I grew up in a small South Texas border city, Laredo. In Laredo, most individuals, including myself, spoke Spanish as a first language, and gradually learned to speak, read, and write English in grade school. Another characteristic of Laredo was the distinction between families who were well off and those who were not, but there was never really an “in-between.” After attending private catholic school for 10 years, pre-kinder through eighth grade, my parents decided it was time for a change. My public high school, John B. Alexander, was a rather large school with each class averaging around 700 students. It was quite a change compared to my eighth grade graduating class of 48 students, but I was both ready and anxious for that change.
Alexander had a rigorous Health Science Magnet program that admitted around 120 students each year, and I was one of them. Students in this program were admitted based on an achievement test given the summer prior to their freshman year in school. If admitted, all students in the program were required to take only Pre-AP and AP classes throughout their 4 years in school. Outside of the program there were AP, Pre-AP, GT, regular, and remedial classes that were readily available to any other students. There were always those students who spoke in the hallways about the kids in “regular” classes who were “too dumb” to be put in Pre-AP or GT. Or those stuck in remedial classes because they didn’t pass their TAKS test requirements. But there were other students too, including some of my best friends. They were the ones who had the capability of succeeding in an AP course, yet they were put in regular classes. I never had any problems with this process since my status in the magnet program automatically ...
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... 66.2 (2004): 267-280. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Kilgore, Sally B. "The Organizational Context of Tracking in Schools." American Sociological Review 56.2 (1991): 189-203. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
LeTendre, Gerald K., Barbara K. Hofer, and Hidetada Shimizu. "What is Tracking? Cultural Expectations in the United States, Germany, and Japan." American Education Research Journal 40.1 (2003): 43-89. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Noble, John, and Peter Davies. "Cultural Capital as an Explanation of Variation in Participation in Higher Education." British Journal of Sociology of Education 30.5 (2009): 591-605. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Ream, Robert K., and Gregory J. Palardy. "Reexamining Social Class Differences in the Availability and the Educational Utility of Parental Social Capital." American Educational Research Journal 45.2 (2008): 238-273. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
In Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring, Angela Valenzuela investigates immigrant and Mexican American experiences in education. Valenzuela mentions differences in high schools between U.S born youth and immigrants such as how immigrants she interviewed seemed to achieve in school as they feel privileged to achieve secondary education. However, she found that her study provided evidence of student failure due to schools subtracting resources from these youths. Both are plagued by stereotypes of lacking intellectual and linguistic traits along with the fear of losing their culture. As a Mexican American with many family members who immigrated to the U.S to pursue a higher education, I have experience with Valenzuela’s
Rolf de Herr’s 2002 film The Tracker represented some human beings in the past who have been extremely naïve, barbarous, and bigoted when it came to dealing with Indigenous Australians. This film portrayed white racism in the characters of the Fanatic, the Veteran, and at first the Recruit until he becomes stronger and eventually changes his demeanor towards the Aboriginal people. Even though the Tracker experiences immense hardship throughout the movie he was always two steps ahead of his bosses since he was very familiar with the land and was also able to outsmart his superior officers. The Tracker is a gloomy film which presents the dark past of Australia that must never be forgotten.
Lareau also reported that many working class and poor parents feel that educators hold the expertise, and usually fear doing the “wrong thing” in school-related matters (Lareau 357). What this usually leads to is trying to maintain a separation between school and home (Lareau 358). Working class and poor parents typically are deferential while middle class parents can be demanding toward school personnel (Lareau 358). More educators want poor and working class parents to be more assertive (Lareau 358). “Put differently, they wish these parents would engage in forms of concerted cultivation” (Lareau 358).
According to Everett (2015) students who have college-educated parents are at an advantage when it comes to enrolling in and finishing college (p.53). She also mentioned that this presumption was established on a concept that was acknowledged as social capital. Social capital, as defined by the author, is “the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation” (Everett, 2015, p. 53).
Secondary education is a highly debated subject. Many critics of secondary education say that inner-city high schools and students are not receiving the same attention as students from non inner-city high schools. Two of the biggest concerns are the lack of school funding that inner-city high schools are receive and the low success rate in sending inner-city high schools graduates to college. Critics say that while inner-city high schools struggle to pay its teachers and educate its student’s non inner-city high schools don’t have to deal with the lack of school funding. Also students from non inner-city high school are not being given the opportunity to attend colleges once the students graduate. But opponents of these critics blame an entirely different issue; and that is illegal immigrant students over crowding and attending high school at the expense of taxpayers. It cost millions of dollars a year for illegal immigrant students to attend high school and this is the main reason why schools are experiencing budget problems. Teaching illegal immigrant students creates a difficult learning environment and that is why students in inner-city high schools are not moving on to a higher education. This paper will explore the controversy and issues of secondary education; it will expose the hidden truths and prove that illegal immigrants are taking a toll on the education system.
Social capital theory is grounded in an understanding of both social and family investment is what plays a role in preventing adverse outcomes (Wright, Cullen, and Miller, 2001). The interpersonal nature, the social activity is the element that moves the children along a scale with the time invested by parents, the development of emotional bonds, and the message of expectation and boundaries. Moral beliefs, the time devoted to study, and good grades while adversely affecting the involvement with delinquent activities. Children look for positive interaction and will avoid threats of negativity when surrounded positive social impact.
Valenzuela utilizes various compilations of research to construct her exceptional argument regarding the issue of subtractive schooling with regards to 2nd generational immigrant students. She thoroughly analyzes and assesses the multitude of differences between 1st generation and 2nd generation students and their affinity for education. She divides the topic into 3 categories and asserts how each one adds to the issue of inadequate education for Mexican/Mexican-American students in the US public school system. Her research is conducted at Seguin (pseudonym) High School in Houston, Texas. She examines the effects of substandard education in regards to the students and their academic performance. She uses quantitative and qualitative research
Hispanics will represent more than one-quarter of school-age children in the United States by 2025. These children are more likely than others to be educationally and economically disadvantaged. Presently, 36 percent of Hispanic students live in families whose income is below the poverty line. As a result, Hispanic students are concentrated in high-poverty, largely racially isolated schools, and they often have limited access to the resources needed for academic success, such as highly qualified teachers, small classes, 21st century technology, and modern school buildings.
Putnam, Robert D., Carl B. Frederick, and Kaisa Snellman. "Growing Class Gaps in Social Connectedness among American Youth." Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 May 2014.
In an essay, Anne Wheelock, a prominent education critic writes, “Tracking does not result in the equal and equitable distribution of effective schooling among all students. Instead, tracking allocates the most valuable school experiences -- including challenging and meaningful curriculum, engaging instruction, and high teacher expectations -- to students who already have the greatest academic, economic, and social advantages…” This having been said, I found my high school experiences to be much different than that.
Class is something that is often defined by ones income, job, and family background, the area in which they live or indeed the schools or universities they have chosen to attended. This criteria is used to label people as a certain class and is something that can be seen in education through the likes of theories such as cultural capital. In this essay I am going to compare and contrast differences between middle and working class experiences of education focusing on two main theories; Cultural capital and social reproduction. I am going to concentrate upon the primary sector in oppose to secondary or higher education due to the fact I believe that primary school is where most children develop their personalities which they carry with them in further life and it is their first academic experience; therefore it is where social class first becomes clearly noticeable. In relation to these theories I am going to research into the argument that parents have a strong influence on their child’s education from this young age.
Stull, Judith C. (2013). Family socioeconomic status, parent expectations, and a child's achievement, Research in Education. Volume 90, pages 53-67.
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement of a combination of education, income and occupation (American Psychological Association, 2014). It is more commonly known as class standing. There is a drastic difference in lifestyle between class standings. In today’s economy it has become more evident just how different the classes are. Lower levels of SES do not have access to good schools, or decent health care leading to a worse quality of life. Higher levels of SES have access to more resources and tend to allow for children to develop self-esteem, optimism, and perceived control (American Psychological Association, 2014). The traditional family with two parents, the father works, and the mother stays more is almost nonexistent. Households where the man works and the woman stays at home only represent 7% of the U.S. population (Malone, Stewart, Wilson & Korsching, 2010). It has become increasingly more difficult to live on one income especially with children. With ...
Pierre B (1961) Culture Capital Cited, Taylor P ; Richardson Jr John; Yeo, A, (1995), The class structure and educational attainment, Sociology in Focus, pp.297, Ormskirk, Causeway Press.
association, and parental involvement: The influence of school-and individual-level factors on academic achievement. Education and Urban Society 2008 40, 199-204