Inequality In Public Education

One of the most historically debated issues in the United States has been the matter of public education. Many people in the country remain unsatisfied with schools despite the numerous education reformation attempts that have taken place in previous years. A huge part of this issue stems from the blatant inequality between public schools. Cited by the blaring differences in facilities, quality of teachers, and other school resources, not all schools are created equal. However, despite this evidence, most attempts to bring poor schools up to higher standards have been lackluster, and often met with derision by those in power. In his book Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol (1991) investigates these poor schools, and explores why they have not …show more content…
The principal of a poor school in New York, James Carter, cites social issues as a large contributor to the terrible inequality and segregated nature of education. He doubts that “[urban] children will ever get what white kids in the suburbs take for granted” because of the differences in race and social class between them; it is impossible to “appeal to conscience in New York today”, because these things are so ingrained into the fabric of society (Kozol 1991:142). Instead of blaming a specific group of people, he blames systematic racism for the lack of care in raising up poor schools. People who have always believed that certain races or social classes are inferior will not make many attempts to help them, and that is where the source of the problem lies. Furthermore, Jack Foreman, an English teacher at Morris High complains of the demands of the state on a curriculum designed around many standardized tests, while providing no resources to help schools succeed. He says that “too many schools are stripping down curriculum to meet the pressure for success on tests that measure only minimal skills”, often with the incentive of increased funding, resulting in a decrease of the already limited number of enriching programs available to poor students (Kozol 1991:161). The state is satisfied with slightly increased test scores, but this comes at the cost of a real education, and often …show more content…
Both examples work in poor schools, and are able to see the effects low quality education and lack of funding has on students every single day. Being in these schools allows them to see that these students are not to blame for their own misfortune, and that there are often larger structures in place preventing them from attaining an education equal to their counterparts in wealthier areas. They are not able to ignore, like the people who displayed a person blaming perspective, the blatant inequalities in schools, and are able to sympathize with the struggles these students