Equality, America is driven by this one simple word, but how much of America is actually equal to all citizens. If we were to walk into the nearest school, not all of the students have the same equal education that was proposed by Thomas Jefferson centuries ago. The states themselves allow free and equal education; however, through family income, race, and gender we can see that not much has changed from 1776 to 2013. Yes, of course African Americans, women, and minorities can all go to school, but cultural economic backgrounds handicap students from gaining a truly equal education. Throughout Sabrina Tavernise’s article The Education Gap Grows Between the Rich and Poor, she explains that the economic gap between high and low income families is affecting their children as students. Authors like Samuel Bowles and Herbert Ginits argue in Schooling in Capitalist America- Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life, that family income and economics plays an important role on the ability of students to succeed in schools. Although family income produces inequality in schools, race and gender roles that are portrayed in Peggy Orenstein’s Schoolgirls and Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu’s Black Students’ School Success Coping with the” Burden of action White” also contribute to the inequality in schools. Authors like Sabrina, Samuel Bowles, and Herbert Ginits all give great detail that family icome plays an enormous role on inequality in education, but we must also look to authors like Orenstein, Fordham, and Ogbu because they also explain how other conflicts can cause inequality in schools. Tavernise sheds light on the most important question in our society today. Does family income affect our students’ ... ... middle of paper ... ... women and blacks, schools do not give equal right to these students because of cultural divides. Women and blacks are seen as second to the classic white males, therefore in schools teachers tend to slack off these students. Minorities are seen as the blue-collar pour workers, therefore society gives them a belief that they will never come out of their economic troubles. Inequality in schools starts with inequality in society. Someone who is preferably white and resides in the middle class will most likely do well in school. A black female or male most likely will not succeed because of the environment they are surrounded by. A student has trouble succeeding by living in a neighborhood that is economically incompetent to move forward. The only way to make school somewhat equal to all races and genders is to teach them all on the same level.
Savage Inequalities, written by Jonathan Kozol, shows his two-year investigation into the neighborhoods and schools of the privileged and disadvantaged. Kozol shows disparities in educational expenditures between suburban and urban schools. He also shows how this matter affects children that have few or no books at all and are located in bad neighborhoods. You can draw conclusions about the urban schools in comparison to the suburban ones and it would be completely correct. The differences between a quality education and different races are analyzed. Kozol even goes as far as suggesting that suburban schools have better use for their money because the children's futures are more secure in a suburban setting. He thinks that each child should receive as much as they need in order to be equal with everyone else. If children in Detroit have greater needs than a student in Ann Arbor, then the students in Detroit should receive a greater amount of money.
In the book Students On Strike, a group of high school students were devastated at how unfairly they were treated and “It was easy to see that schools for blacks in our county were no equal to those for white children” (Stokes 52).
Race as a factor in inequity. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) posit that race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. Race matters in society. If we look at high school drop out, suspension, and incarceration rates of men of color in America we see a disproportionate amount of men of color marginalized and profiled by society. This is further compounded by the perception that male faculty of color cannot be educators or at least are not often conceptually visualized in that capacity (Bryan and Browder, 2013).
As an African American male, I experienced inequality, and judgment from individuals that have no idea what kind of person I truly am. As a youth, I received a lackluster education, which has resulted in me underachieving in a number of my college classes. It has come to my attention that other colored students are currently experiencing and receiving the same inadequate learning environment and educatio...
In his novel Our Kids, Robert Putnam speaks on about how the 1970’s brought a change in family structures. The family structure of two strong parents and stigma against wedlock births and pre-marital sex quickly began to fade. Birth control and the feminist revolution contributed to these rapid changes. Women began to work and were “in part, freed from patriarchal norms” (Putnam 62). Rather than conforming the female gender role and staying home, having children, and putting food on the table, women actually started to become a part of the economy. They were not as focused on the idea of marriage and finding an economically stable husband to provide for them. The decrease in family structure quickly began to affect opportunity inequality among individuals. Those children with “neo-traditional” marriages are more like to receive a college degree rather than those without. Having a lower-income family reduces educational opportunities children have. While a child from a two-income family may attend a private school with resources that assist them in getting into ivy league schools, a kid from a single parent family may have to attend a public school where there is not even access to a computer lab or extracurricular activities. The lack of education these kids have contributes to their lack of opportunity to receive a college degree. Normally, a college degree allows individuals to receive a higher income than those who just have a high-school diploma. They simply are not exposed to the resources to succeed. This contributes to the inequality of opportunity, and ultimately, the inequality of income. Not only does the structure of family affect the outcome of children, but also the style of
As cliché as it sounds, it is true that many African American students come from very harsh and poverty stricken environments. They tend to go to under resourced schools as well that do not provide the proper knowledge for them to further their education. And even worse, these schools tend to be segregated since they are usually in the harsher parts of a neighborhood. Sadly, it’s the segregated schools are one of the main reasons why black students decide not to go on to pursue a higher education. According to "The Way Out of the Black Poverty Cycle", a black student that attends an integrated suburban school is six times more likely to graduate compared to a segregated under resourced school. An African Americans family structure and the opinions of family members affects if their decision to further their education as well. Many African American children grow up un...
Jonathan Kozol, an award winning writer, wrote the essay “Still separate, Still Equal” that focuses on primary and secondary school children from minority families that are living in poverty. There is a misconception in this modern age that historical events in the past have now almost abolished discrimination and segregation for the most part; however, “schools that were already deeply segregated
"Growing Income Inequality and the Education Gap." Economist's View. N.p., 8 May 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
The parents as the role models for their children that means many children will do what their parents mostly do, hence, is really important that the parents teaching their child. However, the research find out that the parents with higher socioeconomic states are more involved in their kids’ schooling (Chu et all, 1996) The reason seems obvious to me due to the importance of parents’ education, if the parents having more school, than parents could be like a ‘coach’ for their kids, that parents could guide the road of succeed. Also, the parents with higher education might provide a favorable environment since is easier to get a steady job with higher education. According to Kean, (2005), the parents with higher education have positive influence on children’s outcome, cause the majority of parents who are very educated might influence their kids though beliefs and behaviors, that will lead children and youth to a positive outcome (Kean, 2005). Parents’ educations have an influence on children in many different ways, although the parents’ expectation can affect children as well. Kean illustrated if parents expect high achievement, then it predicts better chance for achievement for their children (Kean, 2005). Moreover, sometimes parents’ expectation showed how
To many, the Unites States serves as the ideal model of democracy for the modern world. Yet, how truly worthy is America of this status? Although it has been said that, “Equality is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie,” one must be extremely critical when analyzing such a statement. By taking a historical perspective to the question of how “equal” American equality actually is, it is simple to recognize how problematic the “Land of the Free” mentality can be. The early America’s most prominent thinkers have been sensationalized and given credit for developing a free and equal system. However, one can recognize that their manner of thinking was far from this idea of “all men are created equal” by critical examination of their literature.
Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most importantly, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students. School funding is systemically unequal, partially because the majority of school funding comes from the school district’s local property taxes, positioning the poorest communities at the bottom rung of the education playing field. A student’s socioeconomic status often defines her success in a classroom for a number of reasons.
Under American law everyone is considered equal, the term equal refers to the many different ways people are treated the same in American society; even if they are not truly equal with each other. Everyone ranges from being poor to rich; they also range in
All people deserve the right of education equality no matter gender, race or financial income. According to the daily star, by 2015 only seventy percent of countries will have achieved equality between the sexes in primary education and fifty six percent will have achieved equality in lower secondary education. Education equality is one of the main problems in school systems.
There are many different factors that affect education. One such factor is, socioeconomic status. Children who attend school in a wealthier community receive a better education than those students in poor communities. In poor communities, student’s education is not only affected by a lack of resources, but also from teaching methods and philosophies. Urban and poor schools’ students do not receive as equal of an education as their more affluent and suburban counterparts do.
Equal treatment in society and under the law is the first step to equality in the United States, and then the rest of the world. Our country always seems to rise to the occasion when freedom and liberty are challenged, and this nation’s people pride themselves on that fact. So why shouldn’t the United States lead by shining example in the fight for equality? The equal treatment of all people is one of the largest steps society can make in the fight for equality, but that, of course, is not