The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial

Can separate ever be equal? Over and over again, we seem to be coming back to the same question our country has struggled with for decades. Countless court cases later, Susan Eaton describe in heart breaking detail, the inequities in the school lives of the children in room E4- a room found in every urban area in this country today. Public education continues to fail miserably. Eaton's ability to weave the details of the court ruling and efforts by civil rights attorneys with the every day life in the classroom is stunning. Anyone who cares about education in this country today must read this book. It provides a compelling roadmap of where we've been and where we are headed if something doesn't change.

Susan Eaton has produced an exceptional, deeply researched book. It's by no means without an agenda, but it's no Swiftian polemic, something to which a wealth of footnotes and references will attest. Eaton grabs you by the wrist, pulling you through the torturous folds of the Sheff v O'Neill court case. She forces the ugly machinations of a typical large-city public school system into the fore, giving a vivid account of the harsh inequity of Connecticut schools. Eaton makes a compelling argument against district boundaries, with their rigid, segregating forces. She tells of an entrenched system of De Facto segregation, arisen over the past fifty years, here to stay--unless, of course, the slumbering giants (our public schools) wake up to their own mistakes. They did in 1954, when Brown forced them. Perhaps they will again. Every school district board member should keep this book on their desk.

Susan Eaton clearly explains the current state of urban education, particularly in Hartford, Connecticut. The book is wonderfully written in two interwoven narratives. The first traces the seemingly unending legal proceedings surrounding education in Hartford. The second contains what I feel is the true spirit of the book. Eaton tells the reader a story in language so plain and clear that any teacher will feel the overwhelming, systematic, and largely ignored challenges facing `the children in room E4.' Yet, the story also tells us of an amazing educator and her students. Eaton brings to us those everyday student-teacher exchanges that give us hope; hope that our curious and intelligent children will be blessed by dedicated teachers. `The Children in Room E4' inspires me as a new teacher. Lastly, it reminds me that while the state of urban education nationwide is dire, the challenges of where one teaches can be overcome by the kindness, compassion, and relentless energy of a great teacher.

Through a beautifully constructed narrative, Eaton poses one of the most important educational questions of our time: can we really "fix" urban schools without addressing the underlying historical and social roots of educational failure? A thoughtful book that draws on careful research, rigorous documentation, and graceful story telling, Eaton's book is a must read for anyone who cares about the future of children in urban schools.

This is an excellent book. It describes the history of segregated schooling in Hartford CT. The book follows the legal case of Sheff vs. O'Neil, the history of social and government programs that led to residential segregation, and the compelling story of a class of inner city schoolchildren (and one bright, charming child in particular) and their dedicated teacher. The treatment of the issue is thorough and nuanced. The failure of government and the courts to meet the needs of these school children is heartbreaking. At the same time the book is hopeful, and demonstrates how integration can easily make a huge difference in the lives of poor children. The book was impressive in its assertion of integration as a moral as well as educational issue. The stories make the book easy to follow and quite engaging, yet it is filled with solid research. I think this book should be required reading for policy makers and educators at all levels as well as anyone concerned with the future of public education and the type of society we will live in.