Ghetto Schooling: A Political Economy of Urban Educational Reform

Anyon has used ethnographic and historical material to make a case that's been made before, though I don't think it's been made this well: Schooling is a contextually determined institution. If the context -- in this case the urban U.S. -- is declining economically and socially, schooling will decline as well. If the cities in which schools are located are impoverished, crime-ridden, and devoid of opportunity, schools and their students will face with the same vastly diminished prospects. Anyone who has read Bowles and Gintis' Schooling in Capitalist America, Willis' Learning got Labor, or Devine's Maximum Security already knows that schools can't be fixed from the inside out. It's convenient to blame teachers and administrators for the damaging conditions which prevail in places like Newark's Marcy school, but what are teachers to do? Imagine a teacher who has just spent four or five years in a college or university acquiring the behavioral repertoires and theoretical perspectives which qualify them to be called education professionals. They get their first job at Marcy school. None of what they learned seems applicable -- the students are too poor and routinely brutalized, their colleagues are too demoralized, the principal is too cynical, parents are victimized by an unforgiving set of circumstances which constitutes their daily lives. Putative experts who bring the most recent reforms presented in the guise of staff development are clueless. It's easy to see that teachers would become alienated from and hostile to an environment that prevents them from doing the professional job that they were trained to do. Anyon's claim that there's nothing special about Newark, that the same destructive processes are destroying education throughout the urban U.S., is indisputable. Furthermore, much the same applies to schooling in rural America. I've seen it in the West Virginia Coal Fields and in the poorest, most rural parts of central Kentucky. It's a cruel oddity that in all these places, whether urban and poor or rural and poor, the same sort of educational reforms were being sold to the same sort of disaffected teachers and administrators by state officials who haven't set foot in a classroom for 30 years. Until the context of education is massively reformed, bad educational jokes like No Child Left Behind will continue to be an intrusive nuisance for teachers and an embarrassment for the rest of us.

Jean Anyon's book, Ghetto Schooling: A Political Economy of Urban Educational Reform paints a harrowing portrait of the struggles of those who have a role in inner-city schools. It is written in three parts that address the present situation, reflect upon the past, and look to the future, respectively. The book took several years to write due to the level of research involved for the historical content, but the personal account was based on four years of the author's participation in the reform effort in Newark, New Jersey, beginning in 1992. The reform efforts targeted eight schools in the central section of the city. (On a broader note, the historical text of the book points out that the decline of the schools really began in the 1930s.) The book begins by showing the present state of education within the reform district, but then postulates the reasons for this status by looking at the historical foundations of the problems. In the first chapter of part two, Anyon begins the historical breakdown by looking at early situation with educating the children of the many immigrants who came to Newark beginning in the 1860s. Despite early attempts at reform, the seeds had already been planted for the disenfranchisement seen today. The historical context of Anyon's research design shows decade by decade the continual decay of the Newark schools. Reform efforts were suggested, but never truly implemented. After the period of organized crime and municipal scandals had arrived, Anyon notes that:"Because there was no rescue of the Newark educational system in 1968, it would continue to limp along, and further generations of Newark children-the grandchildren, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of the southern rural immigrants-wouldjoin their parents in the ranks of the uneducated and the undereducated. Many would therefore be unable to participate in the economic and political institutions of U.S. society" (p. 127).This generational cycle of poverty and hopelessness is at the heart of Anyon's determination that changes can only be effective if they consider the sociocultural status and economic plight of those involved. I found the accounts in the book to be a revelation to say the least. I think people like myself who are born and raised outside urban areas live in blissful ignorance as to the true state of education for the thousands trapped in a cycle of poverty and despair. I like that Anyon takes such an honest approach to her research, realizing that to be effective she must be disclose everything she witnessed. The only change I would like to see is the statistical information presented in some type of graph form so that it would be easier to read and interpret. Otherwise, I found the book to be an invaluable read as a future educator. In fact, it has made me think beyond the world of education and to ponder my place among the human race and the responsibility I must take for needs of my fellow man an

Jean Anyon studies school reform in the failing Newark School system, focusing on her case study of Marcy School. It is an insightful case stdy that educators can apply to help us understand and ssist other failing urban school systems in our country. This took place during a four year refom effort by the Newark district from 1989 through 1993. As a dedicated researcher, she continued her study for another year in other district schools after the reforms ended. Anyon spent time with both students and teachers to get to know them and their opinions, diving her great insight into their educational plight. She held workshops for the teachers and faculty, as a staff developer for cooperative teaching. She combined this with spending one day per week, for ten months in the classrooms, assisting the teachers in implementing her programs. She combines municipal and educational, historical research of Newark, using archived materials to help support her theories and findings. She used archieved materials dating back 100 hundred years. I feel she incorporated her extensive use of historical documents and background articles to prevent criticism or disregard of her conclusions for the current status of the Newark school systems. This research provides realistic insight into the cause of their situation, resulting in meaningful solutions. Newark is identified as a "ghetto," wtih few businesses, dilapidated housing, and schools. She explains how their segregation and "ghetto" formation evolved wtih her research presented in chapter four. Anyon also makes us aware of the political problems that have been a critical part in the circle of poverty. The black areas have less political power to get their situation changed. She gives a historical account of how organized crime rule during the sixties, kept their unqulified friends employed, while letting the schools deteriorate under their rule. She also reveals mismangement of educational funds they received, by having to return the money when not spent in a timely fashion. Anyon reveals a circle of poverty and poor health in this community. It has been created over time and has become accepted as the norm by the residents of the community. The book does present a few weak pionts in Anyon's theories. One being that the only way to help change the city's educational dilemma is by changing the city's economic and political status. I think she misses suggesting methods to incorporate the city's students into the suburban schools. In summation fo her fingdings of this failing school system, she leads us to hypothesize as to what effects historical politics and economics have on modern day education systems. She presents us with research to suport her finding that society, over decades, has produced their current failing state of education, poverty, and racial isolation of this community. Her method to change this community's circle of poverty in these aspects is through a "grassroots movement betwe

The book, Ghetto Schooling A Political Economy of Urban Educational Reform, written by Jean Anyon, is an informative book concerning the issues surrounding urban education, funding, and racism among many groups. Ghetto School is divided into three sections, with 8 chapters, providing background of the Newark, New Jersey school system and plight of inner-city schools beginning in 1860 and following through to present day. The results of Anyon's research should be a wake up call for all involved in education, from educators to politicians, and parents. In my opinion, the question is now more relevant than ever. Which factors led to the inadequacy of educational opportunities for urban school districts? Anyon defines her research by "describing the social milieu of isolation and poverty, then illustrate how these conditions affect urban schools. (Anyon 3) When looking back, Anyon has shown the implications for the future, central cities now hold only 29% of the nations population and comprise less than 12% of the national electorate (Judd and Swanstrom 1994, Anyon 1997). As mentioned through her research, the majority of the middle class tax base and industry in which supports both the middle class and school system have relocated to the suburbs. Within these events a deeper problem was created; inequalities within the school system of Newark itself. According to the Council of Great City Schools, large city districts (79%) are funded at a lower rate than are suburban schools; nationally advantaged suburban schools spend as much as ten times that spent by urban poor schools. (Anyon 7) With inner cities holding less than one-third of the total population, convincing voters that change is necessary and needed is a daunting task. To change the past, present, and future, reform of the inner city school is needed. According to Anyon, reform of the Newark inner city school districts will not happen until the economic and political systems in which the cities are enmeshed are themselves transformed so they may be more democratic and productive for urban residents. (Anyon 13) I found "Ghetto Schooling" to be a provocative and educational source of historical information. As a teacher, and future administrator, the need for understanding the vast array of social, political and legal mandates truly dictates not only education, but also the city and state in which they reside. Anyon creates a very realistic in description of past events, many of which are still seen today. The material presented not only punctuates, but makes a very colorful statement of the current economic situation facing many states, including Illinois. After reading this text, I have a better appreciation for the sheer complexity of school funding. Illinois uses three very complicated formulas for determining funding of public schools alone. Anyon's explanation of public education is complete, complicated, and enjoyable.

I stumbled across this book while working on my thesis. This book really didn't relate to my area of inquiry but I felt compelled to pull it off the shelf. Four days later, and very little done on my thesis, I was shocked by the amount of graft and corruption within the historical account of New Jersey's Public School system. This book is very insightful and compeling.