Imagine going to school one day, and you find out that your teacher is being laid off because the school can not afford to keep them. Your school has decided to triple the amount of students in one class. Urban education has been impacted tremendously by insufficient funding, and overcrowding schools. Urban schools are insufficiently funded causing, smaller amounts of teaching staff, outdated supplies, and poor building conditions. Urban schools are also overcrowded, which causes stressful working conditions and negative effects on classroom activities.
Schools, especially those in poverty stricken areas, are at an impasse as their improvements are stifled by the unfair expectations of government and higher society. I am here to talk to you today about this vicious cycle of accountability and the effects it has on those who are never given the chance to reach their potential. For those of us who can look back on our years in public schools and remember a quality education that led to future successes, let this be a reminder that we are incredibly lucky. Across our nation, hidden both in pockets of poverty often overlooked and in areas of prosperity with improper funding allocation, there are schools which struggle to provide the quality of education children deserve in this day and age. There are teachers who are passionate about passing on knowledge but who cannot provide it due to obstacles in the classroom.
Time for Teachers to Take Responsibility Identifying the problem. In today's society, many factors contribute to the academic failure in urban education. As time passes, however, schools and teachers are placing more blame upon the students for lack of potential, discipline, and motivation to learn. In reality, however, this scapegoat allows many teachers' to relinquish any responsibility for their students' not learning. Many students in urban schools live in poverty, have learning disabilities, or come from bilingual backgrounds where English is not their native language.
Many of these schools exist within educational systems that lack sufficient resources and quality educators to ensure their educational needs are met. We also tell ourselves that the United States cannot or may never completely successfully resolve the issues with our education system but we are be able to continue to endeavors. Urban student themselves need to make a stance on their education in order to have better futures. Furthermore, educational attainment is related to the availability of opportunities, as well as the academic abilities, financial resources, and persistence of the individual. Urban students’ face numerous challenges, for many of urban students come from neighbors or communities surrounded with alcohol, drug, sex, continuous violence, and poverty.
Much of the debate falls around school funding and how much schools are given to operate. Many urban schools are not being given enough money to educate its students, pay its teachers, buy new books, and afford technology that could be used in the classroom in order to educate its students. Though funding plays an important role in education another issue that urban schools are facing is prejudice from teacher towards minority and lower income students; students who fit description are often thought of as worthless because either they are receiving low test scores, can not speak English well, create trouble in the classroom or they are simply thought of as futile. While minorities fall under prejudice, illegal immigrant students are being attacked because they are attending public schools at the expense of tax payers. Illegal immigrants are being blamed for much of reasons that schools are finding themselves in the red when it comes to school funding; simply illegal immigrants are breaking the piggy bank and leaving schools in the hole as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) puts it.
Youth violence had once been thought to be an urban public school problem; a consequence of poverty and family dysfunction, but stable suburban and rural communities are now also experiencing it, as are private schools. While early intervention is absolutely necessary to help prevent violence, I believe all school operations and staff must be directly involved to effectively reduce the crime. There is sometimes a contradiction between school policies and practice. Many districts and schools have comprehensive regulations for dealing with violence, but enforcement may be uneven or lax. This creates a situation where teachers do not feel supported when they impose discipline, students do not feel protected, and the violence- prone think they will not be punished.
Some of the salient points of the NCLB are the way in which the act is presented and handled. NCLB approach has a set standard for managing schools that are progressing poorly with education. The inferences for the results seem like they are very incomplete and only hurting the student during the reforming of the failure. John points out the invaluable time spent on teaching to the test, therefore we are not teaching the right educational information to the students. Another problem of negative issues outweighing the positive issues is quite a turning point of discussion for the reform of the act.
I have learned, in the course of research on the leadership problems of big-city school districts, that superintendents also need to downplay problems. They put a bright face on negative circumstances out of fear that creating a crisis may lower public confidence or discourage potential successors. Superintendents are always ready to tell about "neat things" their districts are doing to turn around troubled schools, develop the skills of deficient teachers, and reduce the achievement gap between poor and middle-class children. But when pressed they tell a different story. When asked whether the "neat things" are likely to make a big difference, many say no.
In average, we should have six-hundred to eight-hundred students in each school. Nevertheless, some schools now have over one-thousand students, which make it very difficult inside the class room. In a big city like Raleigh the number of students is very large, and that leads to so many problems like making around year school, which have a negative impact on the students. Students will be able to understand more when there are fewer numbers inside the class room. Finally, hire more qualified teachers; education is very important part of our lives, we should be careful of how we choose teachers.
There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial reasons to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and further teacher education, urban schools can be transformed and be better equipped to prepare their students for the global stage.