Jonathan Kozol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jonathan Kozol
Kozol in 2011
Born	(1936-09-05) September 5, 1936 (age 88) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Education	Harvard University (AB) Magdalen College, Oxford
Subject	Multicultural education, Critical theory, Education reform

Jonathan Kozol (born September 5, 1936) is an American writer, activist, and educator. He is famous for his books about public schools in the United States. He often writes about how schools can be unfair to some students.

Jonathan Kozol's Early Life and Teaching

Jonathan Kozol was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He went to Harvard University and studied English literature. He graduated with very high honors in 1958. He also received a special scholarship called a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Magdalen College, Oxford in England. However, he decided to leave Oxford early. He wanted to go to Paris, France, to learn from famous writers.

When he came back to the U.S., he started helping children in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Soon, he became a teacher in the Boston Public Schools. He was later fired from his teaching job. This happened because he taught a poem by Langston Hughes, a well-known African American poet. He wrote about this experience in his book Death at an Early Age. After this, he became very involved in the civil rights movement. This movement worked to end unfair treatment and segregation.

Kozol has received many important awards and grants for his work. These include two Guggenheim Fellowships and support from the Rockefeller Foundation. He has spent over 40 years working with children in schools in poorer city areas. He also helps explain scientific research about kindness and peaceful relationships.

Jonathan Kozol's Writing Career

Kozol speaking at Pomona College in 2003

Jonathan Kozol's first non-fiction book was Death at an Early Age. It tells about his first year as a teacher in Boston. The book was published in 1967 and won the National Book Award. This award is one of the most important literary prizes in the U.S. The book has sold more than two million copies.

He wrote other important books too. Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America (1988) won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. This award honors books that explore social justice. His book Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools (1991) was also very popular. It won the New England Book Award.

In 1995, he published Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation. This book describes his visits to the South Bronx in New York City. At the time, this was one of the poorest areas in the United States. This book won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. This award recognizes books that contribute to our understanding of racism and human diversity.

Kozol continued to write about education. His 2005 book, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, talks about how schools are still very separate. He explains that many Black and Hispanic children are still in schools mostly with other children of color. These schools often have fewer resources than schools with mostly white students. He believes this is unfair and calls it "apartheid schooling."

Kozol strongly supports public education where all students learn together. He does not agree with the idea of school vouchers. These vouchers allow public money to be used for private schools. He argues that this can make public schools weaker. He often compares how much money is spent on each child in different school districts. He shows that wealthy areas spend much more per student than poorer areas. He asks if it is fair that a child's education depends on where they are born.

The Education Action Fund

Jonathan Kozol started The Education Action Fund. This is a charity that helps children and families he writes about in his books. The money donated to this fund goes directly to families in need. It helps them with financial problems and provides support.

Awards and Honors

• 1968 National Book Award for Death at an Early Age
• 1970 and 1980 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1972 Field Foundation Fellowship
• 1974 Field Foundation Fellowship
• 1978 and 1983 Rockefeller Fellowship
• 1988 Conscience in Media Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors
• 1988 Christopher Award
• 1992 New England Book Award
• 1996 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Amazing Grace
• 2005 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship
• 2013 The Deborah W. Meier Hero in Education Award from FairTest

Works

• The Fume of Poppies (1958) A novel.
• Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools (1967) ISBN: 0-452-26292-5
• Free Schools (1972) ISBN: 0-395-13606-7
• The Night is Dark and I Am Far from Home (1975) ISBN: 0-395-20727-4
• Children of the Revolution: A Yankee Teacher in the Cuban Schools (1978) ISBN: 0-440-00982-0
• Prisoners of Silence: Breaking the Bonds of Adult Illiteracy in the United States (1980) ISBN: 0-816-49004-X
• On Being a Teacher (1981) ISBN: 1-85168-065-9
• Alternative Schools: A Guide for Educators and Parents (1982) ISBN: 0-826-40226-7
• Illiterate America (1986) ISBN: 0-452-25807-3
• Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America (1988) ISBN: 0-449-90339-7
• Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools (1991) ISBN: 0-060-97499-0
• Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation (1995) ISBN: 0-060-97697-7
• Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope (2000) ISBN: 0-060-95645-3
• The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005) ISBN: 1-400-05244-0
• Letters to a Young Teacher (2007) ISBN: 978-0-307-39371-5
• Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America (2012) ISBN: 1-400-05246-7
• The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father One Day at a Time (2015) ISBN: 978-0-804-14099-7
• The End to Inequality: Breaking Down the Walls of Apartheid Education in America (2024) [ISBN 978-1620978725]

See also

• Boston Public Schools
• Education in the United States
• Racial inequality in the United States