Monday, December 12, 2011

The Downward Spiral

Fred Dukes

  The inequality between schools is becoming a problem and its not all based on how they are run. The city schools versus the suburban schools are different in many ways but one way that we all know is the amount of money each school receives. And one reason for this is that a lot of the suburban business are able to be taxed and that's were a lot of the schools money comes from, where as in the city on 30% of the business can taxed which taxes away from the schools money. And this is why we have inequality between schools because with out the money schools are not able to pay teachers and with less teachers you have a smaller curriculum which is what happens a lot of the time in city schools and is the exact opposite from suburban schools.

 

 From attending a suburban school, we had a wide variety of courses and clubs to be a part of that would allow for the student's to be well rounded when applying for colleges. When I talk to kids in the city a lot of the time they tell me that they had a limited choice as far there course selection goes. I was also told that a lot of the time the students behaviors in school are impacted by the  atmosphere of how the school looks, one person said "It was the atmosphere that made me feel like you were going to fail the metal detectors as if we were bad kids the dirty halls and the lack of effort that the students received" , as a suburban student I can say that my school never made me feel that way. In my school we had big, closes thing to a metal detector was a random dog check, well lit classrooms with a  teaching staff that made you feel like you were able to do everything no matter what race you were.


  A major reason why a student from a public high school in the city trying to get into college has a smaller chance compared to what the students in a suburban school has, even though the city kid may have had the same grades worked just as hard if not harder than the suburban student. If all schools were equal I think that it would set a new standard as far as living, criminal activity, and opportunity. 

 For more examples look at the link bellow

1 comment:

  1. .
    It makes me angry that this kind of equality is so widespread that people tend to take it without comment or argument. Kids in suburban schools don't know that there are kids in the city who don't even have the option of taking AP courses, or getting help with college. Kids in the inner cities know that there is inequality, but they feel completely powerless to change it. I wonder what would happen if the kids in the city actually got empowered to change their worlds, instead of being taught from elementary school how to follow orders and stay in line. I think all it takes for anyone to change their mind is one good teacher, mentor, or role model.
    jenn thoman

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