Fundamental Ideals of Education

Introduction

Thomas Jefferson once believed in the pursuit of happiness, but is today’s educational system taking away that pursuit from some of its students? It appears like it is especially for minority children living in urban areas, such as New York City. The inequality in the educational system has a long history, racing back to early centuries against poor, urban, immigrant children. After years of reform and improvement even in today’s society the distinction between the education that a poor child receives and the education that a child from a middle class family is clearly drawn. Horace Mann, a pioneer of the educational system once stated that education "knows no distinction of rich and poor, of bond and free, or between those who, in the imperfect light of this world, are seeking, through different avenues, to reach the gate of heaven” (Osgood, 1997, p. 376). Mann wanted a unified school system were everyone impoverished or rich could have an equal education. But as we have grown to know these distinctions are clearly made, creating a bridge between the educations of lower and middle class children. The isolation of the poor to urban areas showcases the huge gap between the poor and wealthy more clearly than ever in today’s cities areas like New York City. Equal education in today’s world is nothing but a dream, unless reform takes place and people come together and accept that change must be created in order to improve today’s society.

Education of Poor Urban Children and Early Immigrant

During the early 19th century when education was gaining its importance, Mann saw that the only way to improve the lives of its citizens was through an educational reform (Osgood, 1997, p. 375). There were many changes during the ...

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...ut also the curriculum and its administrators. One of the largest gaps in test scores are between does who are English proficient and those who are not, (USDE, 2013, p.8), these children that are coming from another country are not receiving the same opportunities compared to the other students. The gap between children coming from a low- income household and does who do not have low- income is right behind (USDE, 2013, p.8). There is hope that through the plans that this program students will receive “effective teachers” through a different evaluation system (USDE, 2013, p.13-14) in the subjects of Math and Sciences, who are committed to their students ability to learn and think critically. Is this plan does achieve its goals low poverty, low achieving schools will succeed and so will the children, and the gap between the poor and the rich will come to a closing.