A public
education is something, in the United States, that is our right. But, at the same time, it is also a legal
mandate that we attend. Public school
districts are drawn by the state, and are based off of population. Once the district is formed, it is up to the
school board to determine what schools the students will attend. In large districts, there are multiple
elementary, intermediate, middle, and high schools. What this means is that a certain
neighborhood will fall under the zoning of one school, and other neighborhoods will
fall under others. There is an
underlying problem with this system. Let’s
take a look at the one neighborhood.
This is where the “upper class” citizens call home. You drive down the street and see beautiful
homes with Range Rovers parked out front next to a perfectly green lawn. (Please note that this is just an
example). One can take a wild guess as
to what kind of public school (unless they are enrolled in a private school)
they go to. The school receives a large
amount of funding. The school has the
latest technologies, such as iPads and Smart Boards. They tend to employ teachers who have
impressive degrees and come from somewhat similar neighborhoods as well. These students are being prepared to become
doctors, lawyers, politicians, and CEOs.
But, across town, is the other school.
This school serves the middle and lower class neighborhoods. The school houses all of your average kids
from average families. This school doesn’t
receive as much funding for things such as computers. The faculty is counting down the days until
retirement. These students are being prepared
to enter the workforce and other jobs of that nature. As you can see, there is an imbalance in the
public school system, an imbalance that needs to be addressed.
I agree with you. I find it really sad that schools are basically discriminating against where someone lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools descriminate based on where someone lives and find it sad that that's the case. I think it's awful that they think that middle and lower class kids don't deserve the same education as those from the upper class.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this in my own school district where we had four high schools and the newest school was placed in an upper class area so their facilities and technology was farther advanced than the other three schools. I think that some of these unbalanced issues also fall blame on the PTA clubs. They raise money for extra school activities and it is not fair for area who do not have the money to support them and give back to their schools.
ReplyDeleteThere is always going to be an imbalance, but throwing money around does not solve the problem. The best way to improve student success is to increase parental involvement.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is an unbalance between the schools and what neighborhoods they are in, but the overall education of students depends on what they are being taught and how they are taught. Money is not everything, even though it does have an impact. My school had the latest technologies, but that did not make our education better than the larger school 15 miles away that did not have the technology. In fact the larger school had more advanced education and more opportunities than my small school.
ReplyDeleteSo true. School is one of the main examples of discrimination. It's crazy how society limits so many things for the lower class individuals. And we wonder why these families backgrounds continue to follow them through out generations. It's sad, but true.
ReplyDelete