Is Low Education Attainment?

Low income families steam from uneducated parents. Some of these families have parents that did not finish school, or they struggled in school. These parents tend to be less active in their child’s education because they do not understand the work themselves. Some of them skip out on parent teacher conferences because they do not want to feel threaten. They feel that they may not understand what the teacher is talking about, and do not want to feel uneducated. According to Zachrisson and Dearing (2015), “Low family income heightens the risk of stress in the home environment, resulting in heightened levels of conflict, parenting strain, and chaos” (pg. 425). These types of homes make the children feel uncomfortable, and they feel as if they do not have any support from home. These students come home from school to homes that are divided, and feel as if they

Poverty leads to insufficient opportunities, especially in college education. For instance, according to U.S. Department of Education, students who do not enter college or drop out of their classes are “predominantly persons from low-income families.” In support of this argument, the article states that “only 21 percent of those with family income of less than $25,000 were highly qualified for admission at a four-year institution” compared to the 56 percent of students with family income above $75,000. Therefore, students with bad economic conditions struggle with attending university even after entering it. The problem is that the African Americans race gets the harshest disadvantage from their poor economic conditions. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services publishes that almost 40 percent of African Americans under 18 are below the national poverty line, which is three-times higher than their white counterparts. This explicitly proves that unequal economic conditions are the main reason for inequality in education; African Americans are the most disadvantaged. Furthermore, the correlation between poor economic conditions and a lack of education among African Americans creates a chain of inequality. The poor economic backgrounds of African Americans obstruct their children from attending colleges and subsequently, the lack of higher education makes

The 2001 census bureau report 22.2 percent of people without a high school diploma lived in poverty as opposed to 9.6 who had a diploma. 14.2 percent of high school dropouts were lived in long term poverty, while 3.8 percent of people with high school diplomas lived in long term poverty. In less affluent neighborhoods, there is usually no funding available to hire quality teachers and equipment needed to educate the youth. As we progress education has become one of the main keys to battling poverty. It is harder to earn a decent living without having some kind of

Since President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty” in 1964, poverty rates in the United States have still been staggering. The effects of poverty on society have been particularly debilitating, contributing to high rates of unemployment, crime, and even uneducated children. This link between poverty and education is pressing, as education is growing in importance as a determinant of one’s success. What are the factors that create the correlation between poverty and education, and what are some practical approaches to solving this issue?

Unlike other countries such as China, socio-economic background in the US directly impacts the quality of education students receive. Therefore, students living urban poverty not only demonstrate minimal academic progress but also less participation and motivation towards education compared to advantaged students. According to the US Census Bureau, over 22% of students live in poverty and many

For this project, we worked with Eloise Leatham. She is a kindergartener, 5 years old, from St. Paul. She attends Saint Paul Academy, a secular private school in St. Paul. She is exposed to books on a regular basis, as she has an 8-year-old sister who loves to read. Her parents, who are both working professionals with a relatively high income, read to Eloise and her sister every night before bed. Both parents enjoy reading, and have instilled a value for reading in their girls. Eloise attended preschool for 3 years, and was exposed to reading and writing there as well. She speaks fondly of her preschool experience, and continues to enjoy going to school now that she is in kindergarten.

Many United States children are failing in the public schooling system. Students are dropping out at alarming rates and those who stay are not properly prepared for college and careers. There are vast achievement gaps leaving children behind that are minorities, come from low income families, are disabled, and are English learning (U.S. Department of Education). These problems are apparent to teachers, parents, students, employers, and society as a whole. This will leave the United States with a workforce that is not properly educated or trained for the jobs available.

It is an undeniable fact there exists a growing poverty epidemic within American society that needs to be addressed. According to a 2012 report by the Cato Institute the United States government spends nearly one-trillion dollars every year to combat severe financial need through a total of 126 separate welfare programs. While this value by itself seems significantly large, perhaps to an even excessive extent, in reality it had little effect on the American poverty level, never al allowing it to drop below 10.5%. Even with these massive government expenditures aimed at elevating quality of life, for many households an escape from their low-income bracket is still vastly unattainable. Current statistics show that more than 40% of individuals born into the bottom quintile will remain there, failing to escape into a life of financial stability. Despite immense funding, in its existing state of organization, the system of aid currently offered by the American government to lower income household fails to effectively alleviate the living conditions of the impoverished due to its negligence towards payday loans and the other intangible costs of poverty, its temporary and ineffective solutions to fight hunger, and most significantly, its insufficient reliance on an unreliable and inconsistent enforcement from state jurisdictions.

Poverty within neighborhoods throughout the United States has increased immensely throughout the past 50 years. In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty compared to the 353,000 Americans who lived in poverty in 1959. (Dosomething 1) Poverty is hardly just defined as a lack of financial resources, it is defined as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom to choose arising from a lack of the capability to function effectively in society. (Poverty and Education 1)  For a person to be impoverished or to be living in a state of poverty is to live where they do not have the economic means to provide a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family.  A majority of public school students across the country are considered “low-income”, according to a new study by the Southern Education Foundation.  Areas of concentrated impoverishment are often characterised by crime, unemployment, and lack of resources.  Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty.  The shift to a majority-poor student population implies that a growing range of students who attend public schools are less likely to possess support at home, are less often exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend higher education.  Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are likely to have to work or care for family

There is an old saying that goes “poverty breeds poverty.” That is, the social class of children born to poverty stricken parents generally repeats the social class of their parents. A parent who is uneducated themselves usually doesn’t encourage education in their children. It is unlikely that a parent will save for their child’s college tuition while they stress over making next month’s rent or how they will put healthy, notorious food on the table. Or how they will own and maintain a car to transport their children to and from school not to mention to and from a dead-end job that provides little or no benefits. Private paying families with financial security and health care can afford to purchase homes

Not only can lack of jobs lead to poor living conditions but also, studies have found that maternal hardship can hamper children’s social and cognitive competence (Mechanic & Tanner, 2007). Access to medical care may be hindered due to lack of job stability or inability to qualify for medical help (Mechanic & Tanner, 2007). All of these issues are ones that many face and that are extremely prevalent in the area I served in my practicum.

Olneyville is a very diverse group composed mostly of a Hispanic population. The Hispanic population counts for more than 65% in Olneyville (Graphiq, 2016, p. 3). Due to the income and unemployment rates within the Olneyville community only 55% of the population have obtained less than a high school diploma or GED (Advameg, 2016, p. 5). In fact, many are forced to drop-out of school in pursuit of employment to assist their family to make ends meet The issues surrounding income and employment seem to have a snowballing effect on the lives of many in the community. Poverty amongst Olneyville is a continuous problem that affect about 50% of the population within the community (Graphiq, 2016, p. 8). With so many trials and tribulations Olneyville

Poverty is the United States is a major issue and continues to worsen as housing is becoming less affordable for many people across the nation. People that do find housing are often restricted to low-income areas that have few opportunities. In the low income areas there are few jobs and the quality of schools are poor and keep the people in the cycle. To offset this cycle money needs to be put into the education system in these lower income areas to offset this cycle. Education allows for people to have more opportunities and would increase the incentive to live in low-income areas. With a quality education that is equal to the suburbs it would give the children much more opportunities to improve themselves and exit the cycle. This cycle is living in low-income areas gives children a poor education due to the schools lacking money and resources; without the needed education the student is not able to get a good job. Without the well paying job that person is not able to afford housing and has to living in affordable housing that is located in the low-income areas. By breaking this cycle with increased education it is possible for people to get out the cycle that ties them to that area. Education is the foundation to success and it very important that is equal and everyone receives similar opportunities through that education.

Research has consistently shown that that reading books to children has a positive effect on literacy outcomes in the following ways:

Mental health is a main cause for concern in low income areas and money worries can lead to anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, insomnia and perhaps even suicide.