Social Inequality In Education

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America is often seen as a gateway to freedom, a country where value is found in equality. Immigrants come to America to seek refuge from the oppressions of their homelands and to build a new life, hoping for economic stability and growth. Even natural born citizens chase this American Dream of social mobility. As a people, we work hard to acquire affluence through material goods, savings and our network of human connections. Effort by individuals to achieve this mobility is focused on continually branching out the network, working hard in a career to obtain promotions, and investment in future careers through training and education. Yet, in spite of the determination, a chasm separates those chasing the Dream and those born living it. This gap creates a dichotomy between people, those lucky enough to be born into privileged families, and everyone else.
According to Allan G. Johnson, there are many social constructs in society that create a system of privilege and oppression. One category to which many others such as racism, sexism, ableism, and ageism often contribute, is classism. Classism is defined by the “unfair treatment of people” due to their socioeconomic class (Webster), a “hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis of esteem and prestige acquired mainly through economic success and accumulation of wealth” (businessdicitonary.com). Education has often been touted as the primary vehicle for social mobility, bringing the unfortunate to financial freedom and stability. While this ideal may have held truth decades ago, the standard no longer applies. Today, that education comes with a price tag unlike ever before, meaning that most students’ investment in future careers, in the form of student f...

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...rtant that can be learned on a job site? According to Mike Rowe from the television show Dirty Jobs “we are lending money we don’t have to kids who can’t pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist. That’s nuts.” Rowe also goes on to state in his interview on the Blaze that 90% of jobs available now require skill that can be learned from trade school or on the job training rather than at a university. Maybe instead of pushing every student to get a college education, more emphasis needs to be put on the trades and professions that don’t necessarily need a college degree but rather require a more ‘hands on’ education approach. This could ideally decrease the gap between classes as adults acquire less debt due to student loans and make more money filling jobs that are available and necessary.

but are unable to even finish college and receive a degree.

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