The Importance Of Equal Access To School Success

An achievement gap between White students and students of color has been documented consistently at all education levels. Racial inequality in education is a serious problem in the United States. The Educational Longitudinal Study carried out in 2002 examined the relationship between race and composite reading and math scores among Black and White students. A total of 8,315 tenth grade students were included in this analysis. The results showed a difference in test scores between Black and White students with Whites scoring higher than Blacks (Rowely & Wright, 2011).The findings from this study suggest that discrimination based on race as well as family factors outside the school setting contribute to this difference

With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.

A school setting provides opportunities where issues of social justice, oppression, and discrimination can be addressed. According to Bemak and Chung (2009), students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. These disparities in academic

Ever since the establishment of equal education in the United States, there has been a disparity in academic success between children of different races. The education of African American children has become a prime example of this. As discussed in the historical text, A Letter to My Nephew, which was written during the time of the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s, African Americans were not given equal opportunities to succeed educationally and could do little to change their futures for the better. They had to work much harder than whites to receive even a portion of the recognition and success that whites achieved (Baldwin 1). Although many today believe America has overcome this problem, it still remains a pressing issue in many aspects of society, arguably the most important being education. The racial achievement gap, an important term to familiarize with when discussing this topic, refers to the disparity in educational performance between students of different races (National Education Association 1). As of now, although the education achievement gap has been narrowing, there still remains a large disparity between African Americans and their racial counterparts. According to a study by Roland G. Freyer and Steven D. Levitt, professors at Harvard University and W.E.B Du Bois Institute, respectively, African American students enter kindergarten already significantly behind children of other races, and their test scores continue to drop

It has been proven by psychologists that education and learning first begins at home through the family. The author’s of this text, Hawley and Nieto, touched ground on this fact while they discussed the racial differences on education for families. They went on to express that like any other family for instance, culturally diverse families value education as well. All families share a similar positive outlook for their children, especially to break the poverty cycle. This idea brought about appeals for value that everyone is equal and deserves fair education so that professional educators may notice that all students want to prosper. However, most ethnic families feel ultimately unwelcome and out of place when it comes to their child’s education, which led to less involvement in the classroom. It is seen here that the school is supposed to be a place

The participants included 1000 kindergarten and 1000 fifth grade (N=2000) students from two elementary schools of Los Angeles Unifies School District (LAUSD). One of the schools was an affluent public school with abundant resources catered to children in need and programs that promote positivity and growth. The other school was also public, but had limited resources due to financial restraints. Of the participants, 50% were female and 50% were from low-income families. All

In the Anthology, Rereading America, Jean Anyon and Jonathan Kozol challenge the reader to really think deeply into the cultural myths that society fills Americans with. In Anyons Article, From Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum, she discusses five different elementary schools all with different socioeconomic classes and talks about how each student is taught to fit the same types of jobs that their parents do so they remain on the same social class level. It can be justified that my educational experience was quite empowering throughout high school because of the good teachers who gave us a voice in the classroom, and brand new facilities which helped me feel comfortable at school.

Unequal Childhoods is a book based on the study of a variety of families ranging in class, race and family life. The author Annette Lareau objective was to analyze and understand how and if social life impacts the children pertaining to these different classes. Lareau also examines the affect social class has on those interviewed by following up years later in their transitions to adulthood. Regardless of ones race social economic status plays a role in how a child develops and learns the skills they will eventually grow up to use.

Often times we seek motivation from those that are more successful than us. We put them on a pedestal and aspire to one day be a role model for younger generations after us. What we fail to acknowledge however is the time and hard work they put in before us. We overlook their journey and therefore miss details that could play a major impact on our path to success. Details such as their upbringing, social class, and education are things we should take a closer peek at when comparing their lives to ours. In her book Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau follows Caucasian and African American subjects from poor, working, and middle class families to understand the influence of socioeconomic class and race on adolescents raised in various households. After studying her subjects over the course of several years in their homes, schools, and extracurricular activities, she comes to conclude the greater influence socioeconomic class has on the skills acquired by children during their childhood.

There are diverse and contradictory views on school funding inequalities and school performance. Various research and reports have shown in great detail beyond this paper’s scope that inequalities in school funding does cause different outcomes for school children (Jackson, Johnson, & Persico, (2015. Unequal funding leads to unequal education: from the start, schools have different resources and means to educate our children (Kozol, (1991). Other reports suggest that different funding will lead to different social outcomes later on in life (Hyman, (2013); Biddle & Berliner, (2002). The fact is that schools in poorer neighborhoods all over the united states, funding are limited and they have poorer schools (Kozol, 1991). Schools in richer areas and especially in suburban white neighborhoods receive higher funding and they have better schools (Kozol, 1991). Some argue that school funding is not the problem and throwing money at the problem would not be the solution. This is somewhat contradictory because most well-funded schools are predominantly white. The schools are well lit, classrooms are spacious, student-to-teacher ratio is smaller, labs are well equipped, hot lunches are plenty, and teachers are experienced and well paid (Kozol (1991); Jackson, Johnson, & Persico, (2015).

Additionally, it will connect the community culturally by involving parents and teacher to unity for equal funding, which will improve their children’s academic achievement. Another advantage to equal funding will be higher graduation rates and financial stability to families. Coupled with, greater employment opportunities for graduate and citizens in the communities. One aspect of this research is finding solutions and strategies to improve equity funding in urban schools. Specifically, educators, parents; legislators can take the steps to improve funding disparities in urban schools?

After reading the first portion of three inspiring books, Finnish Lessons 2.0, 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten American Schools and Jules on Schools, I noticed a common theme. I noticed that each book emphasizes the importance of providing equal academic opportunities for every student no matter their background. The first book 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten American Schools written by Berliner and Glass, explains the disconnect of educational opportunities for all students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States. Our society has been more concerned with bettering themselves instead of funding public education. Schools are becoming segregated, children of wealth are separated into private or charter schools and children living in poverty or children with special needs separated into public schools, “This continuing trend does little to improve educational opportunities for the middle and low-income students ‘left behind’ in public schools.

It’s been 60 years since the Supreme Court struck down the concept of “separate but equal” schools in Brown v. Board of Education, but today, most black students attend schools that are majority non-white. The percentages of black students attending a majority-non-white school today is 74.1 percent, it is little changed from figures in the 1960s. Nearly 40 percent of black children attend schools that are almost entirely (more than 90 percent) non-white. “Americans simultaneously believe that schools are places where social inequalities should be equalized, where the advantages or disadvantages that children experience in their homes and families should not determine what happens to them in school-in essence, that school is a place where children should have equal chances to make the most of their potential.” (Inequality) The 1991 article Savage Inequalities written by Jonathan Kozal highlights the fact that every person is entitled to the right to receive quality care and education. Kozal, revealed there can be overwhelming social factors that prevent students in a small Illinois town from getting an equal education. The author shrewdly described the morbid living conditions experienced by the residence of East St. Louis, Illinois. A predominately black community near the banks of the Mississippi River. However, despite the conditions that the city 's kids must endure, these students refuse to wallow in misery. The didn’t believe the hype. Even though, these students have

Although there are many factors that contribute to a quality education the one that provokes the most controversy, is the concept of equal funding for every school. While money is not the sole component of education, it is certainly important. Recently I have become very intrigued in this topic. I am passionate about pursuing my educational goal to become a teacher. I also work in an after-school program at an elementary school in Concord, with my own class made up of bright minded kindergartners and first graders. I have seen that in this schools community there is a very low-income rate, causing the school to not get proper funding. As a future teacher, I am determined to do what I can to solve this problem.

She essentially claims that fifty years after the arduous success of the Civil Rights Movement, social class has widened the gap propelled by racial division that had slowly began to correct itself in the American society. Garland also presents statistical information generated by prominent universities throughout the United States, and reflects such data through the example of two socio-economically and racially different families and the extent to which their earnings can enlighten the path of their children, representing the low and high ends of the income spectrum. As one of her final points, she analyses possible solutions revolving around the process of closing the gap preventing low-income children from merging with high-income children and the opportunities that the latter are privileged with, mentioning the lack of political activism and social consciousness towards the magnitude of such conflict affecting both parents and children’s expectations of learning and