Equal Access To Education In The United States

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.

Poverty is everywhere in this world especially in education. Poverty in education could come from the location of the school, the child’s home life, how the students feel about school and in many other ways. Poverty comes in all shapes and forms, “An appalling number of American Children live in poverty. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 14.7 million, or nearly 20 percent of children under age 18, live below the poverty line” (When Poverty…). The kids/students bring those debilitating effect with them to school every day.

Many kids in the United States have been affected by poverty at some point in their lives. In fact, one in five children have been affected by poverty. A survey was done within the last year by the Scholastic company that interviewed a group of the State Teachers of the Year and asked them what they thought were some of the effects of poverty. Some popular answers were that it affects the way you perform in school greatly and that we need more anti-poverty programs to help out with these children. Poverty affects the success of students in many ways. These include not having the academic achievement that more advantaged kids did, not having experiences other kids did, and not having the early development they needed.

Sociologists have been studying the effects of education on Latino Americans and to their findings there are physical and conceptual issues which include: language barriers, issues with educators and peers which cause issues within their identity development and ultimately creating this separation of cultures which can effect Latino Americans success in school. While there are other factors that may be

All Students, Regardless of Social Status, Race, Gender, or Minority, Have Equal Opportunity to Pursue a High Quality Education

The educational system has been around for thousands of years, and throughout time, there have always existed equality issues. From girls not being able to attend school as far as the boys, to children being separated into different schools because of the color of their skin, equality in education is an issue that has plagued humanity for far too long. Throughout the years, there have been some important decisions made in an effort to afford equality in education. Perhaps, as we move forward in our thinking and beliefs, we may find a way to make education a right that everyone who has the desire to grow through knowledge should be afforded, regardless of circumstance.

Thesis Statement: While Hispanic/Latino graduation rates continue on an upward trend, they are still the second highest dropout rates amongst all minorities influenced by a lack of bilingual education programs, low participation in early childhood education programs and a lack of respect for the Hispanic/Latino culture are leading contributing factors to their continued high dropout rate.

This not only highlights the many schools do not offer the same resources to the Latino populations at school compared those who are non- latino. “They include but are not limited to a breakdown of community structure, violence, gang activity, poor housing, and poverty” (A study, paragraph 4). Which contributes to the graduation rate of latino because they don't have someone to look at for them in education and to tell them education is the important in order to succeed . To not give into the norm of the family and not play into the

Education is a very valuable thing, something everyone should be able to receive and not to fight to receive a great education. No matter the race, religion,

Education should not be denied because of financial reasons. Children shouldn’t be denied an education because of their “wealth status”; they should be guaranteed an equal, fair education.

Today’s education system has its problems, one of the problems being equal education to everyone. This is a problem that can be seen in the more poverty areas in the United States. Most schools in poverty areas have older materials to work with, teachers who are less passionate about their jobs, are not being taught the humanities, and many of the schools are shutting down from poor conditions and low attendance.

The Latino minority was now the majority. Of these new citizens, many are immigrants in search of affordable housing. For a typical immigrant, jobs are scarce and lead most of the residents in my city to settle for minimum wage jobs resulting in a low median income. The low socioeconomic status of the citizens played a pivotal role on the education of the children who grew up in this oppressed neighborhood. There was a staggering drop of 28.8% of students who graduated high school and/or pursued higher education from 1990 to 2010. This drop was result of the low expectations the education system primed on the students from a very young age. Since many come from immigrant parents their first language might not necessarily be English. Tracking then took place, separating the few who were fortunate enough to have prior knowledge of the “native language” and those who need extra help and were held back for their inability to speak English. Ramon and Hunt touch on the topic of schools lack of support, specifically schools under LAUSD; my home district. The education received at schools like mine were not up to par in comparison to schools white and Asian Americans attended; it did not provide the same highly certified teachers or varied class selection (Ramon, Hunt 387). Lack of support puts many at a disadvantage including myself who had to persist regardless of all the barriers tunneling my

The Latino Education Crisis describes the cumulative disadvantages faced by too many children in the complex American school systems, where one in five students is Latino. Many live in poor and dangerous neighborhoods, attend impoverished and underachieving schools, and are raised by parents who speak little English and are the least educated of any ethnic group (Gándara and Contreras, 2010).

Higher education should, without a doubt, be free and available for all. Imagine if you were a high school student with good grades and you weren’t able to go to college because of the high expenses; how would you feel? The costs have just gotten out of hand for students. Some kids have had no other choice but to enter the work field making little money. When this happens, people are unable to support themselves and are living paycheck-to-paycheck. To avoid situations like poverty,

Teach for America aims at bringing equality in the American education system. TFA aims at providing quality education for kids in low- income communities just as those in the high income communities are enjoying. I want to join teach for America because I have the passion for kids. I am a person who advocates for equality among kids irrespective of their race, tribe, sex and their religious background.