There is no doubt that elementary school plays a big role in a child’s education. But how does that differ from students of different socioeconomic status? “Middle-class children gain advantages, including potential benefits in the world of work, from the experience of concerted cultivation” (Lareau 1). the lower class starts their academic career unequally compared to middle and upper class. Teachers need to realize that the student plays a role in their education as they do, students are not just passive recipients of knowledge. Whether its help-seeking or after school programs that don’t work, lower-class students in elementary school start their education off with unequal footing. School programs try to fix some of these inequalities …show more content…
Achievement is measured by standardized test scores. Many studies have taken place to determine if achievement varies between socioeconomic status. And many have determined that the answer is yes, there is a gap in achievement between the middle and lower class.” Research evidence exists to show that average school achievement and IQ level differ between social class groups and between racial groups, the findings indicating that middle-class and white children score higher on such measures” (Greenburg 377).
“The related construct of "reflection-impulsivity" produced similar findings with respect to school achievement;5 it has also been noted that middle-class subjects tend to be less impulsive than lower-class subjects” (Greenburg 377). This may be one of the reasons Middle class has higher achievement. It has also been introduced that personality traits play a role in achievement. People hypothesized that race and gender might play a role in achievement, but there has been little evidence to support this. In the study Greenburg conducted measuring two variables caution and creativity, both the lower and upper class scored similarly. Thus, proven that both classes have an equal chance to succeed (382). If given an equal opportunity. But there are many factors that still play into achievement. A student’s social-emotional intelligence plays just as much of a role as academic intelligence. After school
“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.
Although in the past the biggest cause for unequal opportunities in education has been the gap between different races, recently the gap between income percentiles has affected students substantially. Students go to schools in districts that correlate to the income percentile they are in. Because of this, many students in high-poverty neighborhoods are not given the same amount of time and money as students in upper-class neighborhoods are (Cordes and Miller). This can be seen in a study, conducted in
Chapter four’s main idea is the effect of social class on education. As this chapter lays out, there is a strong relationship between student achievement and the various schools that students attend. Research from the Coleman Report shows that “differences in achievement across race and socioeconomic status are not easily explained by differences in school-based resources.” (Banks and Banks, pg. 65)
In the 21th century the new controversial debate about IQ testing involves the many flaws and incorrect way to assess an individual. Today, many scientists have dismissed the myth of an IQ scale, which people used to fall under high or low intelligence. The question that both people and experts trying to answer “Kids who score higher on IQ tests will, on average, go on to do better in conventional measures of success in life?” (Balter, 2011, para. 1). The debate among researchers is what IQ test actually measure, and the differences in scores between ethnic groups reflect intelligence, economic, and social factors maybe even both. According to Richard Nisbett a psychologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in his book "Intelligence
Inclusion in the school systems is important for all people within the school systems, including the parents of students. One parent of three school aged children does not share this perspective. This mother believes that inclusion within the classroom is an expensive form of education in that it takes away from the potential learning for every individual. I believe that inclusion within the classroom actually helps all individuals to have a better education in and outside of the classroom.
During a student’s IEP meeting there are many people that take part in the decision-making. But I do believe that one thing I feel is the biggest challenge, is that administers tend to feel the child needs less support. When all the teaching staff begin to discuss the student’s areas of growth, or potential future goals they may not agree with the parent. For example, when the English teacher states that the students don’t read at grade level, but the math teacher say they can read the word problems. During the discussion of the students’ needs can be rhetorical, depending on what academic grade level they are assessed at. “Educators can ensure that their individualized education program (IEP) planning teams develop and implement a free appropriate public education, an education that confers meaningful educational benefits to students” (Yell, Shriner, & Katsiyannis, 2006, p. 5).
I was born and raised in a developing country in Africa where there are limited opportunities for education, particularly for women. Although my country is plagued by a variety of fatal diseases and parasites, most notably malaria, treatment facilities lack basic medical supplies and skilled healthcare providers. Due to poverty, most people have limited access to life-saving care, especially those in rural areas who don’t even have medical access. This shortage of resources and proficient personnel render the population vulnerable to infectious diseases.
Thank you for responding to my email. I appreciate your candid advice and will do all I can to follow same.
In education it has become clear that there is one main problem that has a serious effect on our nation as a whole, and that is the achievement gap. This problem is obvious in college admission rates, graduation rates, suspension rates and test scores. Five years ago I was able to be a part of a team at a middle school that allowed us to sit down and discuss the issues facing our students at our medium sized K-12 charter school. This focus team eventually led to my role as a leader on our PBIS Implementation Team.
veys their drive to acquire an education as well as their work ethic; therefore, this being a main reason why colleges should continue to use standardized testing and view their academic excellence.
If the purpose of school is to learn, why do we censor educational material? By removing parts of our history, knowledge, or real world experiences, students receive a distorted perception of educational subjects. The fact that society is trying to keep children pure for as long as possible is destroying advancement within society since that information supports not only academic knowledge, but knowledge regarding everyday life as well. Hiding the truth does not stop the tragic and graphic situations that occur everyday. I completely understand the necessity of basic rules regarding general disorder, however I do not think it is essential to prevent critical thinking as children transition into the real world. How are children supposed to be expected to understand independence, and how to think for themselves if their entire lives were filtered and spoon fed to them? Avoidance and censorship within schools promotes ignorance. For example, restrainment of teaching about the history of slavery in America, result in children to grow without understanding the struggle of acceptance that people of color face, or the significance of rallies and marches for black rights in current society. Or the watered down sex education prevents practically any knowledge that would be useful in modern day life. Currently, majority of what is taught in sex education is abstinence. Although beneficial knowledge, it is unrealistic to expect every child to follow that recommendation; especially
These differences in achievement do not in any way result from an inherently lower IQ in disadvantaged children. Research suggests that, aside from family situation and parental involvement, the strongest contributing factor may be the neighborhood in which a child grows up. Indeed, research demonstrates a clear relationship between a better neighborhood and more favorable educational outcomes. The community environment in which children are raised has a significant ability to instill in them either positive or negative values.
Teachers in the United States are educating the adults of the future, yet the teaching profession is depreciated. Teachers experience immense pressure from the administration to adhere to curriculum guidelines, creating an unfavorable work condition. Professional freedom, or autonomy, in the classroom allows teachers to adjust instructional material to their preference and teaching style. This provides teachers a more supportive environment to fulfill their potential as educators and effectively creating a learning environment. Teachers can help students get the most out of their education and increase their earnings later in life.
Educational institutions are designed to ready the next generation for careers and the workforce, but how to accomplish this may be very tricky in light of the fact that the jobs of the future don’t exist yet. The known however, is what employers are looking for now and what they feel is needed in the future. According to Tiffany Shlain, filmmaker and founder of the Webby Awards, “The skills needed to succeed in today’s world and the future are curiosity, creativity, taking initiative, multi-disciplinary thinking and empathy. These skills, interestingly, are the skills specific to human beings that machines and robots cannot do” (Rainie). The work world is changing at an ever-increasing pace and society and future workers need to keep up. The educational system however is stagnant with few real innovations or shifts within the past one hundred and fifty years. Individual assessments, isolated curriculum and mundane facts will not produce the creative, collaborative workforce needed for the future. The current system is designed to create a large number of obedient factory type workers with a small number of special and specifically educated elite at the top to control them. With a shift to technology and globalization, the stagnation within education leaves a dearth of workers for the jobs of the future. Educational systems are producing workers for yesterday, not the present or the future. In order to create students ready of the demands of the 21st century, educational
Philosophers dating back to Socrates have grappled with what is critical thinking, Socrates questioned the importance of looking for evidence by close examination and reasoning. Basic concepts of analysing making assumptions and its implications of what is said and what is done. St Thomas Aquinas a theologian during the Middle Ages in the Sumna Theologica wrote about heightening awareness and the power of reasoning that we have a need for reasoned thought that knowledge was given by God. In the 17th and 18th Century brought about revolution thinking and thinkers like Sir Isaac Newton which enforced earlier thinkers of gathering evidence for sound reasoning thought.