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Issues with education today
Explain the role held by teachers
Effect of poverty on education
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Expert Options: “I get paid whether you learn or not.” One might ask who formed this insensible vocalization; the answer encompasses, or lies within the various teachers who have given up or do not care about their students anymore. These are the inadequate educators, the student body as a whole seemingly dreads receiving. Furthermore, they are among the several determining factors, according to the film, Waiting for Superman, as to the complexity of education issues and why schools are performing poorly. Davis Guggenheim, an Oscar winning filmmaker, “undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying “drop-out factories’ and ‘academic sinkholes’” in this production in order to not only learn the issues, but to also offer suggestions
“...the trend from the mid-1970s to 2001 appears relatively clear—statistical models indicate that the income achievement gap has grown by roughly 40 to 50 percent within twentyfive years, a very sizable increase”(Sean F. Reardon, Stanford University). This concept is not only evident in Waiting for ‘Superman’, but also in other films, such as, HBO’s Class Divide, and various additional texts. There is a reason for this. Students of low-income, who are generally composed of minorities, do not have the same access to proper educators and school materials simply because they do not have the money. The real estate, or gentrifications, plays a large role in creating this classism. Steve Barr, an expert in the film Waiting for ‘Superman’, introduced the topic of the schools failing the neighborhoods, rather than the neighborhoods failing the kids. For if students are not given the tools to succeed or they are given low expectations in school, they will not better themselves and they will stay in the same economic status or
“Our belief in the American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for example, come into conflict with our growing awareness of the unfair treatment afforded Blacks and other people of color... racial minorities are often treated negatively and unfairly merely because of their group membership” (Howard, pg. 94) In other words, there continue to be inequalities between Whites and individuals of color to this day. Moreover, there are individuals, or privileged persons, who are still ignorant to the inequalities. This often leads to microaggressions. “The researchers reported that experience with microaggressions resulted in a negative racial climate and emotions of self-doubt, frustration, and isolation on the part of victims”(Sue, pg. 279). If students are led to feel this way after constant microaggressions, the reaction to perform poorly is understandable. A student’s environment is crucial to success, and if they are not in a safe or comfortable place where they can express themselves, this will reflect in their grades. Geoffrey Canada understood this issue, and that is why in his charter school he demands success and does not give the students excuses to not perform to the best of his or her
This is the setting, background, and characters of Mike’s tale of “the struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared”. Through this book Mike constantly emphasizes three main themes. First, the importance of an educational mentor; later in this article we will examine several of Mike’s mentors. Second, social injustices in the American education system; specifically the lack of funding and bureaucracy’s affect on the public educational system. Third and lastly, specific teaching methods that Mike has used to reach out to kids on the boundary.
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]
Guggenheim focuses his documentary on the teachers that make-up a large portion of the system. One of his strongest arguments is that the teachers are the problem, and the inability to rid schools of the incompetent teachers is the primary reason American schools are coming in so low in the international rankings. He also shares many facts and statistics that are staggering by their lonesome, but he presents them in such a way to exaggerate them by use of animation, music, and narration.
The essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal”, by Jonathan Kozol, discusses the reality of inner-city public school systems, and the isolation and segregation of inequality that students are subjected to; as a result, to receive an education. Throughout the essay, Kozol proves evidence of the inequality that African American and Hispanic children face in the current school systems.
However, Dr. Mubenga’s research does not take account of how neighborhood plays its role on education, and specifically, how poorer neighborhoods lead towards poorer, unsuccessful schools. An Editorial from the New York Times points out how African American neighborhoods became poor in the first place, and it draws a connection between that and its effect on education.
In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto urges Americans to see the school system as it really is: testing facilities for young minds, with teachers who are pounding into student 's brains what society wants. Gatto first explains that he taught for 30 years at the best and worst schools in Manhattan. He claims to have firsthand experience of the boredom that students and teachers struggle with. Gatto believes that schooling is not necessary, and there are many successful people that were self-educated. He then explains the history and importance of mandatory schooling. To conclude his article, Gatto gives his foresight for the future of schooling. Although Gatto has a well thought out argument for his opinion on schooling, he focuses
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
We live in a society where we are surrounded by people telling us that school/education and being educated is the only way to succeed. However, the school system is not up to the standards we want it to uphold. There are three issues we discuss the most which are the government, the student, and the teacher. In John Taylor Gatto 's essay “Against School”, we see the inside perspective of the educational system from the view of a teacher. In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, an essay written by Mike Rose, we hear a student 's experience of being in a vocational class in the lower level class in the educational system when he was supposed to be in the higher class.
Racism has always been a heated topic, and it is well-known that many students of colour still face racism in the form of bullying. However, Derald Wing Sue argues that there is a type of minute racism present in our daily lives. This implicit racism lies in everyday interactions called microaggressions. He defines the concept of microaggressions as “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to people of colour because they belong to a racial minority group” (1). They are everyday messages that are subtle and often unintentional. I will discuss these acts of microaggression with an emphasis on students in a post-secondary White-based environment. That is, a university or college that is predominantly biased towards a White culture.
Webber, Karl. “A Nation Still At Risk.” Waiting for Superman: How We Can Save Save America’s Failing Public Schools. Ed. Carl Weber. New York: PublicAffairs. 2010. 3-10. Print.
After watching the Teach Us All documentary on Netflix, it opened my eyes to many of the issues regarding educational inequality. The study looked at schools in Little Rock, New York City, and Los Angeles to show us the current state of U.S. education and how far we have come since the school desegregation crisis. The thesis of this documentary is that since the efforts of the Little Rock Nine, our belief is that educational inequality has improved when in reality, it hasn’t improved and the actions of our country have had negative effects. Teach Us All emphasizes the need for unity and collective action to improve our education system for the kids in poor communities that are in the most need. Our country has devoted all the resources to the middle and upper class for education and are taking money away from where it needs to
Before entering into defense of the argument, it is important to communicate that the current situation is one which demands reform. It must be understood that the state of the public school system is not simply confined to the domain of education but is instead very much interrelated with the distribution of wealth. The current opportunity gap-which affords those who are middle and upper class greater access to higher quality education-is the cause of the inequality seen in the distribution of income. “Children born into the top fifth of the income distribution have about twice as much of a chance of becoming middle class or better in their adult years as those born into the bottom fifth (Isaacs, Sawhill, & Haskins, 2008)”.
Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most importantly, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students. School funding is systemically unequal, partially because the majority of school funding comes from the school district’s local property taxes, positioning the poorest communities at the bottom rung of the education playing field. A student’s socioeconomic status often defines her success in a classroom for a number of reasons.
Inequalities in Education Funding inequalities have been an issue from past to present, especially in the low-income communities. In fact, students in urban areas with less funding have low attendance, score lower on standardized testing, and a low graduation rate. Also subjected to outdated textbooks, old dilapidated buildings, students in the inner cities need to compete with their suburban and wealthy counterparts for this reason funding inequalities must end and more money should be directed to these communities from federal, state, and local governments. Frank Johnson, a writer for the National Center for Education Statistics, “Disparities in Public School Spending.”
Across America, young people are being short changed due to a broken education system. Bliss is just one example of the shared frustration felt by students. In an interview, Jeff said one of his key points is the fact that it's not just about his education, it's about our education. "If we embrace this, I feel as if we can make a serious change and a positive change. But if we just want to ignore and push this to the side then I expect to see the same problems again and again." Though he was not punished for his actions by the district, Bliss reveals that after dropping out of school and returning the next year, he takes his education very seriously and expects his teachers to do the same (Collins). “You got to take this job serious, this is the future of this nation… this is my country’s future and my education,” said Jeff. A video of the outburst, taken by another student, has since gone viral on various social media outlets causing a buzz throughout the educational system. Bliss expressed his own opinion about the changes he wants to see implemented by saying, “I want to see a teacher stand up and interact with the students, get involved, discuss, talk, question and dig deep into the subject,” in the interview (Klein).