Gotham Gazette
March 2006
The book Small Victories: The Real World of a Teacher, Her Students, and Their High School, which examines Seward Park High School on the Lower East Side of Manhattan,was written almost 20 years ago. The Gotham Gazette recently sat down with the book's author (now New York Times education writer) Samuel Freedman, and with Jessica Siegel, one of the teachers profiled in Small Victories, to find out how the education landscape has changed and why Seward Park has since been closed and split into smaller schools. During the long interview, Freedman and Siegel discuss varied topics, from Joel Klein's reforms to the merits of teaching The Great Gatsby in high-poverty schools. An interesting tidbit: both veterans agree that author Jonathan Kozol-who has built his career writing books about squalid and segregated school environments-consistently overlooks the real problems that face urban public education. Freedman actually calls Kozol's views "a high-minded excuse for paralysis." This interview transcript does a fine job presenting information through two important perspectives-that of an experienced education writer and that of an experienced public school teacher-and is worth a look. Read it, here.