Unequal Opportunity in Education
Ultimately education is an opportunity
for success. For some it is simply an opportunity to realize their goals and achieve
happiness. For many it is an opportunity for them to climb out of poverty, and
achieve the American dream. I believe this opportunity should be the same for
all students in the United States, but unfortunately it isn’t. Not all students
receive an equal opportunity for education, poor children, minorities, and immigrants
happen to get the worst education. These students typically live in urban
environments. The schools in these neighborhoods get a fraction of the
education funding being given to schools in suburban areas, where the students
and their families tend to be more affluent (3). The success of a student is
based on many more factors rather that fall within the issue of funding,
poverty of the students, and the quality of the teachers also have a major
effect on the quality of education children receive.
In
urban areas, where schools get the least funding, there is a large population
of lower class, and migrant students. The American Psychological Association
refers to someone who is a part of the lower class status as someone with low Socioeconomic
Status or low SES (1). Students with low SES are automatically at a
disadvantage when it comes to education. These students tend to be a part of
households where there may be low literacy, chronic stress, and the parents may
not have the time availability to provide the type of support conducive to
their child’s learning(1). A study of American kindergarten students showed
that that 36% of low SES parents read to their kids daily, versus 62% of high
SES families (1). A student’s initial
reading competence is directly related to the literacy environment of their
home, parents stress, and how many books they own (1). All of these factors
influence a student’s preacademic skills (1). When students enter into a school
environment they may have a lack of academic confidence due to inadequate preparation
to the school environment (2). These students tend to acquire language skills
more slowly; they may have delayed letter recognition, delayed phonological
awareness, which result in difficulties with reading; they may have issues with
addition, subtraction, and word problems (1). There is a strong link between students
that come from a low SES environments and learning disabilities. These children
are twice as likely to show behavioral problems as well (1). These issues
associated with children from low SES environments occur at no fault from the
children themselves. Lee Warren is Associate Director of the Derek Bok Center
for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University wrote about low SES students in
her essay called Class in the Classroom
she said “working class students are keenly aware of the value of higher
education, tend to be highly motivated, and know how to work hard. They are
often characterized by fierce determination and goal-orientation. They have
strong work ethic and often manage hair-raising schedules of work, family, and
college, pulling off the demands of each with grit and clear sense of purpose”
(2). Students from low SES backgrounds need extra support, from their schools
and teachers, to help them rise above the challenges they face. That’s why the
urban schools, in poor neighborhoods, that low SES students are more heavily enrolled
in should be funded more, if not at least the same, as the schools in suburban,
more affluent neighborhoods. The funding for urban schools need to be greatly
increased, so the students in these schools can have the same opportunity to
succeed as any other student, in any other school.
In
urban schools the lack of sufficient funding causes the students in these schooled
to be trained by overworked, underpaid, and often times unqualified teachers to
teach in overcrowded classrooms with insufficient supplies. A teacher in an
urban school gets paid 20% less than teachers in suburban schools (3). Teachers
in urban areas also face a higher cost of living. The difficulties of working
in these schools cause most teachers to leave their profession within years. As
a result urban schools constantly have new teachers coming in that face a
variety of challenges. Since many of the students need extra support because of
their socioeconomic background these teachers are forced to offer extra support
for many students in overcrowded classes. New teachers face stress, fatigue and
aren’t given the necessary emotional support to cope with it. This is why new
teachers are unwilling to teach in urban schools because they fear the
environment and the challenges they will face. They fear having to deal with
run-down classrooms, outdated textbooks, and insufficient classroom equipment.
Often times good teachers that are in these schools will simply move to a
different school district where they will get paid more, and face less difficulty
(3). It is a fact that because of insufficient funding that minority, and low
SES students are more likely to be taught by an under-qualified teacher (3). Quality
teachers have the greatest impact on improving a student’s performance; there
should be more of them in urban schools, where they should get paid more, not
less, for their extremely hard work.
Schools
in urban, poor neighborhoods need to get the funding that they so desperately
require so that the students within these schools have the same opportunities to
succeed as any other student in any other school. It is essential for the
success of these students, and for the continued prosperity of this nation.
