How America's Public Schools Keep Kids In Poverty Analysis

“Poor, black and hispanic children and once again going to separate schools from their white, wealthy peers, according to a new government report. It released Tuesday, 62 years after the Supreme Court decided that segregated schools are unequal and against the constitution.” (Washington Post, 2016, N/A) This is one piece of evidence that these young colored people are discriminated against. “It is still happening today as shown by the #blacklivesmatter movement and how laws are not burying racism. Only we as people can.”(Skillen, 2003, N/A) This evidence proves that colored people are still segregated from white peers in

In the article “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Education Apartheid” author Jonathan Kozol informs us about inequality and segregation in today’s school systems. Kozol talks about schools were minority’s makes up the student body. For example, Kozol refers to John F. Kennedy High School where the majority of the student body is made up by African Americans and Hispanic students, only a third of the students are white. Kozol states that schools like these are typically underprivileged schools that normally have structural issues and also lack behind in technology and resources for students. Kozol also brings up the predominately white schools where on average there is more money spent on students and funding is not a problem, these

In the Ted Talk “How America’s public schools keep kids in poverty,” by Kandice Sumner she uses her personal experience to show frustration with the education system and how it’s racist or biased against blacks and browns. Throughout her whole speech, she talks about educational systems and her kids and how segregation is becoming a thing in schools.

Education and economic justice were two forms of systemic inequalities that make inequality difficult to talk about. Education is a requirement if someone wishes to have a better life, but not everyone has access to quality education. In the U.S there has always been a battle, people of color have fought to be able to access quality education, (Philips, 2016: 130) they are constantly attending inferior and ineffective school where there are many distractions for students to be fully successful in the classrooms. Often these schools where children of color attend lack quality facilities, educational resources, and qualified teachers. Someone can’t help to notice that in general such unqualified schools are mostly in color people’s neighborhoods.

Within the United States everyday many people from different races experience discrimination within every aspect of there lives. One aspect is within the school systems that they are having to attend. The funding between the school systems in the United States and in different areas within those states has a large gap. This gap was so large that within the, “The Atlantic” a credible news article wrote about how race within the schools influences how much that school is going to receive funding. In the article called, “ The Data Dre Damaging: How race Influences School Funding” it states, “That means that no matter how rich or poor the district in question, funding gaps existed solely based on the racial composition of the school. Just the increased presence of minority students actually deflated a district’s funding level” (White). If this is true what is to say that every school in America is still doing this kind of discrimination. This kind of discrimination on needs to end immediately. Just because these young children are growing up in the poorer sections of town doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have the same rights as other kids. Every child in America should have the same access to a quality education.

The Warren Court described the practice of having separate schools for black and white children as inherently unequal in the revolutionary court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in the following ways. It allows for a significant difference to occur in educational and professional opportunities for black and white students, it leads minority children and teenagers to internalize the perception that they are inherently lesser than their Caucasian counterparts based on their race. Consequently, it also leads minority children and adolescents to have a lack of motivation in the school setting since they have internalized the thought pattern of inferiority so deeply that it affects how they think of themselves and their ability to learn.

Lee and Bean argue that in the U.S today “racial boundaries may be fading, they are not disappearing at the same pace for all groups” (Lee Jennifer, Frank D Bean, Beyond Black and White). They argue that in our current society it is no longer a white and non white racial structure; they argue that now our society is forming a color line that is “less rigid for Latinos and Asians than blacks” (Lee Jennifer, Frank D Bean, Beyond Black and White). Non black minorities such as Asians and Latinos are starting to become more “white” and gain greater benefits in society because of their higher rates of intermarriage with whites, and therefore greater integration into white culture. With these benefits come better job opportunities, social mobility, and most importantly access to better education. So I created a policy that would raise taxes and create more funding for schools that have been segregated into mainly African American neighborhoods, “37% of African Americans students attend a school that is almost entirely black” (Schaefer 2010, Lambert Lecture). These schools are often underfunded with inadequate teachers that give African American students no real opportunities for upward social mobility through education that whites latinos and asians may receive. However if these schools are better funded and can provide African American students with an education that is at least equal to that of which the average white student receives in their early through high school levels

This essay will be on the Segregation in Modern American Schools, how it affects the students, why it occurs, and the strides need to integrate. I picked this topic because I came from a town that was predominantly white. Therefore my school was predominantly white as well. I have always wondered if coming from this type of school has hindered my ability to interact with people of a different race, culture, or background. I also thought of how my education would have been different if I had been taught at a more diverse school. I would have learned more about other types of people not only from my teachers, but from my peers. I have always been interested in this topic and I think it affects more people than we think. Of course, it affects the students, but it also affects the teacher and the mass public. Culturally segregated schools are hindering learning environments. Black teachers teach at black schools, White teachers teach at white schools, so on and so forth with every race. The public is affected; because the schools in their area are not divers meaning their community is not diverse. Diversity is a catalyst for growth in all people. School and education is a great place to start the

In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as part of his “war on poverty” in hopes of closing the achievement gap between low income schools, which typically house larger percentages of student of color, and their more affluent counterparts. The act has been redefined and reauthorized every five years since its original enactment. However, despite the last 50 years of education reform, the disparity amongst high and low poverty schools is as large as it ever was. In turn, the disparity between students of color and white students has only grown. Clearly, the one size fits all approach to education America has been using does not work. The U.S public education system is broken and, as a country, very

Ultimately the lack of reliable resources and preparation from underfunded schools leads African American students into being unprepared for college and jobs, once again reinforcing a vicious cycle of poverty within the community. Gillian B. White, a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, wrote a chilling article regarding the systematic racism that is deeply embedded in the American school system. In the article The Data: Race Influences School Funding, White states “At a given poverty level, districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding than districts that have more minority students” (White). In this quote White explains the clear correlation of race and inadequate funding in the American school

According to Class Reproduction (2017), “Students in the working-class schools, for example, learn to comply with authority and are taught the basics or mechanics of schooling. They are not encouraged to think for themselves, but rather to go through the motions of regurgitating rote knowledge.” The teachers were drill sergeants, not asking the students if they understood the lesson and telling them “if you don’t do it this way, you’re wrong.” The teachers were not creative and they did not allow the students to be creative. Visit any inner-city school and compare it to what Anyon would call an affluent school, the inequities are still there. There are fewer challenging classes and preparation for college, there’s little to none technology, etc. Minority students are not being groomed to be doctors or lawyers, however, there are students that thrive despite their

While the educational gap among high-income neighborhoods and low-income neighborhoods is large, there is also a large gap between white and minority students in the United States. Educational opportunities for students have continued to be separate but equal; In the article “Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education” by Linda Darling-Hammond, she draws attention to “the striking differences between public schools serving students of color in urban settings and their suburban counterparts, which typically spend twice as much per student for populations with many fewer special needs” (Darling-Hammond). Students in states with low educational funding budgets and students who go to schools where the majority of students are minorities, often do

How to minimize the hurts of non-white children once their belief on the theory of a society is fair and equality is completely collapsed when the reality is happening in the opposite. In the reading “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color” Mildred Boveda, an assistant education professor at Arizona State University, said: “I will admit that it sometimes felt risky to tackle these difficult conversations, but this [research] underscores why we cannot equivocate when it comes to preparing our children to face injustices.” I agree with her opinion. Because finding the proper solutions to fully empower and equipping the best knowledge that can help children cope better is not easy, but it is the responsibility of the family, the school, and society. The three elements need to act and work together in an effort to dare to speak about the truths mentioned above.

Education is a privilege given to people in a free society so they can gain knowledge and have a broad awareness of the world they live in. However, this privilege has unequally been stripped from people of color throughout history. People of color currently experience education at a disadvantage because they are taught with the understanding that they should naturally recognize the culture, when they do not. There are many steps educators can take to help students of color gain the education they deserve, but they are stuck in their self-proclaimed, righteous methods and believe change is unnecessary. In Lisa D. Delpit’s essay, “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children,” she argues that there are

Minorities could be scoring almost 15 points lower then non-minority cohorts for multiple reasons, which includes the following.