The Importance Of Free Public Education

436 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: How does poverty affect education

In today’s world, it is important for an individual to be able to read, write, and think critically in order to contribute to society. Many parts of the world have a free public education system in which children from all social classes can attend public school free up through high school. In fact, Americans pay taxes to pay for the education of thousands of children. So why are there still people who cannot read, write, or think critically in these areas with free public education? Primary causes may be the lack of opportunities of lower classes, an individual's own motivation, or an intellectual learning disability. First of all, one of the primary causes that affect a student’s education is their family’s income. Students with financially

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Free Appropriate Public Education

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schools, nor any other institution that will be providing education cannot refuse to give your/any child the service needed because it costs too much. The Federal Law, IDEA requires school to provide the services a child needs to gain a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) means at no cost to the parents. According to Altshuler and Kopels (2003), Advocating in Schools for Children with Disabilities: What’s New with IDEA?” States that it is mandated a variety of legal rights to have a free and appropriate public education provided in the least restrictive area/environment. For this reason parents are their children’s best advocates. Parents know their children better than anyone else. No matter the circumstances a parent sees all the flaw and potential at home that a teacher or administrator will never see.

    Read More

  • The Human Cost Of An Illiterate Society Summary

    497 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” written by Jonathan Kozol, and published in Readings for Writers in New York in 2013, the author raises awareness to those willing to take action against the dangers of illiteracy in a society where one cannot thrive without such an ability. Throughout the writing, the author uses many powerful and intimate accounts of people who are illiterate and the times in which they were deemed helpless, as a tool to help the audience better understand the problem at hand. Mr. Kozol implements statistics as definitive evidence to show just how many persons are unable to read the written word. As another illustration of the dilemma still plaguing America to this day, he brings to light the

    Read More

  • The Funding Of Public Education

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    The funding of public education has long been an issue for the state government of Texas. Starting before Texas was even a state, public education funding was at the forefront of politicians’ minds. In 1836, one of the reasons Anglo-Texans wanted to become independent from Mexico was Mexico’s lack of a public school system (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). This drove the desire of President Mirabeau B. Lamar of the Republic of Texas to create legislation that would grant public schools land (A Brief History of Public Education, n.d.). This act set aside four leagues of land per county for the use of free education centers and thus began the funding of public education by the state government (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). In the last 177 years, the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency have created numerous acts and laws regarding the funding of education, but it has been in the last 50 years that this topic has become highly contested, resulting in several lawsuits and endless efforts (by the school districts) to equalize the distribution of funds to Texas school districts (Texas School Finance History, n.d.). In sum, the complex issues and policies that surround the funding of public education are derived from a combination of the legislature, bureaucratic agencies, and local governments in the form of school districts.

    Read More

  • Literacy Partner's Educational Success: A Case Study

    222 Words  | 1 Pages

    The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 32 million adults cannot read. In New York City 25 percent of adults lack basic literacy skills, the number is even higher in some of the surrounding boroughs. When parents are illiterate it has a negative impact on quality of life, puts stress on the children they rely on for communication and inhibits the child’s educational success. Higher education correlates with greater income, better health, the improbability of committing crimes, likelihood to vote and contributes to the success of future generations. The majority of Literacy Partner’s parents improved a grade level or more during the 2014-2015 program year. Of Literacy Partners students taking the GED, seventy-six percent

    Read More

  • Causes of Poverty in the United States

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States generally looks at education as a path to success but the people with the longest road towards success are not getting enough education. In the years before kindergarten, children form their basic thinking skills and children who don't learn these at home fall behind everyone else. In most cases children in poverty do not achieve these skills to the extent of middle-class children from their environment at home. When poor children enter school they are generally a year and a half behind the language abilities of their middle-class peers. Already children of poverty are behind in their ...

    Read More

  • Most Likely To Succeed Film Analysis

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the documentary “Most Likely To Succeed,” the American education system was created to train America’s youth for jobs in factories during the industrial revolution. However, technological advances will soon make those jobs obsolete. With machines being able to be programmed to do manual labor, the only jobs that will remain are those that require higher level thinking skills. The majority of current high school curriculum does not allow students to exercise their creative thinking skills and does not leave much room for free thought. The current curriculum was developed to teach what employers deemed essential knowledge, such as geometry, biology, and geography. These subjects should still be taught to children because a fundamental understanding of these subjects helps them understand the world around them. The U.S. government realized this and made public schools not only virtually free but mandatory to help children succeed. In contrast, today a college degree is more than ever vital for the country’s youth and the government has done little to help them obtain a higher education. The days of factory workers and laborers are over and it is time the nation prepares children for the road ahead. If not they are on the road towards certain failure and a life of poverty. With an already shrinking middle class one would think the government would be doing everything in its power to assist children in getting a higher education to find a

    Read More

  • Adolescent Literacy in America

    2537 Words  | 6 Pages

    The need for basic literacy skills is vital in order for our nation to continue to operate successfully. With approximately 5 million students, graduating below the National Standard for Literacy and unable to read, we must take a look at the curriculum and teaching techniques to assess whether the current systems need to be revised to better assure ALL students are successful. (Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Research Belief p. 1) The issue begins first with the definition of “Literacy”, and the fact that there are several aspects of literacy which are not currently included in the curriculum. Another issue is the “old” standards which are in place do not support the level of diversity which is now seen in many school systems. Then comes the issue of funding for schools and many schools in better neighborhoods obtain the highest level of private, and public funding and therefore are able to provide the higher level of education. However, in “The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act”, Senator Patty Murray states, “Research also shows that low income children are less likely to have access to high quality, literacy rich environments. These same children perform 40% lower on assessments of literacy achievement even before they start kindergarten.” (Murray) So, whose responsibility is it to ensure the success of the upcoming generations? Will the Federal Government step in to create a better system for the generations to come? There are quite a few solutions which have been used by Teachers, but with such an “old” system in place the issues of diversity, financial demand, inflexibility of the curriculum to assist individual students, classroom sizes increasing on a yearly basis, pressure to achieve sp...

    Read More

  • It's Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education has always been in existence in one form or another. As each child is born into this world regardless of who or where they are born, life lessons immediately begin. He/she will learn to crawl, walk, and talk by the example and encouragement of others. Although these lessons are basic in the beginning they evolve as the child grows. However, the core learning method of a child does not change. Learning from others, they will watch, listen, and then act for themselves. Thomas Jefferson believed that an education would lead men and women to the ability to be self-governed and become positive contributors to society (Mondale & Patton, 2001). Today, we can see how true this is by the examples of others. Those that are given the opportunity for education are more likely to find jobs and develop skills that not only improve a community, but influence the economic growth of their nation (Ravitch, Cortese, West, Carmichael, Andere, & Munson, 2009, p. 13). On the other hand, if an education is not provided to individuals, they can become a hindrance to that nation’s growth.

    Read More

  • College Education Should Not Be Free

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as being a vital part to their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educative rite of passage many find they must take out inflated loans, work part time jobs, or even become dissuaded entirely due to the exorbitant costs of higher education. We must forsake this current antiquated system in favor of government subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education must be free because of its benefit to the economy, creation of equal opportunity, and the resolution of the student loan crisis.

    Read More

  • College Education: The Benefits Of College Students

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many students struggle with college for various reasons, whether it is financial, academics, or personal. We may not fully understand why college students struggle the way they do; however, it does not mean help is unavailable. “Clearly, many of the benefits that accrue from a college education are explained by the knowledge, skills, and contacts that students gain from their time on campus and in the classroom (Brock 2)”. A certain degree of success in life can be related to the amount and quality of education which can also relate to income.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Free Education

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the old adage that I was constantly told by my parents as a mischievous teen goes “There is a time and place for everything and it is called college”. The problem surrounding today’s youth is the fact that the “everything” referred to by the former is now too often not only encompassing the mischief performed by young adults but also the unrelenting stress of affording a higher education and the mountain of debt that is smothering young Americans seeking a better future. Despite arguments that providing free college provides more benefit to rich students than poor ones and that free education would make a degree worthless, free college educations is the best tool to close the income gap plaguing this country and revive the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Institutional Barriers Essay

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Affordability is one of the biggest determining factor of whether students continue with their education and attend college or decide to finish their studies and go to work. A college application that allows students to even be considered for a spot in the institution requires students to pay an application fee. As a result, students who came from low-socioeconomic status families did not apply to many colleges as students who came from middle-socioeconomic status families or high-socioeconomic status families because they could not afford to pay for many applications (Denson, et al., 2014). Families must also consider the price of a college education for four years when they are deciding on a college. If the family cannot afford college tuition, room & board, meals, and transportation, then they are unable

    Read More

  • Against Schools

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Quality of a child’s education often either limits or opens up a world of opportunities. Those who study the purpose of public education and the way it is distributed throughout society can often identify clear correlations between social class and the type of education a student receives. It is generally known by society that wealthy families obtain the best opportunities money can buy. Education is a tool of intellectual and economical empowerment and since the quality of education is strongly influenced by social class, a smaller portion of the American population obtains the opportunities acquired from a top notch education. Many people believe that educational inequalities are perpetuated from the interests of specific classes, but some researchers like John Gatto believe that there are even stronger social forces in play. In the essay “Against Schools” the author John Gatto presents three arguments: (1) that are educational system is flawed, (2) that the American educational system is purposely designed to create a massive working class that is easy to manipulate, and (3) alternative teaching methods should be applied to teach children to think for themselves. In this essay I will be summarizing and relating each of these arguments to other educational essays. Also, I will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.

    Read More

  • Poverty In Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Research shows there is a direct correlation between learning abilities and poverty. Children that live in poverty risk having lower learning abilities compared to a more privileged child. According to Carol Lynn Mithers, “Children from poor homes suffer an especially high level of reading problems.” (Mithers). Illiteracy can cause poverty because people that are illiterate earn less money. Mithers also says that “It’s not that poverty causes illiteracy, but illiteracy often make people poor: By some estimates, workers with little or no reading ability earn roughly a third as much as the most

    Read More

  • human trafficking

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Teenage Illiteracy has a major effect in many teenagers’ lives today. Literacy is a learned skill, and illiteracy is passed down from parents who many not are able to read nor write. In America two thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. As Americans we often don’t take the time to realize that schooling at a younger age through high school will improve a child’s opportunities and chances at life. Schooling in younger ages, middle school, and high school play a major part in a child’s life as an adult and how they function.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Free Public Education

Open Document