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Jonathan Kozol

ジョナサン・コゾル

Jonathan Kozol

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-09-05 （Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Boston (born) → Roxbury (tutoring/teaching) → Paris (writing study) → New York (work and writing)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Progressive activist, Educator
Active Years
1958-
Affiliations
Editorial board, Greater Good Magazine (UC Berkeley)
Influenced By
William Styron, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes (taught a poem that led to controversy)

Education

Noble and Greenough School
Degree: High school diploma
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: United States
Harvard University
English Literature
Degree: A.B. (summa cum laude)
Period: 1954–1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: United States
Graduated summa cum laude
Magdalen College, Oxford
Country: United Kingdom
Attended as a Rhodes Scholar but did not complete; moved to Paris to study writing

Awards

National Book Award (Science, Philosophy and Religion)
1968
Work: Death at an Early Age
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1970
Organization: Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受給
Guggenheim Fellowship
1980
Organization: Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受給
Field Foundation Fellowship
1972
Organization: Field Foundation
Result: 受給
Field Foundation Fellowship
1974
Organization: Field Foundation
Result: 受給
Rockefeller Fellowship
1978
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: 受給
Rockefeller Fellowship
1983
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: 受給
Conscience in Media Award
1988
Work: Rachel and Her Children
Organization: American Society of Journalists and Authors
Result: 受賞
Christopher Award
1988
Work: Rachel and Her Children
Organization: Christopher Awards
Result: 受賞
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award
1989
Work: Rachel and Her Children
Organization: Robert F. Kennedy Center
Result: 受賞
New England Book Award
1992
Work: Savage Inequalities
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist)
1992
Work: Savage Inequalities
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 最終候補
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1996
Work: Amazing Grace
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf
Result: 受賞
Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship
2005
Organization: The Nation Institute / Puffin Foundation
Result: 受賞
Deborah W. Meier Hero in Education Award
2013
Organization: FairTest
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Fume of Poppies

1958 Novel

An early novel by Kozol. Detailed information is limited.

Death at an Early Age

1967 Non-fiction (education reportage)

A nonfiction account of Kozol's first year teaching in the Boston Public Schools, exposing racial injustice and systemic problems in education.

educational inequalityracismcritique of school systems

Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America

1988 Journalism / Non-fiction

A reportage on homeless families in America, documenting poverty and policy failures.

homelessnessurban povertysocial policy

Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

1991 Non-fiction / Education criticism

Documents the severe disparities in resources and opportunities across American public schools.

educational disparityresource allocationrace and poverty

Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation

1995 Non-fiction

Describes the lives of children in the South Bronx, highlighting urban poverty and educational neglect.

urban povertychild welfareeducational opportunity

Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope

2000 Non-fiction

Stories of children Kozol encountered over years of work, and records of educational experiences.

hope and resilienceclassroom chronicles

The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America

2005 Non-fiction / Education criticism

Argues that American schooling has been resegregated, likening conditions to 'apartheid' and critiquing systemic policies.

school segregationsystemic discriminationcritique of education policy

Letters to a Young Teacher

2007 Education essays

A collection of essays offering advice and reflections for young teachers.

teaching practiceadvice for teachers

Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America

2012 Non-fiction

Record and reflection on 25 years spent among America's poorest children.

long-term observationurban povertyeducation and welfare

The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father One Day at a Time

2015 Memoir / Non-fiction

A personal memoir recounting the author's experience caring for and losing his father.

familymemory and loss

The End to Inequality: Breaking Down the Walls of Apartheid Education in America

2024 Non-fiction / Education reform

A 2024 work summarizing contemporary educational inequalities and proposals to address them.

correcting educational inequalitypolicy proposals

Bibliography

  • The Fume of Poppies (1958)
  • Death at an Early Age (1967)
  • Free Schools (1972)
  • Rachel and Her Children (1988)
  • Savage Inequalities (1991)
  • Amazing Grace (1995)
  • Ordinary Resurrections (2000)
  • The Shame of the Nation (2005)
  • Letters to a Young Teacher (2007)
  • Fire in the Ashes (2012)
  • The Theft of Memory (2015)
  • The End to Inequality (2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
reportage-style nonfictionon-site observational writingpersuasive social criticism
Recurring Motifs
educational inequalityurban povertychildren's livesrace and opportunity gaps

Legacy

Jonathan Kozol is a leading writer and activist who exposed educational inequality in the United States. Through influential books such as Death at an Early Age, he contributed significantly to public debate on education reform and social justice.

Trivia

  • Death at an Early Age (1967) has reportedly sold over two million copies.
  • After graduating from Harvard he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford but did not complete the scholarship and moved to Paris to study writing.
  • He was fired from the Boston Public Schools for teaching a Langston Hughes poem.
  • He has received multiple fellowships, including Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and Field.