Education Gap Between Rich And Poor

Throughout decades, education inequality is still one of the most deliberate and controversial issues in the United States. Thus far, the privilege or right to receive education has not attained the level of equality throughout the nation. Poor districts obtain less educational funds while rich districts obtain more, which create an immense gap between the quality of schools in poor and rich areas. In other words, the education gap is the root of inequality in America. Inequality in education is linked to the major problems in the society. The need for studies to be done to find ways of overcoming these inequalities is very inevitable. The means of mitigating these inequalities are important for the entire world. This is something of great interest due to the fact that children need quality education which is a pillar for a guaranteed future. Generally speaking, the distinctions among races, genders, and classes in the society have caused the educational inequality in America.

The inequality of education in the United States is a pressing societal issue that has been the main catalyst for the division between the social classes. Education is a public good, and thus if it used by one consumer then it will not reduce the availability to another consumer. Education can also be considered the largest single factor in determining a person’s success and quality of life in society today.

Eduardo Porter is a New York Times writer who has a column, Economic Scene, where he discusses the world’s economic issues. “Education Gap Between Rich and Poor is Growing Wider” is an article of his that observes the difference in the quality of education between social classes. He points out how parents’

The question being posed here is important because everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed in society and everyone should be experiencing upward mobility not just the rich and upper-middle class. By closing the class gap it will create a more equal playing field for everyone and give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed despite their starting point on the socioeconomic ladder. The question of closing the opportunity gap is relevant because it is one of the underlying topics of Our Kids and the solution the the question has something to do with the title of the book. Restoring the sense of “our kids” instead of “my kid” is a step towards closing the opportunity gap. If parents, teachers, and community leaders start catering to the best interests for the entire community instead of just one person or a few people the class gap will begin to decrease. This is not the only step towards closing the opportunity gap, there are more steps in the staircase to get to the goal of equal opportunity. Implementing programs like the “Supporting Healthy Marriage program” (Putnam, 244) and restoring the link between marriage and sex would create more stable family structure and this would contribute to closing the opportunity gap. By allowing parents to have more flexibility regarding parental leave, and thus allow parents to spend more time with their children, would boost childhood development. This small change in parenting would contribute tremendously in closing the opportunity gap. Recruiting better-trained teachers and an increase in the amount in funding that poor schools would diminish the opportunity gap and level the playing field for all of our kids.

is through socioeconomic status. According to Sean Reardon, a main outcome of the widening income gap for families has been a widening gap in achievement among children, which he refers to as the income achievement gap (Reardon, 2011). Therefore, the children of the poor remain at an educational disadvantage when their parents’ income becomes as much of a predictor of their educational achievements, as their parents’ educational obtainment. To emphasize the results of the income achievement gap, Reardon states, “As the children of the rich do better in school, and those who do better in school are more likely to become rich, we risk producing an even more unequal and economically polarized society” (Reardon, 2011, p. 111). For example, as standardized testing shifted towards standardized achievement testing to determine a student’s academic achievement, parental investment in their children’s cognitive development began to increase. Educational disparities occur when affluent families can very easily afford tutoring outside of the classroom for their children to perform highly, while children being raised in impoverished homes are at a disadvantage, and at a lower chance of doing well on these exams. This becomes problematic when SAT reading, math, and writing scores increase with income as exemplified by the disproportionately small amount of minority students in higher education (Brand lecture,

“The socioeconomic achievement gap in education refers to the inequality in academic achievement between groups of students. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates, among other success measures” (Ansell, 2017). Typically, when discussing the achievement gap, educators are comparing the academic progress of African-American students or Hispanic students to the progress of white students. More-often-than-not the white students will have more educational achievements than their non-white colleagues (Ansell, 2017). The most widely accepted theory as to why students with higher socioeconomic status (SES) do better academically is high parental involvement, access to economic resources and access to highly qualified teachers (Huang, 2015. Pg.6). Students of low socioeconomic status often live in poverty. This means that the student may not have sufficient school supplies or even someone at home to help him with his homework. There are numerous children in the United States’ school systems that are failing due to the achievement gap. These students are at a disadvantage because the school systems and teachers do not notice or even care about their home life and how it comes into play in their education. It is important for our nation to not only understand the achievement gap but take steps toward correcting it.

Fifty years after the declaration of war on poverty, an increasing number of children still grow up in poverty in this country. Poverty is now more determinative than race as a predictor of student educational success (Reardon, 2013). The achievement gap between the poor and the more economically advantaged child has actually widened over the last three decades (Reardon, 2013). If we are to provide all children with equal and excellent educational opportunities, it is imperative that we utilize the most effective strategies and enhancements to overcome the educational disadvantages that poor children experience.

High income inequality prevents an economy from growing, so the current status of the wealth gap in the U.S. is dangerous to the future of the U.S. economy. In fact, the average income of the top 10% of the United States population is roughly nine times greater than the average income of the poorest 10% of the population (OECD). This widening wealth gap is a problem of extreme importance and failure to recognize it may lead to social problems such as a rise in crime and overall social unrest. A continuing rise in this wealth gap affects all U.S. citizens as the bottom 99% may lose opportunities in education and be exposed to more crime, and the top 1% may lose consumers as no one will be able to afford their products. Furthermore, due to this rising gap, ordinary children of the masses, who are from the bottom 40%, are being denied to educational opportunities because they cost more money (Ingraham). Regardless if a child is born into a wealthy or poor family, they are still born with the same attributes; however, it is income inequality that creates inequality in educational opportunities for children, which threatens the overall educational status quo of the nation. A major wealth gap in any society is strongly associated with significant problems such as greater poverty levels, more crime, and even poor conditions of health (Partridge and Weinstein).

For the first century of the United States, Congress had a restricted but active position in education, which expanded after the Civil War in 1865. At that time, the federal government mandated new union states to offer free public schools and established an early form of the Department of Education. From the late 1930s to the early 1990s, the Supreme Court's opposition to congressional power decreased, clearing the way for a greater federal role in education. The federal role in education increased as Congress provided funding for the construction of schools, teacher salaries, and school lunch programs. However, this assistance was geared toward wealthier school districts, which negatively impacted poorer, urban schools (Martin, 2012).

All of the protagonists’ experiences are based on living in a lower socioeconomic status. Researchers named Selina Mcoy and Emer Smyth found that “The middle-classes have more to lose by not staying on in education since they risk social demotion, whereas young people from working-class backgrounds may see less benefit to staying on at school”,3 thus revealing that living in poverty or having a lower socioeconomic status is, therefore, difficult to have a good quality education. Researchers whose names are Heather Wyatt- Nichol, Samuel Brown and Warren Haynes discovered, “The widening gap between the rich and the poor contributes to economic segregation among neighborhoods, perpetuating the problem of inequality in the education and criminal justice system” (190)2, thus explaining the hardship the protagonists faced in their personal experiences. It is evident their lower socioeconomic status affected their education, and it is a crucial theme

Education is always indispensable, and every development comes from education. For example, the progression of manufacturing or devising the robot, phone and computer all establish in education. Without education, people could not have an advantageous life. In other words, the developments, convenient substances and achievements are from education. However, the society has been converting into complicated, and some inequalities and issues from education relate to income and the situation of families and communities which will beget achievement gap. For instance, The Facts about the Achievement Gap written by Diane Ravitch, mentions: “The children at the wrong end of the gap are likelier to attend schools in overcrowded classrooms with inadequate

Diane Ravitch a research professor of education at New York University, spoke about an interesting truth, saying, “The achievement gaps are rooted in social, political, and economic structures. If we are unwilling to change the root cause, we are unlikely ever to close the gaps.” The success of our children’s education is mainly caused by economic, social and political statue. If one does not end the cycle the gap will most likely never close. This ties in with when Kozol cites Marina Warner, an essayist and novelist, saying, “There are expensive children and there are cheap children, just as there are expensive women and cheap women.”(354) There are some children that will be fortune enough to have a

The education gap was bred by two factors: the delegation of educational responsibility to states and the diversity of race and socioeconomic class in America. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution reserves all powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government to the states. Thus, education is placed under the rule of the individual states. As a result, educational standards vary across the country. The diversity of race and socioeconomic class, in addition to the varying standards, influences school systems. From this educational gap grew a _____ of unused human capacity, resulting in a seemingly permanent recession.

Income inequality plays a major role in the education disparity present in communities such as West Chelsea. The economic hardship several families experience affects the way a child grows up and the certain education they receive. As seen in Class Divide, more privileged children can attend schools such as The Avenues where they are given opportunities to grow and learn, while less privileged students are

Children need to be provided with the correct foundation when it comes to their educational study. Even at a young age, children need to be driven into the correct direction and opportunity to reach their potential.