Education, Opportunity, and the Power of Social Classes
Education is a requirement in the United States, every child goes to school and every child receives an education to a point, whether it be a high school diploma, a GED, or a PhD. We are all given opportunity for a free public education until we are 18 years old. So every child should have the same chances as each other of succeeding in life if we all are on the same start line. In the articles written by Jean Anyon, Jonathan Kozol, and Gregory Mantsios we can see that this is not true. The relationships between social classes, education opportunity, and a individuals up bringing are identified. We are told that no child will be left behind, that all children have equal chances of being successful as an adult, but is that really true in our society?
In Jonathan Kozol’s article, Still Separate, Still Unequal, he states that segregation is still present in today’s schools. Not in the sense that the government requires black and white children to be in separate facilities, but in the fact that black children come from different socioeconomic backgrounds than white children causing them to live in separate areas, go to separate schools, and get a eduction that differs in quality. While visiting a few inner city minority schools, Kozol came across a classroom where the mission statement which states values and priorities of the school is “to develop productive citizens” (Kozol 466). There was a signal that the teacher would give to the classroom, and the students would repeat the signal back to the teacher. The teacher turned and looked at Kozol and said “I can do this with my dog.” (Kozol 466). Kozol and Anyon have the same opinion on what curriculum quality is like in differ...
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...that our schools are still segregated, but not because of social issues, because of economic issues. Anyon has the same view on how economic class of families affects where their children go to school. Mantsios would point out that because of where children are going to school and how well they are educated, the socioeconomic classes are staying constant and no one is climbing the ladder. All of these author’s opinions build on each other to explain the situation that our nation is in socially and economically. Some one may have a different opinion on what state our education system is in and how wealth is distributed among the United States, but no one can dispute the fact that no individual in our nation has an equal opportunity to be successful as any other person. Everyone has a past and everyone has a future, but it just so happens that one depends on the other.
Catlin (1992) reports that many different media have been used to isolate G. vaginalis from clinical specimens. The most successful media pos...
I will be analyzing the essay “Class in America --2012”. The topic of this essay is talking about does it matter what your social and economical standings are, and do they play a role in if you succeed in life. I personally agree with this. If someone is hard working and willing to do the job then I feel that they can be successful. Their background, race, and social and economical standings don’t justify everything that they are. Mantsios effectively communicates the phenomenon of stereotyping certain races, genders, and social classes will be more successful than others in America.
In his speech, Obama says,” Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven 't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today 's black and white students.” Obama is saying that because of the effects of separation in the past, it still affects children. By having parents who have little interest in an education since they did not receive one. Lindsey Cook, a writer for U.S News, says “Black parents, most of whom are less educated than their white counterparts, don’t expect their children to attain as much education as white parents expect. Lower expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies, contributing to lower expectations from the student, less-positive attitudes toward school, fewer out-of-school learning opportunities and less parent-child communication about school.” This shows that because of 50 years ago, by having parents who did not receive a good education, are more likely to not provide their children a good education. The article Cook wrote continues to show how black students do poorer in all aspects than their white counterparts. With these issues since childhood, it is harder for blacks to get into a top college and a high paying job. Therefore there is a need to
Education holds power over determining one’s class. Knowledge and refinement can set one individual apart from another who lacks the qualities of successful individuals. Finances and opportunities distinguish class meaning the lower class has difficulty in obtaining the same conditions of the upper class. Education ultimately dictates success and power in society. Education is taken for granted and should be recognized for the significance it possesses.
The essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal”, by Jonathan Kozol, discusses the reality of inner-city public school systems, and the isolation and segregation of inequality that students are subjected to; as a result, to receive an education. Throughout the essay, Kozol proves evidence of the inequality that African American and Hispanic children face in the current school systems.
The fishy odor associated with bacterial vaginosis is the product of amines from anaerobic (Hainer & Gibson, 2011). The odor associated with bacterial vaginosis is more prominent when there is an increase in vaginal pH, which mostly occurs after sexual intercourse when semen is present in the vagina, as well as during menstrual cycle (Hainer & Gibson, 2011). In comparison to many other vaginal infections, bacterial vaginosis is not associated with inflammation of the vaginal mucosal and/or vulvar itch (Hainer & Gibson, 2011).
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
In Jonathan Kozol’s essay titled, “From Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid,” Kozol touches on how racial segregation has not disappeared in big cities’ urban public school systems. In this essay we can see how both types of judgements; racial and academic come together to form a stereotype about intellectual success in our current educational system. On the other hand, he brings to our attention that it is the American citizen’s common belief that racial segregation in public schools doesn’t exist anymore. In Kozol’s work he discusses various schools in major cities he has visited and offers the reader personal anecdotes from interviews with students. One quote from a student that I found remarkably interesting is “we do not have the things you have. You have clean things. We do not have. You have a clean bathroom. We do not have that. You have Parks and we do not have Parks. You have all the thing and we do not have all the thing. Can you help us?” (Kozol). This little girl is begging and reaching out to a white man because she thinks that he can help her. I am curious as to why she thinks that white schools have more than children at her school and if this is from first hand experience or from hearing from others. Does she think this way because her school demographics are composed mostly of one race? More importantly, I hope that someone did not teach her to think that
The United States is the land of opportunity but we will most likely never reach social equality, which will always be a problem for people in the lower classes. I do think it is harder for children in the lower classes to succeed in school since they have to learn how to blend in with the middle class and the social norms of the middle class on top of getting their diploma or degree. I believe Jay MacLeod did a great job in explaining his theories with his research findings. My views on reaching success in life are very traditional, but
In the essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal” by Jonathan Kozol, the situation of racial segregation is refurbished with the author’s beliefs that minorities (i.e. African Americans or Hispanics) are being placed in poor conditions while the Caucasian majority is obtaining mi32 the funding. Given this, the author speaks out on a personal viewpoint, coupled with self-gathered statistics, to present a heartfelt argument that statistics give credibility to. Jonathan Kozol is asking for a change in this harmful isolation of students, which would incorporate more funding towards these underdeveloped schools. This calling is directed towards his audience of individuals who are interested in the topic of public education (seeing that this selection is from one of his many novels that focus on education) as well as an understanding of the “Brown v. Board of Education” (1954) case, which ties in to many aspects of the author’s essay. With the application of exemplum, statistics, and emotional appeals, Jonathan Kozol presents a well developed argument.
Some people may believe that education all over the United States is equal. These people also believe that all students no matter their location, socioeconomic status, and race have the same access and quality of education, but ultimately they are wrong. Throughout history, there has been a huge educational disparity between the wealthy and marginalized communities. The academic essay “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Jean Anyon, an American critical thinker and researcher in education, conveys that depending on the different economic backgrounds students have, they will be taught in a specific way. He reveals that the lower economic background a child has then the lower quality their education will be and the higher their economic background is the higher quality their education is. Anyon’s theory of a social ladder is extremely useful because it sheds light on the
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems with schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school system or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement.
Before entering into defense of the argument, it is important to communicate that the current situation is one which demands reform. It must be understood that the state of the public school system is not simply confined to the domain of education but is instead very much interrelated with the distribution of wealth. The current opportunity gap-which affords those who are middle and upper class greater access to higher quality education-is the cause of the inequality seen in the distribution of income. “Children born into the top fifth of the income distribution have about twice as much of a chance of becoming middle class or better in their adult years as those born into the bottom fifth (Isaacs, Sawhill, & Haskins, 2008)”.
This should be independent of one’s parents’ education. This issue is more pervasive and destructive than many think. It could also be said that “Today, the proficiency gap between the poor and the rich is nearly twice as large as that between black and white children” (Porter). The education of African-Americans before desegregation, and even in some cases after, was so inferior to what was received by white students. If the poor are two times further behind in education than the African-americans were, then this issue is extremely discriminatory and something that must be reconciled as soon as possible. This piece of evidence really struck a chord with me because it related today’s education system to something that was an atrocity and received ample backlash. It really put into perspective the extent to which there is an education breach, and how instead of black vs. white, it is now rich vs. poor. The education that disadvantaged children receive is so lacking, that, “Even the best performers from disadvantaged backgrounds, who enter kindergarten reading as well as the smartest rich kids, fall behind over the course of their schooling” (Porter). The U.S. education system is blatantly failing to serve the children from a disadvantaged background. They can come in with an advantage over the rich,
The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Many sociologists have tried to explore the link between social class and educational achievement, measuring the effects of one element upon the other. In order to maintain a definite correlation between the two, there are a number of views, explanations, social statistics and perspectives which must be taken into account. The initial idea would be to define the key terms which are associated with how "social class" affects "educational achievement." "Social class" is the identity of people, according to the work they do and the community in which they live in. "Educational achievement" is the tendency for some groups to do better or worse in terms of educational success.