School Fundraisers Perceive Social Inequality

719 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of educational inequality

Stephanie Medley-Rath breaks down an important issue when it comes to schools and fundraising. She makes a very valid point that school fundraisers can be expensive for most people depending on the community that you live in. Every year the school her kids go to have a fundraiser and she has to choose to either go ahead and sell the products or she just donates some money to the school. The town she resides in is considered to be a community of lower income status and only a few that are consider middle class. When fundraising, a school can choose a percentage of return in sales. Stephanie figures that if the school chooses to go with a 25% of sales and for example one person buys five boxes of chocolates for five dollars the total is $25.00 the school would earn $ 6.25. If the school chooses a 30% return and using the same scenario but the price of the chocolates would cost $ 7.00 a box, the total being $ 35.00, the school would earn $ 10.50. She examines the amount made by the majority of the community and figures that most of them cannot afford or would not want to spend $ 7.00 for a box of chocolates. She explains how she thought this was her own private issue but it is now becoming more of a public issue for her community by not being able to sell that price of chocolate to anyone.
Dig Deeper. Question 1: Describe the sociological imagination. Sociological Imagination is the ability to view society differently than your own personal thoughts and experience. Being able to look at this issue in a different way than since the “poorer” part of the community has jobs or is getting government aid than they sure can afford just a $ 7.00 box of chocolates. There may be a reason for this community to be lacking in income for exampl...

... middle of paper ...

...h it does bring out the side that most people do not think about. There are families in our communities who just cannot afford products that school fundraisers have available. I am sure they would love to help and maybe they could, but it would not be enough to create a difference in the funding. I think schools need to think about some other ways to do fundraising at a reasonable price. I would find it to be unfair if my child brought home a catalog and the prices were not fit for my budget. I would not be upset but it would make me feel bad about not being able to support the school. There could be those families who do not care about the price even though financially it is unrealistic and they still support the school which is great. I do agree that it does show some inequality depending on the prices the schools provide for their products that they are selling.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of David Sirota's Kenneth Cole Gets Schooled

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but should it be broadcast for everyone to see? In David Sirota’s article “Kenneth Cole Gets Schooled”, Sirota highly criticizes Kenneth Cole’s controversial billboard ad about teacher’s unions. Kenneth Cole, a high end clothing company, placed an ad that pits the idea of teacher’s rights against student’s rights; Sirota explains that Kenneth Cole’s advertisement created the idea that corrupt teachers are safe under teacher unions but doesn’t expand on the true purpose of a teacher’s union or talk about the struggles of not being wealthy. In Sirota’s view, Kenneth Cole’s ad symbolizes the power of the wealthy and their political opinions which can cause people to overlook actual issues in the schools. Sirota exposes Cole’s bias by examining the truth about unions, the effect of poverty on education, and the complexity of accountability.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Benjamin Barber's 'America Skips School'

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    The oversite committee then evaluates the success of their money allocation and incentivize the success of the public school’s education. “Americans do not appear ready to pay the price.” (Barber, p. 215) Money is the most powerful motivator, and if the success of school districts reaps the benefits of more financial resource, educators will fight to be the best. This new desire to be the best, is possible with the equalization of opportunity from the allocation of funds to the poorer schools. The race to the top would already be won by the larger, richer, and more powerful school districts without those foundational funds. “Because we believe in profits, we are consummate salespersons and efficacious entrepreneurs.” (217) Barber’s essay supports the idea of incentivized results. Not only would districts compete with other schools, but their standards would be raised year after year in consequence to the oversite of the

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination In Donna Gaines's Dead-End Kids

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sociology is the study of social relationships and how one interacts in a society. It is a way of seeing and making sense of the world around us. Sociological Imagination means to think and ask questions as a sociologist would. It means to look at the world with a sociological point of view by asking how individual actions relate to societal forces. There are four different ways Donna Gaines uses C. Wright Mill's concepts of the Sociological Imagination in her study of the Suburbia's Dead-End Kids. Gaines emphasizes the fact that when one teenager commits suicide it is a personal matter, but when a group of teenagers commit suicide it becomes a matter of public concern which needs everyone's attention. To find the answer to why these teenagers

    Read More

  • The Social Imagination of Forrest Gump

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is sociological imagination? Our textbook describes sociological imagination as the ability to see our private experiences, personal difficulties, and achievements as, in part, a reflection of the structural arrangements of society and the times in which we live. The movie entitled Forrest Gump is a great example of sociological imagination. In this paper, I will cite examples from the movie and tell how they correlate with sociological imagination. Sociological imagination allows us examine the events of our lives and see how they intersect with the wider context of history and tradition of the society in which we live. (Hughes/Kroehler, The Core, p. 7)

    Read More

  • Education In The Film 'Waiting For Superman'

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    I agree with critics of the film in one way; Charter schools are not the answer to our current system’s problems. Charter schools are a direct product of an attempt at privatizing education. That is, trying to make public education into a private business where companies can invest and profit. Public education is a basic right provided for us by the government, and paid for by taxpayers. Charter schools take taxpayer money, give it to companies, and put the burden of teaching our children on the compa...

    Read More

  • Immigration and Economic Mobility in America

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many opportunities in America that can improve one’s wealth and power, thus leading to the mass amount of immigrants coming to American. Most immigrants that come to American usually are categorized as the lower class immigrants, but they take any opportunities to improve their economic status. In an article by Howard P. Chudacoff, it states “immigrants generally chose upward paths that led from manual labor into small proprietorships” (Chudacoff 1982: 104). This explains the reason why immigrants choose to come and stay in America. They start out small as laborers then over time they will work to own a small business. Even though immigrants gets to grow to move from the lower class to the middle class, the natives will be always

    Read More

  • America's To-Do-List: #1-Fix Education

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    One major affliction of the American public education system is money, or the lack thereof, and the impact funding inequality has on educational quality. Benjamin Barber, in his article “America Skips School,” says the federal government only funds about 5% of public education (121). Public school funding comes primarily from local property taxes, meaning suburban schools can have up to twice as much money to spend on education than those in urban areas (Barber 122). Increasing federal financial aid in public schools could solve the problem of funding inequality by providing lower income schools with more available resources without taking money from other schools or increasing local taxes. Increasing funds would allow schools to provide better facilities and repair “leaky, broken-down habitats” often found in impoverished school districts. More money would allow all schools to hire better teachers and improve ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Teach Us All

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, with all the money that is being put into public education, it needs to be distributed evenly. If public schools had similar resources and capabilities, students wouldn’t need to travel far to get a good education and this would solve many problems. An example of this from the film is when a Mother is speaking about her child’s experience at an open discussion. She talks about how her student loves music and music is taught at a one public school and not the other. Money is being distributed unequally and kids are being taken of opportunities that they could have a passion for. Another aspect that I agree with is that for things to change for the better in the future, everyone needs to get involved. Kids in these unfortunate situations can only do so much to speak up for themselves but it will only get them so far. Most of the students aren’t even able to vote yet so it is important the country as a whole is aware of these problems and learn about how to help. Students from everywhere need to feel that they are valued so they have the chance to

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    The term Sociological Imagination was coined by C. Wright Mills and refers to seeing sociological situations from a broad point of view, going beyond one’s thoughts and feelings, and by seeing how others would see it. In the textbook Introduction to Sociology by Giddens, et al. Al Mills argued that we needed to “overcome our limited perspective. [and have] a certain quality of mind that makes it possible to understand the larger meaning of our experiences” (4). Therefore, one should look at the overall social problems and not at a specific individual’s situation.

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination By Charles Wright Mills

    3079 Words  | 7 Pages

    “However, to develop our sociological vision we must do just that: We must be willing to look at our own society with cool detachment, careful observation, and scientific analysis. We must examine the groups we live in- our family, our neighbours, our classmates, our nation- as if we had just set foot in a new and strange land.” (Goode, 1977, P. 3) In this essay I intend to demonstrate my understanding of the ‘Sociological Imagination’, as well as critically discuss what C. Wright Mills meant when he spoke about the ‘Sociological Imagination’.

    Read More

  • Inequality In America's Public School System

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is an unequal balance in America's public school funding system. Every state and district requires different amounts of federal funding for their schools. Therefore, living in a poverty stricken community compared to a wealthier community, school funds would look a lot different. Wealthier communities typically have a greater pay for teachers, therefore attracting the best teachers. There would be more plentiful materials to help children learn as well due to funding. Less fortunate communities would be somewhat of the opposite. This inequality in the public school system is unfair to the most vulnerable - children.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Sociological Imagination

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Sociological Imagination speaks to the understanding of our own actions being a part of a larger historical and social picture. It encourages us to see what influences we have and what influences society has over our own individual lives, whether our decisions are determined by sociological factors and forces or are entirely in our own control. The sociological imagination enables us to see the relationship between history and biography. It helps us to understand the relationship between personal troubles and public issues, and as well as this, it addresses the three profound questions that C. Wright Mills asked. The three videos given, offer a range of successful and unsuccessful insight and explanations about the sociological

    Read More

  • Social Inequality In Education Essay

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper explores the way social inequality affects schooling. In a classroom setting, one student can be treated unequally just because of their race, ethnic background or religion. Taking notes from Purcell- Gates and Boykin, A.W. & Noguera, P., the topics of ethnicity and the achievement gap will be discussed in the event that all students should be treated equal. Also bringing in the topic of the “No Child Left Behind Act” introduced by former president George W. Bush in 2001 and was signed into law in 2002. For a long time, social inequality places a negative effect on schools around the country. The common urban verse suburban educational battle has been going on for way to long and there is a fix that needs to be made.

    Read More

  • Price Discrimination Essay Example

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Price discrimination is a corporate strategy where a seller offers the same product to customers at different prices. This practice is a technique where sellers appeal to a wide range of customers and capitalize on opportunities to maximize profits. The word discrimination often has a poor connotation. However, in terms of finances, the word discrimination merely denotes to how sellers can sway market price in order to meet the demand of buyers. In the United States, price discrimination generally is discussed and debated at the higher education level. In higher education, price discrimination denotes a scenario where academies charge unlike tuition prices to students for the same quality of education. This practice can be done at both the university and departmental levels as well. In order for price discrimination to occur, the seller must have the ability to adjust price. Price discrimination is also used by a seller that is offering a product that has a strong consumer demand with few alternatives. This is done because customers are willing to pay more for a given product. This entry provides examples of price discrimination in the private sector and in higher education.

    Read More

  • Sociology and Psychology

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sociology is a study of society social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behaviour and allows us to gain an understanding of the structure and dynamics of today’s society, looking at the interlinking links patterns of human behaviour. Sociology looks at the in which social structure and institutions affect our everyday life. Sociological imagination was founded by C. Wright mills in the 1950`s it is an overall understanding of that some of the things that happen in society may lead to a particular outcome. Mills said it is “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and wider society.” sociological imagination can also be defined as the ability to look at how sociological situations can unfold due to how everyone is different. The way we behave is shaped by the situation that we find ourselves in, the values and norms that we have and the way that other members of society act around us. It is also a way of thinking about how things in society have led to a particular outcome, and understanding of what led to that specific outcome. Sociological imagination is an ability to look at things socially and how they interact and influence each other gaining an understanding of different cultures and class systems.

    Read More

More about School Fundraisers Perceive Social Inequality

Open Document