50 Myths And Lies That Threaten American Schools Book Summary

With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.

In this Article, Partanen states the differences in America’s education system and Finland’s education system. She mentions that one of the leading Finnish authorities on Education reform, Pasi Sahlberg, visited the U.S. In this visit, there were many things revealed on how Finland has been so successful with their education,

Education is a necessity across the globe, from America to Africa to China. Some education systems, however, are more successful than others and hold differing views and approaches to education. Culture greatly impacts education, which in turn impacts further opportunity. As unfair as it may be, a child’s cultural background largely determines their level of success. The American education system is lacking when compared to various other world cultures, and this is causing the socioeconomic gap to grow. Because of this inadequate education, more and more families are dipping beneath the poverty line. This could be due to poor discipline as well as the diversity of students. The diversity of the students results in a wide array of needs that are not being met by the public education system. This issue could be minimized by working to create a more inclusive academic environment to ensure equality and success.

The Finnish school system’s main goal is to provide a safe environment, free meals and means to meet personal needs such as individual guidance, including counseling. The Finnish education’s main motivation since the 1980’s is that every child should have the same opportunity as they peers. Regardless of economic background or geographical location, education has been seen as a way to clear social inequality. When looking at the country’s diversity “as of 2010, just 4.6 percent of Finnish residents have been born in another country, compared with 12.7 percent in the U.S.” (Partanen

For many years the school system in Finland has been very successful. In the PISA survey, which compares reading, math and science knowledge of 15 year olds around the world, Finland is not only the top European country but also competes with Asian giants like Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea. But what makes the educational system in this small country so strikingly different from others in the western world.

There are already many articles about how Asian countries are surpassing America in education, but what about Finland? Finland, which is about the size of Minnesota, is top ranking in math, science, and language arts. Despite this, Finland’s education standards are more laid-back than ones in America. America's education system is lackluster in comparison to other countries, but it’s fixable by recognizing the problem, observing other countries, and updating our own standards.

Jonathan Kozol has been an advocate and activist for equal rights in education for over fifty years (Cody, 2011). In his book Savage Inequalities, Kozol presents the struggles and disparities in inner-city schools. Additionally, Dawkins’s meme concept relates to the inequalities in educational funding resources described by Jonathan Kozol in his book Savage Inequalities. The American dream is the idea that every United States citizen will have an equal opportunity at success through hard work and determination. This ideal is an example of a meme. An education is important in a person’s success. Working hard on one’s education can lead to employment opportunities that will ensure success. Kozol points out that due to unequal funding, not every student in the United States has the same opportunity to attain the American dream. Schools that are predominately white and with healthy budgets have a shot at the American dream. “The American dream is not a slogan but a day-to-day reality in schools like these (Kozol, 1991, p. 197).” A central idea of Kozol’s book is that inner-city schools do not have the same educational resources. Students are being denied the opportunity at the American dream. Kozol repeatedly points out the lack of funding leading to inequalities evident at schools such as East St. Louis. Schools that lack basic supplies such as chalk and paper (Kozol, 1991, p. 30). Inner-city school teachers receive salaries below the national average and must pay for supplies out of their own pockets. They bring in their own magazines and VCRs in order to take advantage of other teaching resources (Kozol, 1991, p. 35). Textbooks are a resource that every student should have access to. Many inner-city schools have outdated textbooks, if any at all. At Goudy in Chicago, eight grade students are using fifteen year-old textbooks (Kozol, 1991, p. 77). At the same school, there is a teacher that is a

Although we have made great strides in education when it comes to gender, race, religion, and social-class, I continue to notice schools and classrooms who continue to support and provide for middle and upper-class students and look past low-income students and families due to not having money to pay for and provide as many opportunities for learning outside of the school curriculum. This chapter noted that we tend to “prop-up” those students who are already privileged rather than propping up students who are underprivileged and need the extra

Is the education system of the United States fair to everyone ? Although many find it fair, we are living in times when segregation is still part of one of the most important systems that supposed to treat everyone equal, and to provide the same opportunities for academic success. However, there still a big gap, and children in low-income communities are suffering the consequences. I argue that segregation in the education system is harming the low-income communities and putting children that lives in these communities on academic disadvantage from those who lives on a wealthier community.

He states, “Public education offers every child in the community a chance at an education. While too many children remain limited in their ability to take full advantage of that opportunity due to circumstances at home, it’s important to me — and ought to be important to you — that those opportunities remain available to all.” Niles explains that anyone who attends a Public School has the benefits of everyone else. That the opportunities that are available is given to everyone regardless of socioeconomic status of many, especially minorities. He even suggests that the quality of education is not dependent on the socioeconomic status of minorities, but in fact the community. However, many experts in the education field, offers their own opinion and views points on the socioeconomic aspects of minorities in public schools. In the article Disparities Demystified, Pedro Noguera and Antwi Akom states, “In many school districts, children of color from middle-class, college educated families lag significantly behind white students in most achievement measures. The performance of these relatively privileged students have brought renewed attention to the relationship between race and educational performance.” The experts clearly justifies the fact that the socioeconomic status of many minorities actually do affect their overall quality of education

All children deserve to have a world class education no matter their race, religion, family background or their financial status. For a child to succeed in life they will need a solid education to ensure they are prepared to be a productive member of society when they graduate high school or college. America’s schools are responsible for meeting the educational needs of the increasingly diverse student population. However, the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) programs need to be able to provide a multitude of resources to support to ensure all students have opportunity to be successful. Furthermore, today’s teacher has to be observant and vigilant when it comes to their classroom, teachers have to keep a keen out for their students that

America prides itself in the "equal opportunity" it provides for its citizens. Anyone must be able to get a quality education, get jobs they want, and be productive members of society. However, there has been debate lately on how equal the opportunities are for the majority of American citizens. Many Americans have a harder time getting the quality education they deserve because of their social or economic status. Many employers value formal educations, but the majority of lower class citizens are not given the chance to pursue them due to their social class. The amount of money a family or community has is too prominent in America 's education system to truly have a fair chance for all. Brent Staples, in his essay “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s”, and Lynda Berry, in her essay “The Sanctuary of School”, are part of the nationwide discussion of how important money should really be in the education system. In our country, the economic status of a household dictates the education a person receives and how it shapes their lives because of what they, along with society, value.

The challenge faced is that there is a huge gap between rich and poor in the United States. For example, one out of five American children lives in poverty (Children’s Defense Fund 2002). In a society like ours, the stress of the families always falls onto the children, unfairly. James Garbino (1995) calls this a “socially toxic environment”. In the past, schools were more a place that would help students

When it comes to the students needs, one must address socio economic status and workload. The United States of America is a developed country that advocates and encourages education for its entire people. As a matter of fact, it is getting much more difficult for people who do not have a GED or high school diploma to get a good paying job. Here are some reasons why: one, society encourages diversity, but does not follow up. According to the article “The Role of Student–Teacher Ratio in Parents’ Perceptions of Schools’ Engagement Efforts”, “Students from ethnic and racial minority backgrounds tend to have less educated parents, come from lower SES” (Rodriguez, 2014). The question is not how this impacts schools but what can we do to help these students be less affected. Some people did not have the privilege to go to school or to continue to school, therefore it may not be as important for their children to be educated, or they cannot help their children completely to receive a good education. There is encouragement for schools to be more diverse, but the reality is, not enough is done too help minority students. It is known that parents with a higher socio economic status, can be more capable when interacting with schools and having an impact. Wealthier people tend to have the upper hand, but why? It should not be this way and society should be united so that it

In the United States we are blessed that all children have the right to receive equal access to education. However, despite educational initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels and even though students should have an equal opportunity to education regardless of their gender or ethnic background, they do not. The disparities in academic performance by these groups is demonstrated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) which is the “largest national representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students known and can do in various subject areas” (NEA, 2015). Students who are not Caucasian and females score below their fellow classmates across various academic exams. According to the NAEP (2015), students from ethnic groups other than Caucasian, scored lower in science and math, with males scoring higher than females. While the trends in NAEP show that some of the gaps have narrowed over the last decades, a report by McKinsey & Company (2009) describes how the education achievement gap imposes a permanent economic recession on the United States as well as “lower earnings, poor health, and higher rates of incarceration.”