Book Challenge Final Report

"No one could assert that government officials set out to 'create' segregated schools [in Hartford, CT]. But they abetted their creation simply by siting and building schools to fit the racially and economically separate setup that discrimination had created. Even though segregation wasn't desirable, it became a given in the education of thousands and thousands of the city's children."

from The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial, by Susan Eaton

I'm about a quarter of the way through the 350-page book, quoted above, that I chose for MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge. The beautiful weekend weather, a party, a movie, and hanging out erased my competitive drive. Drop by MotherReader's blog and click the links (on the right) to see other readers who racked up thousands of pages. Cool. Congratulations! Meanwhile, The Children in Room E4 is excellent.

Comments

[cloudscome]

I'll have to get my hands on that book. It sounds fascinating!

[Bill Coughlan]

Okay, not to be too nitpicky... all right, I'm being nitpicky. But MR gave me the job of compiling statistics today, amd I'm trying to be thorough about it.

So are you calling at 1/4 book, say... 88 pages... and how much time spent reading?

Bill (MR's husband/editor/competition lackey)

[Susan]

Oh, dear, a fact checker. Eek.

Let's say 100 pages, over 3 hours. Turtle's pace. Sigh.

[eisha]

Nothin' wrong with that, Susan. It's supposed to be fun, not torture. And it does sound like an interesting book, of the kind that I will not even kid myself that I'll ever read. Hopefully you'll review it and tell me everything I need to know. ;)

[Susan]

hey, Eisha. There are stark differences between the two public schools I spend time in, and I'm finding much in the book that is familiar. Have you ever read "Random Family"? It's a good companion book to that one.

[eisha]

Nope, sure haven't. But I'll give it a look-see. Working in a public library that is actually physically attached to a K-8 school has made me think about the way public schools work a lot more than I used to. Thanks for the rec!