Throughout my short education on the education system, I have noticed that someone or something is always being left out. In the past, students were separated by skin color and teachers were only allowed to teach if they had the right skin color and beliefs. Today, we still see a lack of diversity in our public education system. Students are separated in schools based on social class and nothing else. There’s a large amount of inequity in our education systems that stems from past prejudices.
Growing up I always went to the best public schools, in fact, my parents made it a point to live in neighborhoods where we had that opportunity. Parents were actively involved in their children’s education and almost every student succeeded. It wasn’t until I met my future best friend, Liliana, that I realized this wasn’t the experience of every child. She grew up in Milwaukee where class sized were often 35 to a teacher and if a student got a B they were seen as someone who tried too hard in school. She remembers that drugs, alcohol, and fighting were common in her middle school; none of which I experienced. I wondered how she could grow up 15 minutes from me and have had completely different experiences.
I was reading an article from Education Leadership, and they said that in some school districts each student is allocated $15,000, and in others there is less than $4,000 allocated per student. How did a united country allow for such unequal school funding? How are students expected to succeed, if they aren’t being given the same opportunity too?
A lot of this lack of funding stems from school funding being taken from property taxes, so richer areas have much nicer and more successful school districts. They are able to pay teachers more and can purchase the resources necessary to ensure students are learning all that they can. I think that the inequity of schools also leads to the lack of diversity in schooling, because minority groups are often in lower class neighborhoods. If school funding can be more equally distributed throughout schools we can help increase graduation rates, teacher pay, and this can benefit all communities.
Allison's Blog 