The Children in Room E4: American Education On Trial

I recently read "The Children in room E4" by Susan Eaton for my education seminar. Before reading this compelling novel I was in the dark about the injustices of urban schooling. I knew that there were more minority students in the city school systems but I had no idea about the poor quality of education they were receiving. While I thought some parts of this book were dull and just informative there was a lot more to it. This novel does much more than inform about a court case, it allowed me to feel Mrs. Luddy's pain, I could feel the children's stress over these tests. It makes me want to do something. Want to help. What drew in to this novel was the opening about Jeremy that is really what kept me interested this whole time. I wanted to see Jeremy and his family succeed, I wanted to believe he could make it. But Eaton let reality set in and made me realize that won't be the case for most of these kids. I thought we gave an equal opportunity to everyone here in America but this books facts say otherwise and with the facts like the ones used in this book there is no doubt in my mind that something more needs to be done. Eaton brought justice to these kids like no one else.

A great read for anyone entering the field of school administration in the US. This book explains the demographic shifts undergone by the city of Hartford (CT) and how the desegregation of schools promised under Brown v. board of education in 1954 never fully materialized. In some cases however, the gains achieved under Brown v. board of education were gradually rolled back due to suburbanization and the resulting ghettoization of urban centers and their public schools. The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial is a chronicle, among other things, of the Sheff v. O'Neill, a lawsuit brought against the city of Hartford in attempt to wright he wrongs perpetrated against inner city public school children.

This book goes beyond simply explaining what the challenges in urban education are -- it shows where they came from. With a detailed history of the Supreme and Federal Court decisions since Brown v. Board of Education, Eaton illustrates how segregated and isolated schooling has been perpetuated and gotten worse in the last 50 years. Her analysis does it in two ways: first, by focusing closely on a high achieving Hartford class of students in their third and fourth grade years (the Micro view) and by showing how the Macro problems -- the legal history -- have enabled the complete ignoring and disempowerment of American cities.In so doing, Eaton tells the story of Sheff v. O'Neill -- a landmark Connecticut court decision on the vastly segregated and unequal state of schooling in the Hartford area. She explains how the legal team put the case together, the data they collected, their Constitutional interpretations, and their battles to win....If you are from Connecticut, interested in schooling or in school law, this book is perfect for you.

I have used this book for several years in a course I teach on social change and found it to be a perceptive, well-written account of the massive inequities that continue to plague our education system. I think her approach of focusing on a particular student at a particular school while also examining a broader, ongoing school desegregation case strikes a wonderful balance between a very human, and heart wrenching story of how we limit the opportunities of individual students to succeed while talking about the larger causes for school disparities.

I just finished reading the Children in E4 for my philosophy of education class, and I have to say I am very impressed. Before I read this novel I had no clue as to how to incorporate the weighty issues that this book adressed into my philosophy. Now I have a much clearer picture of the pressing needs of urban school districts. I highly recommend this novel.

I hope city kids and parents find this book to be helpful. Sad world when a school is closed due to test scores.

Very good book. It’s very necessary for anyone going into the field of education

I had to read this for a grad class and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I liked how Eaton intertwined the story of Jeremy with the shef v oniell trial.