Checklist for Effective Reading Instruction

The resources available to an urban, lower income school are to be equal to those available to a suburban, higher income school. Two schools in New York, one from a wealthy school district and one from a poor district, were given computers. The State provided the same number of computers to each school, therefore claiming to evenly supporting each school. However, the school with the poorer children had a larger number of students; the nicer school had twice the number of computers in proportion to the number of their students (Kozol 84). It seems that the biggest factor keeping the children of lower income homes behind is the school funding available. The poorer school district does not have the money to spend on the things a wealthier district may, but there is no real evidence that spending money makes much difference in the outcome of a child's education. In many cases, family and background have a greater influence on how well a child does in school (Kozol 176-77). Richard Kahlenberg, a member of the Century Foundation, says, "Research findings and common sense tell us that the people who make up a school—the students, parents, and teachers—matter more (Lewis 648)

Expansion of education is closely related to idealistic views of democracy. In developing and wealthy nations, education is valued because it helps the individual mind to develop capabilities. In contrast, education has also been seen as a way to promote equality. Having access to public education, in theory, has the potential to reduce poverty and promote equality. If all are entitled to the same public education, not to mention they are required by law, why do school systems seem segregate their students? Researchers have searched for the answer and have theorized that economic background, tracking, and hidden curriculum are a few things that help contribute to the imaginary lines drawn between students in society.

Education is the most vital part of man’s existence. The concept of education started in the ancient days and continues to the modern age. Education has existed before this current age, but modern education has been labeled as the most significant part of any possible profession. This assumption is not making waves in the United States of America only, but in the whole world wide. Despite the unique and distinct languages that exist throughout the world, young and developing minds still seek education and new knowledge as technology keeps changing. Education is the backbone and the platform in which we build and develop our own unique ideas that has become

With the many diverse characteristics of the Unites States, perhaps the most troubling is the rising gap in the distribution of wealth. As the wealth gap in the United States rises exponentially, the gap in the quality of public schooling rises with it. For a country that prides itself in prestigious outlets of education, the system of public schooling seems to be miserably failing. Public education, a system that some fight to destroy while others fight to preserve, is perhaps the only source of academic opportunity for many individuals living in this country. The fact that someone can live in a certain area and receive a higher quality of public education than someone else living in a different area in the same country—even in the same state—is a problem that should not trouble a ‘progressive’ democratic society. Unfortunately, areas of lower socioeconomic status receive much less funding than areas of higher socioeconomic status, where property taxes account for 45% of funding in public school districts. Naturally, the impoverished residents of poor neighborhoods pay a harsh price in this situation, sending their children to an underfunded school with little to no resources, where sometimes teachers must supply the classroom from their own pocket. As Rogerson and Fernandez note, “a system that allows the accidents of geography and birth to determine the quality of education received by an individual is inimical to the idea of equal opportunity in the marketplace”

With poverty comes a certain attitude, in higher up communities the children and parents are more respectful towards their teacher, education itself is respected; however, in poverty stricken areas the children are at home alone, or running the streets, the parents are usually too busy working to worry about how their child is doing in school. Districts also have the same attitude, schools in upper class neighborhoods have the essentials; such as, running hot water in the gymnasium, and showers that actually work, new books and just the overall approach to the education, of its students is superior. Compared to that of lower class, neighborhoods the essentials are overlooked for instance, classrooms are in need of repair, as well as the bathrooms and gymnasiums. Their books are torn, and outdated, and their approach to education has been to just make it through the

Nowadays the United States is not known for their educational system. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and Singapore have surpassed the United States buy large margins, in terms of educational success. While other countries are constantly revolutionising their education system, the United States’ education system has not changed in decades, leaving the U.S. unsuccessful. The U.S. continues to fall behind these same countries that are thriving. Due to the fact that the U.S. education system not developing as time went on, leaving them now with a multitude of flaws. The gap between the educated and non-educated, along with the length of how long students are in elementary and high school, are two consequential problems in the United States’ educational system that need to be addressed.

Even though they are not from wealthy families, these children still want to learn and have the same drive for success just like any other child. The low income students are learning in environments of old buildings, underpaid teachers, and low funded sports teams due to their district. Yet, once they graduate high school, they still have to meet the same requirements to get into colleges, although they did not have access to high-impact education. Whereas the higher-income schools suffer nothing as they have no experience of budget cuts, and they have access to endless opportunities for their students. Their students do not have the same struggle to get into higher education as they were prepped for it in high school. This kind of financial unintentionality is hurting the children of the future

“ Historically, low-income students as a group have performed less well than high-income students on most measures of academic success” (Reardon, 2013). Typically low-income families come from low-income parts of the state making a school that does not have as much funding as a higher economic schools does lack in resources for their students. The school then has lower paid teachers and administrators, with lower quality supplies. This results in a school which typically has faculty who do not perform as well as the well-funded schools. “The law fails to address the pressing problems of unequal educational resources across schools serving wealthy and poor children” (Hammond, 2007). Students from low and high income families will not be able to achieve the same education because their education simply is not the same.

Richer areas have better schools, smaller classes, and have a high level of education. Teachers make more money, so the rich areas have better teachers. Economic inequality is one of the causes of those disparities. Poor students living in poor areas are behind in verbal memory, vocabulary, math and reading. Some children came in the United States without knowing how to speak English. Those immigrant students need a tutor when they attend school. Rich kids’ parents can pay tutor to help their kids, but poor kids’ parents cannot. In public schools, students are getting low education, which does not allow other student to extend their capacity. Being born into a social class, especially the lower class can affect youths’ lives chances, including what kind of education they can get, the work they can have or even how long they will live. This can be classified as an impact of economic inequality.

My response from my checklist for an effective literacy program revealed that I am a very animated teacher. I encourage my students to laugh with me building a positive relationship. I found that my students enjoy my lessons when I bring in prior experiences. Modeling the lesson with humor capture the student’s attention and they are eager to participate and collaborate with the peers and teachers. My strength demonstrates that I model all my lessons and make them student friendly. I plan and model my lessons by incorporated and adapted the skills to students’ individual needs. I also teach cross curriculum allowing students to build from each core subject.

more affluent districts receive more funding than schools in more impoverished districts. As a result, students in

For example Philadelphia school districts spend about $11,078 per student while Lower Merion spends $21,399 per student. That is more than $10,000 a student that Lower Merion can spend for a student then Philadelphia. Who is to say that Philadelphia students need that extra ten thousand dollars a year for school supplies since many Lower Merion students come from wealthier families (Philadelphia Inquirer 2007). Since there is limited funding in Philadelphia it has been shown that children who live in poverty the first five years of their lives have an IQ deficiency regardless of the family structure (Eitzen 210). Which sets back a child even before starting kindergarten and most likely will keep them behind their peers. Since many people who are living in poverty have inferior education their market in the job force is limited compared to those who have better education. Many poor students are six times more likely to drop out of high school compared to affluent counterparts (Eitzen 209), which leaves them with limited job opportunities especially in today’s job market. Many of the poor are single mothers and they need to have a job that allows their child to go to daycare, school or a relative so they are limited to the hour selection they can work usually having

Most poverty schools lack the materials like books and technology for the students to learn because they have a lack of funding and support from their community. Many of the teachers are not high skilled professionals like so many

It’s without a doubt that school districts want to see their students succeed, but some school districts have greater means to provide them with educational resources. Students who live in wealthy communities have an educational advantage because the system is rigged in their favor. They have more experienced teachers and a significantly less student-teacher ratio. They have more modern facilities, more up-to-date computer and science equipment, and more current textbooks. They have more elective courses, more music and art offerings, and more extracurricular activities. They have better libraries, more guidance counselors and superior athletic facilities. Well funded schools with a high percentage of experienced teachers are most often located in the most

Education is seen as the gateway to economic well being, making the quality of the education provided a more important issue in need of attention in both developed and developing countries. Economic growth and poverty reduction cannot prevail without an educated and skilled workforce. In developing countries, one additional year of education adds approximately 10 percent to a person’s earnings (A Global Impact on Learning 2011). Thus it is imperative that developing countries invest in the education of its people so that its entire country can prosper.