Forget about it. Forget about the mandatory attendance. Forget about the curriculum. Forget about exams (Holt 86, 88). Kids shouldn't be going to school just to get their degrees (Henry III. 136). They should be going to become more educated, so that they can make educated decisions in their lives. Schools need to change. Learning in a prison cell was probably easier for Malcolm X than learning in some of the schools of New York City. I believe if we let kids learn what they want, when they want, and how they want, they'll learn more.
             We have some schools in America that are great. They have good teachers, plenty of supplies, small class sizes, and nice buildings with big windows. Unfortunately, a school district is only as good as its weakest link. In "Savage Inequalities" Kozol tells how he takes a trip to District 10 in New York City to compare three grade schools. He finds two out of three schools to be below satisfactory. A principal at one of the schools Kozol visited has to thank God that his teachers are still breathing (114). Obviously, this principle does not feel he has the best teaching staff. At this school there is not enough textbooks for everyone, so some kids have to share (115). Both of these poor schools have too many kids (115, 117). One school is an old skating rink, and the other uses its gym for classes (114, 117). Kids are forced to go to these awful schools. It's like they have to go to prison.
             Malcolm X tells about his time in prison in "A Homemade Education." With the aid of a dictionary, Malcolm taught himself enough words so that he was able to read the books in the prison library. He enjoyed his ability to learn from books and took advantage of it:
             I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right
             there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it
             today, the ability to r...