Imagine you are at a typical American high school. You begin to notice two distinctive groups of students. The first group of predominantly minority students is generally unmotivated in the classroom and does not have the academic skills necessary to prepare them for higher education, despite a handful of driven individuals. Many of them lack consistent transportation to school, do not have a safe space in which to do homework, and work full time jobs. Conversely, the second group is composed primarily of white students and tends to have more opportunities to enroll in gifted and AP coursework. These students aspire to attend an Ivy League university, are involved in multiple extracurricular activities, and have parents who are heavily invested
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According to a report by the White House, “while half of all people from high-income families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, just 1 in 10 people from low-income families do” (3), and low-income students “lack the counseling and advising support they need to excel in entrance exams like the SAT and ACT, submit quality applications, and apply for financial aid” (15). Additionally, according to the American Psychological Association, families from low-income communities may be unable to afford resources such as books or computers, and have less time availability to provide to their children (1). For the most part, inequality is explained through social forces prevalent outside the classroom; however, the general public often overlooks how the education system itself contributes to the inequality among …show more content…
are underfunded and understaffed. A school’s main source of revenue is local property taxes; therefore, schools located in more affluent neighborhoods receive more funding (Chetty & Friedman). Furthermore, schools located in wealthier neighborhoods usually receive parental support for fundraising and resources to accumulate even more economic capital. Similarly, schools in low-income neighborhoods tend to be understaffed or lack quality teachers. Often, bad teachers perform a routine known as the “dance of the lemons”, where they get moved to another school or district – often to those with large numbers of low-income students (The Economist). Nonetheless, a key explanation that is generally disregarded is the process of cumulative
According to a report by the White House, “while half of all people from high-income families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, just 1 in 10 people from low-income families do” (3), and low-income students “lack the counseling and advising support they need to excel in entrance exams like the SAT and ACT, submit quality applications, and apply for financial aid” (15). Additionally, according to the American Psychological Association, families from low-income communities may be unable to afford resources such as books or computers, and have less time availability to provide to their children (1). For the most part, inequality is explained through social forces prevalent outside the classroom; however, the general public often overlooks how the education system itself contributes to the inequality among …show more content…
are underfunded and understaffed. A school’s main source of revenue is local property taxes; therefore, schools located in more affluent neighborhoods receive more funding (Chetty & Friedman). Furthermore, schools located in wealthier neighborhoods usually receive parental support for fundraising and resources to accumulate even more economic capital. Similarly, schools in low-income neighborhoods tend to be understaffed or lack quality teachers. Often, bad teachers perform a routine known as the “dance of the lemons”, where they get moved to another school or district – often to those with large numbers of low-income students (The Economist). Nonetheless, a key explanation that is generally disregarded is the process of cumulative