Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Inequality in education
Socio economic status and academic achievement
Poverty affects education differences between wealthy people's education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Inequality in education
Imagine a private or a public high school in a rich or middle class area: the halls are crowded with students rushing to get to class. You hear the banging of their lockers being closed and people rushing to get to class. The bell rings to get to first period in the morning. Fred a high school senior is rushing to get to his Advance Placement Biology class on time for a lab. When he walks in he sees the dissection plates, beakers, scalpels out ready for a frog dissection. Now imagine the same picture and setting except that the school is a high school in a low-income area. Picture Fred in the low-income high school walking into his science class and not having a book or resources he needs in order to properly learn the material and do the dissection. You may think that the education and teaching is the same in a low-income area and wealthy or middle class area. This is not necessarily true. According to the New York Times, It is a well- known fact that children from affluent families tend to do better in school (New York Times 1). If students that are in affluent families getting a better education, we need to help low-income families get access to better education. Education in low -income communities is a social injustice because it disadvantages low -income students by not providing them with the same educational opportunities as a student that lives in a rich or middle class area.
Students in low-income areas do not have the classes, resources or teachers to give them the best possible education necessary to prepare them for college. Education is a disadvantage for low- income students because they do not have access to quality education as a wealthier person.
The educational gap between the wealthy and the low-income ...
... middle of paper ...
...eir actions. They should be able to support low-income students to the same standards as the wealthy or the elite schools. Also low income schools should work on programs that will help the students get to the level they need in order to graduate. Also the district should create a program that make sure that the low income students get equal opportunity to the resources and tools they need to have a good education. So people like Fred in the low-income area can be provided the Advance Placement courses, the books and the instruments they need to thrive.
It is a pivotal role that our low-income schools are provided all the resources that are possible to be able to compete with students in the private, middle class and the elite schools. We need to help low income students strive and prepare them to graduate and pursue higher education in college.
Savage Inequalities, written by Jonathan Kozol, shows his two-year investigation into the neighborhoods and schools of the privileged and disadvantaged. Kozol shows disparities in educational expenditures between suburban and urban schools. He also shows how this matter affects children that have few or no books at all and are located in bad neighborhoods. You can draw conclusions about the urban schools in comparison to the suburban ones and it would be completely correct. The differences between a quality education and different races are analyzed. Kozol even goes as far as suggesting that suburban schools have better use for their money because the children's futures are more secure in a suburban setting. He thinks that each child should receive as much as they need in order to be equal with everyone else. If children in Detroit have greater needs than a student in Ann Arbor, then the students in Detroit should receive a greater amount of money.
Both of these options give well-to-do children access to a far better learning experience. One conclusion that can be drawn from all of this is that children of impecunious families are undoubtedly at an educational disadvantage to begin with. Because of the pervasive toward those with low incomes, low-income schools expect less from their students. People tend to live up to the standards set for them, and since they are expected
In Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol describes the conditions of several of America's public schools. Kozol visited schools in neighborhoods and found that there was a wide disparity in the conditions between the schools in the poorest inner-city communities and schools in the wealthier suburban communities. How can there be such huge differences within the public school system of a country, which claims to provide equal opportunity for all? It becomes obvious to Kozol that many poor children begin their young lives with an education that is far inferior to that of the children who grow up in wealthier communities. Savage Inequalities provides strong evidence of the national oppression that is endemic in the American system. Focusing on the discrepancy in resources between schools that are predominantly Black or Latino (usually inner city) and schools that are predominantly white (usually suburban), Kozol provides case studies and statistics to show some kids are given every opportunity to succeed while others (oppressed nations) are set up to fail.
Low income students are generally found in low income communities which have fewer resources to devote to their schools. With inadequate funds and resources, these kids are not getting the equal opportunity in education as kids in high income communities. Kids...
Savage Inequalities written by Jonathan Kozol allows individuals to understand the conditions of several public schools in America. Kozol visited many school in approximately thirty neighborhoods between the years of 1988 and 1990. During his visits he found that there was a wide difference in the conditions between the schools in poor internal city communities and schools in the wealthier communities. It becomes clear that there is a huge contrast within the public school system of a country which claims to provide equal opportunity for all. Many children in wealthier communities begin their lives with an education that is far more advanced than children in poor communities. Therefore the lack in equal opportunity from the start is created.
For this reason it is essential to eliminate funding inequalities all students deserve a high quality education especially in the low-income areas. Providing more money to these areas can reduce crime and gang activity, lower the teen birth rate, restore self-confidence, provide these students and opportunity to attend college, also break the cycle of poverty. The President “Race to the Top Program” is a start but more need to be done from the local and state level.
These students may need supplies or resources, but have the same ability to succeed as my other students. As educators, we should always be there for our students to support and assist them. While this is true, just because a student is living in poverty does not mean that they should not be held to the same standards as their peers. Communities, school districts, and educators need to work together to level the playing field for all student and hold them to the same high standards.
of their economic troubles. Inequality in schools starts with inequality in society. Someone who is
In her article “When Class Became More Important to a Child’s Education Than Race,” Sarah Garland (2013) argues that money income is more important to a child's education than race. In this article Sarah states that children who have parents with low incomes do not get the same opportunity as children with parents who have higher income.
Having reviewed the facts from both sides, those who are for additional funding for education and those who are against, there is truth to both sides. Additional funding, as long as there is strict accountability, will help all students from various economic backgrounds to have an opportunity to receive the very best education. The challenge at hand is for politicians, educators, and families to determine a fair and balanced approach to implementing measures of accountability. Overall, the poor academic achieving students do need funding just as much as anybody. School funding needs to be increased, but there needs to be accountability as well.
Throughout the nation, education inequality affects many minority students that have low-income which reinforces the disparity between the rich and the poor. The amount of children that have a socioeconomic background of poverty in the United States is estimated to be 32.4 million (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2011). Since many of these children are from
Social Inequality Affecting Schooling is what makes or breaks children. Any child can exceed in school if they work hard. Not memorizing a couple chapters for a quiz, or failing a paper because they are Black. Learning is a tool that is a right. In conclusion, classrooms do not and should not be demeaning, in the future of educators there is a goal that no child will not lack the educational experience they deserve because of social
Education has been provided for all students in the United States. As we see educational opportunity in the United States has been determined by one 's socioeconomic status. Although all students have the opportunity to receive an education, it is not equally given to students because of their socioeconomic status. Students in the lower class are given less educational opportunity then the higher class. The higher class goes above and beyond to encourage students to pursue an education. While students in the lower class are not as encouraged as the higher class education.
There are many different factors that affect education. One such factor is, socioeconomic status. Children who attend school in a wealthier community receive a better education than those students in poor communities. In poor communities, student’s education is not only affected by a lack of resources, but also from teaching methods and philosophies. Urban and poor schools’ students do not receive as equal of an education as their more affluent and suburban counterparts do.
My high school is ranked among the top one thousand in the nation, and its strong community support provides students with the resources needed to guide each and every child towards a path of success. Unfortunately, many American students, often in urban or economically insecure areas, lack access to the resources needed to be successful in the quantitatively driven society of the present. Many of these underprivileged scholars rely on their individual success to break from the chains of their socioeconomic class. Is it truly feasible for children living in poverty, those whose lives may depend on a successful future, to thrive as students of modern public schools when even the most privileged students are struggling to succeed?