalities.

The First Ten, Twelve Or Fifteen Years Of Life Are Excavated Of Inherent Moral Worth In Order To Accommodate A Regimen Of Basic Training For The Adult Years That Many Of The Poorest Children May Not Even Live To Know.

I Have Been Criticized Throughout The Course Of My Career For Placing Too Much Faith In The Reliability Of Children's Narratives; But I Have Almost Always Found That Children Are A Great Deal More Reliable In Telling Us What Actually Goes On In Public School Than Many Of The Adult Experts Who Develop Policies That Shape Their Destinies.

In The Book, I Write About Children In First Grade Who Were Taught To Read By Reading Want Ads. They Learned To Write By Writing Job Applications. Imagine What Would Happen If Anyone Tried To Do That To Children In A Predominantly White Suburban School.

Nationally, Overwhelmingly Non-white Schools Receive $1,000 Less Per Pupil Than Overwhelmingly White Schools.