Education is an integral part of society, school helps children learn social norms as well as teach them how to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. These schools have lower test scores and high dropout rates. In Trenton Central High School West, there was an 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds …show more content…
In many of America’s greatest and richest cities, there are some schools that need the most aid. Urban districts in cities like New York City, Washington D. C., and Los Angeles struggle to provide a healthy and positive environment for students. This is due to the extreme lack of funding in urban districts. Many of these schools are run down and unsuitable for learning. The students suffer through these conditions, while trying to learn their curriculum, while students in richer districts don’t have to worry about the condition of their school. Urban development and poverty also affect local cities, like Trenton, New Jersey. The high school in Trenton, Trenton Central High School West, is 82 years old and it desperate need of repair. The school itself has many issues with damaged ceilings, termite infested flooring, and has asbestos in the ceilings (Allen 1). The administration has been putting effort in to repair the school for years, but has not received any government support or funds. Students will not be able to perform their best in those conditions. Buildings in that amount of disrepair would not be allowed to function if they were a corporate office, a restaurant, a government office or any other place of business, but Trenton High has just received money to begin to improve its conditions. If those conditions are not suitable to adults that need to be productive …show more content…
The United States education is not preparing its students to compete in a global world, and the current system is especially hurting students in urban areas. Many of these schools lack the proper funding and the proper distribution of funds. This in turn greatly hurts the students, because they are forced to work in sub-par conditions. These students are also held to the same standard as student in wealthier areas, where students work in safe and comfortable conditions. Many schools in urban areas also have to deal with racial stigmas. Many of the urban schools in the United States have students from lower income families with minority backgrounds, and in American society these groups hold certain stigmas and stereotypes. These stereotypes often contribute to a cultural divide in the classroom. The cultural barrier between teachers and their students also prevents maximum achievement. The lack of individualization in classroom also greatly impairs students. Even though there are many factors contributing to the failures of urban schools, some of the main overarching issues are the lack of proper funding, the cultural differences and the lack of individualization in these
Another school in the same district is located “in a former roller-skating rink” with a “lack of windows” an a scarcity of textbooks and counselors. The ratio of children to counselors is 930 to one. For 1,300 children, of which “90 percent [are] black and Hispanic” and “10 percent are Asian, white, or Middle Eastern”, the school only has 26 computers. Another school in the district, its principal relates, “‘was built to hold one thousand students’” but has “‘1,550.’” This school is also shockingly nonwhite where “’29 percent '” of students are “‘black [and] 70 percent [are]
America’s public school system started off very rough, but through the dedication of many hard-working Americans, it was starting to shape into a system that allowed all children, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nation of origin, to have an education.
The first issue that has been identified as a significant problem involved in the Achievement gap, is that it is partially the fault of America's educational system. Because of the suffering economy that has spurred the increasing lack of basic necessities in schools across America, there are an increasing number of children who are not being properly educated. Whether it is a deficiency in supplies, poor teacher selection, or administration and staff who are indifferent to the students at their sch...
When talking about a school that is mostly filled with African Americans, it is common to picture it as somewhere that has limited programs due to low funding from the government and located where poverty rate is high. Normally the thought of a brand new facility or more investment in schools is not associated with African American schools. The universal problem of mostly black schools is the fact that there is a lack of funding for the school and it...
With this many students, both state and federal representatives have made efforts to adopt reforms designed to make a solution to the funding inequality. The disproportion of funds first and foremost effects the amount of programs offered to children that vary from basic subjects such as: English, Math, and Science. This created the motivation to improve the quality of education for low-income neighborhoods by targeting resources other than property taxes and redirecting the states budgets. The goal the school districts all shared was the need to increase instruction, add after school activities, promote a well-rounded education, physical innovations to facilities and classrooms, and to update the academic resources. The popular demand that the funding to public education needs to correspond throughout all the school districts. Wealthy tax payers often argue that a region that depends on property taxes is the “American way.” This argument derives from the ideology that American success relies on perseverance and hard work, but if the playing field is uneven the higher born student has an advantage. “High property taxes—the burdens and perverse incentives they create, the rage they generate, the town-to-town school funding inequities they proliferate—…represent an endless New England nightmare…” (Peirce and Johnson, 2006). In the attempt to
Local governments rely on property tax as a source of revenue to pay for school. Yet people in the urban areas pay the higher tax than suburban and wealthy communities, states on the other hand, relies on The Average Daily Attendance (ADA), which calculates state aid to school districts, tends to discriminate against urban school districts with high absentee rates by automatically, and excludes 15 percent of its student aid. Therefore, in many urban areas, the state ratio of funding remains significantly lower than 50 percent out of the tree entities the federal government allocates the least amount of funding. Residents in these areas who are under edu...
California is one of the largest states in the country and has one of the biggest state budgets, but in the past several years, its school system has become one of the worst in the nation because of enormous budget cuts in efforts to balance the state’s enormous deficit. The economic downturn at the end of the 2000s resulted in even more cuts to education. It is in environments like this one in which students from poor backgrounds become most vulnerable because of their lack of access to support in their homes as well as other programs outside of schools. Their already financially restricted school districts have no choice but to cut supplementary programs and increase class sizes, among other negative changes to public schools. The lack of financial support from the state level as well as demands for schools to meet certain testing benchmarks by the state results in a system in which the schools are no longer able to focus on students as individuals; they are forced to treat students as numbers rather than on an individual case by case basis.
The United States has many conflicts, one of them is funding on Public Education. In fact Public schools are to make every effort to try and help the students with all they can. Some schools have better things to offer to their schools. It depends on the population where the school is located. Do you agree that the public schools should get the funding depending on the population of where they are located? So many things are unfair and we the people do not really have much we can say publicly or even speak up to this situation. Every student should have the same opportunities as someone that goes to a school where tons of money are invested into. Let us focus on tomorrow’s future instead because once we know it the time will come to see these successful students take part of our country and keep us going forward for the better. Despite the fact that funding on public education will not help students succeed academically with the money provided to the schools, every school deserves to get as much money because students will receive more proper education and will be more successful students in the future.
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
The reason that some schools can’t do things like buy computers and maintain their buildings to begin with is because the school funding system is so ineffective. The US government pays only 7% of all school money, and the rest is up to the states and the tax payers. Whatever money the states won’t pay is paid as school tax, part of your property taxes, which are higher or lower depending on how much your home is worth. But this means that schools in poor neighborhoods get little money while wealthy schools, like ours, get nearly all they need. You don’t see any leaky roofs in our school.
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems with schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school system or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement.
Achievement gaps in schools across America impinge on racial-ethnic and socioeconomic status groups. For generations school systems focus on improving the achievement gaps for low-income and minority students. Statistics have provided evidenced that the school systems made enormous progress between 1970 and 1988, but came to a halt thereafter. Presently in the 20th century the gap has widened and the need for improvement is challenging for the school administr...
Proper school funding is one of the keys to having a successful school. Americans believe that funding is the biggest problem in public schools. School improvements revolve around funding. There needs to be funding not only in the successful schools but also the schools that aren’t doing as well. In documentary, Waiting for Superman, it talks about how smaller class sizes will help students. Funding is what will help the smaller class sizes. State funding mechanisms are subject to intense political and economic scrutiny (Leonard). Studies have shown that funding is inversely related to accreditation levels (Leonard). School funding needs to be increased, but there must be accountability as well.
There are numerous accounts for why schools receive unequal funding. Some schools may reside within wealthy areas where the property taxes are higher. According to the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation & Institute in "Fund the Child: Tackling Inequity & Antiquity in School Finance”, the amount of money a school gets depends on where it is located. Some schools may be within wealthier neighborhoods and receive more money as a result. For Example, the 2010 Public School Review report from the Modoc Joint Unified School District in California shows that the high school spends $7,858 per student whereas the 2010 Public School Review report for Tamalpais Union High School District in California shows that the school spends $19,821 per student (2010 Pubic School Review). This serves as a great disadvantage for students who do not live in wealthy neighborhoods because their schools are not receiving the proper funding...
Some states want to have separation when it comes to the income of these schools. States argue that high class, wealthy, school districts should have more money than the lower class districts, because of the tax payers wants or because there are better opportunities for students to grow in the wealthier areas. According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 50 percent of lower end schools are not receiving the amount of money they should get from the state funds (U.S. Department of Education). This is what is preventing school districts in these areas from helping students with their education. The schools are forced to cut back on programs such as extracurricular activities that are suppose to encourage students to be active, or they would have to cut back on supplies where in some cases there are not enough textbooks for each student to have his or her own. The U.S. Department of Education also stated that teachers that are less paid and have less years teaching are often the ones dealing with the students in poverty. (U.S. Department of Education). This only prolongs the problem with children receiving the proper education. If they are taught by teachers who don’t know what they are teaching or those who don’t have enough experience, then the students are not going to learn the correct information or any information at all. While there are some schools