Introduction The theme of the research is to discover why there is such a vast educational gap between minority and Caucasian students. Many American are unaware that such an educational gap actually exists among today’s students. This article informs us of alarming statics, such as of African American students representing a majority of the special education population, despite only making up roughly 40% of the student population. It also breaks down key events that contributed to the poor education that minority children are currently receiving. For example, in the past, it was illegal to educate African Americans and when it became legal to blacks were treated as second class students. They were segregated from their white counter parts and given hand-me-down textbooks. This article also discusses others factors that contributed to the poor education of minority students such as moral principles, socio-political, and economic stat. Despite the amount of time that has past, today’s schools are similar to the past. Minority children are still in second-rate learning environments while white students enjoy the comforts of first class school buildings and textbooks. In summary, the theme of this article was to bring attention to the educational gap among African-American, Latino, Asian, and other non-white students. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...vironments then blacks. Minority students are being over represented in special education programs. As an African American, I will need to prepare myself for my future as an educator. When I become a teacher, I may encounter a student that has difficulties keeping up with his peers. I need to know whether this student is a slow learner or a victim of the achievement gap. This research has taught me abo¬ut the factors that have disproportionately affected African-American, Latino, Asian, and other non-white students. I will use this information to contribute to both my future research and career. Works Cited "Stakes Is High": Educating New Century Students Author(s): Gloria Ladson-Billings Source: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 82, No. 2, The 33rd Annual Charles H. Thompson Lecture"Stakes is High": Educating New Century Students (Spring 2013), pp. 105- 110
Among the predominant explanations offered for the existence of disproportionate ethnic representation in special education is the influence of poverty or socioeconomic disadvantage on the academic readiness of minority students. The National Research Council (NRC) reported on research that was conducted and concluded with a “definitive yes” that there are “biological and social/contextual contributors to early development that differ by race and that leave students differentially prepared to meet the cognitive and behavioral demands of schooling” (Skiba, et al. 131). The NRC suggested that the effects of a number of biological and social factors could be included under the broader heading of poverty. The relationship between disproportionality and poverty
In conclusion, the Academic Achievement has been fueled by society's presets, minority students' lack of effort, and the failures of the schooling system in America. There has been some challenging setbacks, but the Gap can be fixed to create a common ground for all prospective members of America's society to excel on equally. By realizing that change can be achieved, there are little to no limits for minority students to create a better mindset towards education. Students, parents, and teachers have to be willing to work together, as well as tackle obstacles upheld by society, and the economic deficiencies that effect schools across America. This will, in turn, take America one step closer to closing the Academic Achievement Gap in America.
It is widely known that racial and gender discrimination appeared from an early time which is still influence today’s society. The term Black American is used rather than African American because many Caribbeans and Africans identify themselves by their country of origin or use the term Black, and the federal government, along with Whites, will classify them as Blacks (ATWATER,1999). The first black president appearance is a great change for the racial discrimination which be expected to change the status of the black. For the education in America, the black children always face to the tough situation. These Black American children now enter school with various language genres, patterns of behavior, motivations, attitudes, and expectations that are either unacknowledged or seen as developmentally deficit by their science teachers. If they are considered developmentally deficient, then teachers feel like the students must be remediated before science learning can begin (Figueroa & Garcia, 1994). This remediation usually includes helping Black American students “to become ‘successful’ in terms of a traditional white, male, heterosexual, and middle class conceptualization of success” (Powell, 1997, p. 14).In a long period, the black is considered as the representative of poverty and slow-witted. On average, Black American students understand the four basic mathematical operations, can compare
Achievement First is a charter management organization (CMO) that operates 17 schools from the elementary to the high school level in New York and Connecticut. Achievement First works to close the black-white student achievement gap by providing a high quality education to students in low-performing urban districts, having started initially with Amistad Academy in New Haven and moved into Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and New York City. Achievement First has been recognized for its impressive results – with two K-8 schools reaching the top four percent among New York City schools on the Department of Education’s Progress Reports in 2008 and with Achievement First’s flagship middle school scoring at the top of the region in reading and writing. They do this by setting high expectations and ambitious goals with a challenging curriculum, developing teachers and school leaders, focusing on data, increasing the length of the school day, and creating a strong school culture. Like other CMOs, a huge challenge for Achievement First is scalability – specifically, recruiting and developing effective leaders and teachers.
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 of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school 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. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most important, 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.
Harry, Beth (1994, August 1). The Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students in Special Education: Theories and Recommendations. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov:80/PDFS/ED-374637.pdf.
Meanwhile, as the pressure of schools losing their students due to dropout, it is important that the inner city students have the support they need in school or at home, because many years of oppression have kept African-Americans from having the will to do better. Now young African-Americans have that same oppressed feeling in the schools that they are attending. When the students give up it seems as though everyone around them wants to give up. In fact, “In many parts of the country, the problems present withi...
...e and prepared for college work. For a student in a black that is majority black and under resourced is highly unlikely to receive an education and graduate on time and won’t be college ready. Unfortunately this scenario happens way too often. Lots of black students do not receive the knowledge that they need to further their education in college and many students that do try to further their education do not end up finishing. Because they missed out on so much information they have a very difficult time doing their work and get the feeling that they need to drop out. It is unfortunate that today, not all students can receive a good education and have a chance a furthering their education and becoming successful. This is why it is necessary that the education system change immediately so that all students can receive an equal opportunity to further their education.
Diversity among students including differences in culture, language and socioeconomic stance is not a new trend. The difference, however, is that today, the school system realizes that all students, including those who differ in some way from the "average" student, or those “at-risk” must be provided with an equal, opportune education (Morris, 1991).
Furthermore, Chapter 15 begins to explain educational inequality. In the United States, education is available but not to every child in the same way. Different social-classes means different schools, instructions, criteria, rates, and times. In addition to class differences, races and ethnics unfortunately play a role in educational achievement. For example, in general, African Americans, Latino/a’s, and Native Americans usually do worse in school than white or Asian American students
In conclusion, African American children face unwanted obstacles that prevent them from getting the equal education opportunities that they deserve. These children face problems everyday regarding crime, poverty and the school system not providing the right supplies for them to become effective members of their communities. When these children grow up in the high-poverty areas, they are already being set up as a failure. The time for equal education opportunities may not come due to the lack of funding, poverty levels and the way they are looked at through societies eyes. It is up to the black community to fix what they need to succeed.
The American society, more so, the victims and the government have assumed that racism in education is an obvious issue and no lasting solution that can curb the habit. On the contrary, this is a matter of concern in the modern era that attracts the concern of the government and the victims of African-Americans. Considering that all humans deserve the right to equal education. Again, the point here that there is racial discrimination in education in Baltimore, and it should interest those affected such as the African Americans as well as the interested bodies responsible for the delivery of equitable education, as well as the government. Beyond this limited audience, on the other hand, the argument should address any individual in the society concerned about racism in education in Baltimore and the American Society in
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that Black students continue to trail White students with respect to educational access, achievement and attainment. Research on the effectiveness of teachers of Black students emphasizes that the teachers’ belief about the Black students’ potential greatly impacts their learning. Teachers tend to teach black students from a deficit perspective (King, 1994; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Mitchell, 1998). White teachers often aim at compensating for what they assume is missing from a Black student’s background (Foorman, Francis & Fletcher, 1998). The deficit model of instruction attempts to force students into the existing system of teaching and learning and doesn’t build on strengths of cultural characteristics or preferences in learning (Lewis, Hancock...
Our education system is flawed, structural inequality is embedded within schools, individual with intersecting identities are deeply marginalized. People of color are affected by the operation of interrelated domains of power. Education system is a site where oppression occurs. In this essay, I will discuss my lived experiences focusing on two themes: educational injustice, and the role of intersections of gender, race, and class.
During the late 1960’s, America had entered into a period of cultural definition especially with the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Although the term “multicultural education” had not come into play yet, the idea that the U.S needed to reexamine their efforts of educating diverse groups was emerging. During this time inequality especially among minority groups in comparison to the white dominant culture became a social issue (Banks 1999). Before the arrival of this reform multicultural education was displayed in the classroom as having minorities adapt to the predominant culture. Teachers during this time felt it would be more beneficial for minorities to adapt. However, many parents of these minorities begin to argue that the cultural difference must be a present force in the classroom as well and so this as their civil rights as being denied.