Poverty And Education : The Great Land Of Opportunity

According to Sanford Graduate School of Education research, almost every school district enrolling large numbers of low-income studies has an average academic performance significantly below the national-grade level average. Achievement gaps are larger in districts where black and Hispanic students attend higher poverty schools than their white peers. The size of the gaps has little or no association with average class size. The most and least socioeconomically advantaged districts have average performance levels more than four grade levels apart. According to Reardon and colleagues, one-sixth of all students attend public school in school districts where average test scores are more than a grade level below the national average. Also, one-sixth

America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s

If the education system relies most of their funding from taxes, where do they end up getting the rest of the money. The government and administration grant more money to wealthier areas than low -income areas. Wealthier communities are granted more money because they have a higher percentage of funding coming from property taxes. This leaves the low-income students at a disadvantage. People living in low income areas mainly rent and don’t own their own property. As a result of not having a house or owning property, they have little property taxes. If low -income students are not given enough money for funding a school, the students are suffering. With the lack of money causes students to miss out on college prep classes such as AP classes and Honors classes. These classes are pivotal to the students that want to pursue higher education and a road to success. For example students in the low-income areas are given a poor education. They are not given the resources, or quality teachers in order to achieve success. According to George Miller House Education and the Workforce committee, many students are not educationally ready to graduate and attend higher education (Minority 1). This is another reason why low income students should be provided the same classes as a middle class or a wealthier community. In a study, 2 million students in 7,300 schools had no access to all calculus classes, a staple in many high – achieving high schools (Minority 2). Low-income

There are many people throughout the world that are born into different socio-economic status. In the United States there are 3 typical socio-economic statuses, upper class, middle class, and working class. The majority of people are born into the working class and try to make their way up. The main way people believe to go up a class in America is through education, but how does socio-economic class play a role in the amount of education one will receive in their future?

Although the United States may be an industrialized country, it still “…has one of the highest poverty rates in the advanced world” in comparison to other similar countries (Conley 400). This may be due to the high economic inequality between the rich and the poor with “economic rewards [being] far more lopsided” (Conley 400). The American class system is unlike any other industrialized nation in the world as the rich make an average of five to six times more income than the poor: a

“The school districts with the highest minority enrollments receive an average of $877 less per student than school districts with the lowest number of minorities enrolled.” In turn, these children are able to go further with more resources readily available to them. However, children in less affluent school districts face serious educational shortcomings due to little investment in the beggared communities surrounding the school. It is more accurate to say that America has two systems of public education. The first system, based principally, but not entirely in the suburbs of America and in wealthier urban districts, is in many respects mediocre, specifically in comparison to international peers in advanced industrial nations. However, the second system, based principally in poorer urban and rural areas, is an absolute failure; in which an exceeding number of students dropout well before high school graduation. An astounding number of students receive high school diplomas that do not certify academic confidence in basic subjects. An outstanding number of students are unprepared for the world of employment. An incredible number of students are unprepared to matriculate to institutions of higher education or advanced training.

It is not hard to understand then how disadvantaged children may not aspire to complete school or attend University due to the unfamiliarity of the concept and lower family expectations. Economic disparity plays a large role in school outcomes wherein greater affluence can provide families with a wider range of education choices and activities to enhance curriculum understandings. In the scenario it is noted that Dexter’s parents want him to do well in school however they are constrained by economic realities. Poor families have less choice in their lifestyle and education selections which can impact on outcomes. Decreased access to resources such as books, educational materials, high quality early education and learning opportunities diminish their ability to start school on an equal footing with more affluent children. As well the poorest families struggle to find good schooling opportunities and have to accept what is offered to them (Ewing, 2013, p. 84). These factors are not so easily addressed at the school level and will require serious changes at the State and Federal levels to negate the influence of

Kathleen Blanco, the 54th governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, once pointed out that “ Every educated person is not rich, but almost every education person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty.” It is almost gratuitous to say that everyone desires a higher education. And why not? It is perhaps the best way to avoid a life of poverty; a life in which one must struggle to meet the basic necessities of life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to receive a higher education, especially students living in poverty, who are often forced to live on a day-to-day basis, let alone even think about school. Poverty deprives these students the quality education they are entitled to, thus inhibiting their potential for future success. This predicament has contributed to a widening racial wealth gap that is not only a threat to the individual’s themselves and the economy, but also a significant threat to upward mobility, which is defined as the ability of an individual to climb up the socioeconomic ladder. One particular factor that has and continues to contribute to this widening racial wealth gap is the lack of a college education among these low-income students. More importantly, this lack of college education is the direct result of a poor-quality K-12 education, especially in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. To mitigate the prevalent racial wealth gap, each

As of 2011 information released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 15% of people in the United States live in hardship, more than 46 million individuals live without necessities in America. Compared with the poorest nations on the planet, the destitution rate in the U.S. is moderately humble. In a few nations, the impoverishment rate is more than five times the United States. In Haiti, the most astounding on the planet, 77% of inhabitants live in destitution. Education and proficiency rates are especially low in these nations. (Hess and Weigley 2012)

Low-income families provide less tax dollars to schools, which directly affects a school’s financial ability to provide resources to teachers and students. Also, larger class sizes could lead to more discipline referrals, which affect the culture of the classroom (Rowley et al., 2011). The role of teachers and family is crucial for student success. A teacher’s ability to show compassion, provide instruction that is relatable, and eliminate discriminatory behaviors, is essential in establishing a classroom culture that promotes learning. Parental involvement in their child’s education is essential, as well. According to Rowley and Wright (2011), “Economically disadvantaged neighborhoods expose children to behaviors and ideals that hinder academic progress” (p.

The higher the percentage of students of color in an urban school, on average, the higher the percentage of poor students. And students who attend high-poverty schools generally score lower on standardized tests, are less likely to graduate, and are less likely to go to college. School finance reform, the remedy sought by urban districts and activists in the post-Milliken era, has made less difference than one would have hoped and has done little to bring most urban schools up to par with suburban ones.(James E. Ryan) Much of the debate falls around school

Poverty and education are inextricably linked where education is a primary means of social mobility, enabling those born into poverty to rise in society. Powerful evidence of the link include the fact that 46 percent of Americans who grew up in low-income families but failed to earn college degrees stayed in the lowest income quintile, compared to 16 percent for those who earned a college degree (Freidman, 2012).

As we found evidence of education differences between people, such as access to education and quality of education, in our HWOC sources, we have also found additional evidence relating to the financial level, environment, and schooling of a student in our world today. As we researched, we have found that even students in poverty in Chicago have a lot of options for schools. People now have more options for schools, but people with low-income want to go farther out of their neighborhood for a better education. The problem is they end up at worse schools than they were at before and again fail to get a good education. “Fifteen percent of students who chose to leave their neighborhood for school went to an institution that was objectively worse than the one they lived by” (Klein). No matter where they go, all the schools in that Chicago area are bad and have poor environments. Children from low-income families can also be affected by the other students in their classrooms. Research shows that “...children from low-income families are far more likely to have classmates with low achievement and behavior problems, which have a negative effect on their own learning” (Duncan). If students that come from low-income families are able to attend school, they will still have a tough time learning. Kids from low-income families might not be able to get any better places to learn and therefore stuck in that environment. Since they are stuck, they can't rise to higher levels of education to learn more and apply their knowledge because of the lack of opportunities. One Chance Illinois recently released research showing that students who are low-income, black or Latino are significantly under-represented in gifted programs in school districts across Illinois (Sanchez). These students were under-represented because they don't have an equal opportunity because of low-income and their race. The city of Chicago is a place of

Education and Poverty does access to higher education reduce poverty? Education is a very important tool for everyone in this modern world to succeed and build a better life. It is important because it helps us to meet and solve the challenges we face in our lives. We will have more options for jobs, we work only one job instead of two jobs, have more time with family, be a model for others and help others. We can be a good model for our society and family. The higher the level of education there is a greater chance to be successful at work, school, and life in general. What does education do in our lives? Education open doors and creates opportunities for us to change our lives. Poverty makes life difficult because `if someone is in poverty, there is not many opportunity’s. Poverty prevents many individuals in the united states and all over the country from receiving a proper education, food, shelter clothing and health care etc… poverty makes Popole to be dependent. Because of poverty many students in united states will dropout from high school or don’t go to college. In general, it will be difficult to live quality life because of poverty.

The marginalized children undergo the life of poverty as a result of different natural or man-made calamities, tradition of certain ethnic groups, and the institutional settings. HIV on the other hand, increase the marginalization of children as poverty pushes orphan and poor children to city streets, and often guardians encourage children to live on the streets begging for assistance, in turn support their families with a little amount of money they collect. In the same fashion, disabilities leads to the marginalization of children, where parents feel an indignity to have children with disabilities in public. Woods (2008) study indicates 3,500,000 children with various disabilities, an proximate of 1,000,000 nomadic children, and 2,100,000 orphan children lived in Tanzania in 2003 most of them vulnerable to education exclusion. Orphan children tend to suffer from exploitation and marginalization in families where they live.