After reading these excerpts, it is clear the authors are desiring better and similar outcomes for the inequalities in the American school system. In these readings, there are similar themes of which not only include addressing housing inequalities but also the unhealthy correlation between family demographics, unenthusiastic or unwilling teachers, and uninterested students.
As I mentioned in my 'Dangerous Minds' post, the movie highlighted the underlying problems within the poorer schools and the board of education. For example, Mrs. Johnson was hired after three teachers quit due to the high amount of stress and unfair salary wages. The stress was mainly induced from the students who were, at first, unwilling to listen and respect their new teacher. Although, as mentioned in Kozol's chapter about the children in North Lawndale, Chicago, the students are reacting in response to the teacher's inability to show genuine interest in their learning (despite financial problems); "...'I have a low fifth grade,' he says without enthusiasm, then-although he scarcely knows me-launches into an attack upon the principle, the neighborhood, and the school" (46). This encounter Kozol has with a teacher not only highlights the frustration amongst the teachers but also the easy willingness to blame others for their problems. This is an aspect I greatly appreciated about Mrs. Johnson, she was willing to try and help her students and never gave-up on them despite their inappropriate behavior.
The students' actions though, are not an entire reflection of who they are but rather the tragic and unfair social segregation that occurs in nearly every city. In both of the readings, the authors mention 'magnet schools' or the 'magnet system' which essentially are the schools with better funding and thus a white-dominant population. These 'magnet schools' draw-in richer parents, and consequently, more funding towards better schools leaving non-white dominant schools with the scraps. The improper and unequal school system is a revolving door and no one is to blame. The problems with students in poorer schools, in terms of extremely low graduation rates, is not only because of the teachers' lack of enthusiasm, but a combination of unequal funding and increased housing segregation, or as Orfield states, "[The] toxic combination of minority isolation and racial bias deepens inequality" (43). Minority isolation occurs when housing in certain areas become cheaper or more affordable which consequently draws in poorer families. The location of a student's upbringing absolutely impacts their level of education. Orfield and Kozol both argue this concept and believe is a central problem to inequitable and unequal education. What should be done by this then? That has been a problem for decades and continues to be a problem. Personally, the only way students will receive better education is from a combination of ways: (1) Higher tax collection from the rich and better distribution, (2) Enthusiastic teachers and, (3) Affordable housing for all. Easier said than done, I know. I also feel as though I do not know enough about the politics for my ideas to seem less naive. Although, if there was more funding towards the schools that need it, and a better housing market, that will eventually draw better teachers who will hopefully be enthusiastic and improve the education system.
To finish up, I think it is important for me to address my naivety about the education system. As I mentioned in my autobiography, I was raised in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is an extremely white city that has one of the best public school system in Colorado. This is no coincidence though, the average house in Boulder is now above one million dollars and the residents come from well-educated, white families (which I have observed are mainly from Chicago and California). The presence of the University of Colorado also brings in a lot of city-revenue. So, going to a public school was no issue for me nor 4,000+ other kids. Despite this, I have definitely come across unenthusiastic teachers and my high school needed desperate work on the physical state of its building. Education is not only determined by good teachers and enough supplies but also the effort a student is willing to put into their work.
Kozol, J. (1991). Other people’s children: North Lawndale and the South Side of Chicago. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.
Orfield, G. (2013). Housing segregation produces unequal schools: Causes and solutions. In P.L. Carter & K.G. Welner (Eds.) Closing the opportunity gap (pp. 40- 60). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
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