Separate but not Equal

Haskins, J. (1998).  Separate but not equal.  New York:  Scholastic Inc.

Jim Haskins had a way of getting the point across to the reader with historical facts and his own interpretations.  There were many times in this book that an African American would try to learn how to read and try to go to school but it was always frowned upon by society.  It was thought that slaves should not be intelligent in any form; they were not allowed to know how to read.  If slaves were able to read, they would then leave their current situations and make a life for themselves.  This caused owners to worry about the free laborers.  Haskins also wrote about the effects that the Civil War and Reconstruction had on the slave’s education and also mentioned many people who tried to make education available to anyone and everyone.  It was just a time in history where segregation was strong, not right, but strong.  This book covered just about everything in the educational world when discussing segregation; from the colonial times to the Supreme Court Decisions to the public education in the late twentieth century.  As well as using black and white photography to help to tell the story.  Facts are definitely hard to picture.

Separate but not Equal is an informational chapter book that sells the facts, as hard as they may seem.  When I started to read this book, I was instantly surprised at what I did not know.  I know that segregation was a huge part of our history but to look behind the scenes and see how many people out there wanted to help provide education to African Americans, happily surprised me.  The down fall though, is that there were many people who tried to stop this act so that they could keep the free labor that they had, very sad.  Our history definitely made us what we are today and will continue to make us, but I definitely learned a lot of things reading this book.  As hard as factual books are to read, I know that if you are interested in the past and what really happened, it can suck a person in.  The photographs in this book are far and in between but having them there help make the history more alive.  I always feel that if you can have a picture along with a story, it be non-fiction or fiction, it can and will capture the audience a little better, if they are not interested. 

The structure of a factual, informational book is very important.  It explains all aspects to the lives that we live.  The sequence in Separate but not Equal is very easy to follow by giving dates and is straight to the point showing Haskins’ style in writing.  He wrote in ways that the reader could see history in many perspectives, which I liked.  I feel that this book would be a good informational book to use in the middle school/junior high classrooms.  I think that it could teach students how our educational system grew in so many years.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about segregation in our education system. Great read!

BIG Question:  If you were able to make a change in educations history, what would your contribution be?  How would you help others learn and grow as individuals?