It never has been fair, but we mask our flaws
with soaring scores of confidence and patriotism. We’ve fallen victim to an
educational system of robotism and fear to rise above a cycle that continues to
perpetuate our differences and educational gap. Our nation has been failing our
youth in preparation for a possibility brighter future; comparatively, we fall
behind other nations. This blanket concept of fairness and turning a blind eye to
repairing the problems further discourages the underprivileged and validates
their belief that they can’t be a contribution, but only a cancer in society.
As stated in Savage Inequalities by Joanathon Kozol, “equal funding for unequal needs is not equality.” Opportunities
are lost when we fail to acknowledge the varying needs in school districts. And
so the flaws just remain. There is also a lack of bravery to step outside of
mindless teaching, and a mismanagement of educational funds. All of these contribute
to a contradictory and false society of freedom and equality. America boasts
this, but fails to prioritize the time or the money to make this a reality for
all people. Equality is such a general idea, at least, there is no consensus to
it. Our government practices equality by an inconsistent effort of equal
distribution. But equality should be applied by providing an equal opportunity for
everyone so that they can pursue whatever avenue they choose. By doing this, we
foster a safe and fair environment for our youth to competitively succeed. We can restore a system of faith and equality,
both of which our forefathers have fought so bravely to realize. But we’ve failed
as successors when we were handed over this responsibility.
The results of a poorly funded school due to
mismanagement of educational funds are grim. When we apply the “one size fits
all” concept and choose to be ignorant to vastly different needs throughout the
nation, our problems continue to grow in this vicious cycle. Most of the
children in underprivileged schools are products of victims in the very same
environment. They never left, bettered their situation or learned how to escape
it.
“…Eighteen years from now,
one of those four may graduate from college, but three of the twelve boys in
this kindergarten will already have spent time in prison (p55)
How discouraging it is, to learn that a
hopeless future is waiting at the end. To see others succeed financially and
educationally, while forgotten in a mass of problems, makes reaching that
starting point, which is so easily given to others, a far-fetched idea and an
unattainable task. Defiance, for example, or battling the hormones of a
pre-pubescent teen are all challenges we must face when raising a child. But in
the poorer districts, the children start off with subpar standards and resources.
So the race starts off unfairly and acceptance in a competitive school is
almost impossible. The government thinks that by providing the same information
to everyone, in the same manner, is giving the same opportunity to everyone.
But that is not true. When people of the poorer districts have never been
uplifted or trained to see beyond what was in front of them, the government
fails in reaching out to them and bettering their situation. And so the cycle
continues. The school drop-out rates are already expected, in fact needed, in
order to field all the needs of those that choose to stay. So the government already
expects this, and funds according to this statistic. The parents of these
neighborhoods are products of this environment and they continue this very same
cycle for their children. If they were never taught to be resourceful, literate,
or to be ambitious because the environment that surrounds them fails to thrive,
then how can they be role models to their children if they don’t even know how
to escape the grim reality of what faces them? It’s easy to believe that these
pockets of poor areas are forgotten by choice and we intend to keep them there
as to not infiltrate the wealthier areas. It seems more convenient for
everyone, at least for those that are not affected by it. And the ones that are
making the decisions for these areas, are definitely ones that are not affected
by these problems.
Finding a job is also difficult for those that
live in these areas. For example, there are not a lot of companies in poor
neighborhoods. The government doesn’t provide enough funding for public
services there either. The largest businesses in these poor neighborhoods are
funeral homes, whorehouses and the drug trade. So this reduces the availability
of good, honest jobs and the opportunity to save up and move out of these neighborhoods.
Most of them live paycheck to paycheck and barely have enough to provide for
the family. They are born into poverty and continue to stay in poverty. Additionally,
it’s hard to be qualified for any jobs without a high school or college degree.
Those with minimal education have
difficulty competing for a job so if they do find one, it pays minimal.
These schools in poor neighborhoods also lack
sufficient supplies. Some don’t have enough books, and the books that they
have, are in poor condition. They are missing pages, the information is old and
sometime the books are delivered out of sequence. The conditions of the
classrooms and bathrooms are also poor. The plumbing is not efficient, the
doors are missing in the bathroom stalls and the paper towels and soap are both
missing. Some don’t even have playgrounds and if they do, they don’t equally
meet the safety standards for schools in wealthier areas. In the classrooms, there
aren’t enough desks. There are no colored copies of pictures to teach children
the difference between colors. The kids are discouraged and by the time they
reach third or fourth grade, their dreams have atrophied and died down. It’s apparent
that the government has forgotten about them. The schools merely exist and are
not competitive. They fail in fostering an environment that encourages them to
thrive. The test scores from these schools continue to remain low, but the
government does not see it fit to apply more money to these areas to help raise
the performance level of these underprivileged children. We have a long list of
schools, even in our immediate area that fall under the category of Tier one,
where ranking test scores are low. Even though
the level of poverty in California is not as severe as in other areas, the
problems of poor performance on test results still exist throughout. Our
government needs to implement an intervention in all the districts to reach out
and find out the varying reasons that negatively impact the students and cause
them to perform so poorly. Our solution should not be a blanket strategy to solve
the problem. Maybe we need longer instructional time, new programs, and new
staff.
One flaw in our school system is the tenure that teachers earn once
a time of employment has been established. So regardless of their performance,
they will always be guaranteed a teaching job. It’s scary to know that we don’t
have the power to eliminate teachers that are bad at their jobs. When they are
suspended or have to await their trial case, they still get paid their full salary
for doing nothing. This can last as long as three years, a prime example of how
our educational funds are mismanaged and wasted, rather than applying the money
to a school that can use new materials or a repaired ventilation system. These
poor schools also don’t attract talented teachers. Some of the ones that teach
there don’t care; they sleep in the classroom or arrive late to class everyday.
“We have teachers, who only bother to
come in three days a week. One of these teachers comes in usually around
9:30am. (p63)”
Teachers
have the opportunity to inspire and influence children. They set examples and
standards that must be upheld by the children. If the teachers exemplify a bad
habit, the children think that it’s acceptable to do the same. The children
already feel hopeless and that the government doesn’t care about them. So when
the teacher doesn’t make an effort to be there on time to teach, it further
validates their belief. Because I have a son, I am conscientious of making sure
that I am consistently setting a positive example for him. For example, I would
be a hypocrite if I told him that saying bad words is not ok even if I use bad
words. It would encourage him more if I can show him that even I can uphold the
standards that I set for him. What I ask of him, is not unreasonable, because
even I can do it. Just like a teacher, I have the power to influence, motivate
and shape him. A good teacher and parent would recognize that and take
advantage of that opportunity. A bad teacher would not care to work against the
poorly structured system.
What further creates the gap between the wealthy and the poor, is
that competitive wealthy students are not attracted to these schools either. So
the children of atrophied dreams continue to commiserate amongst each other and
don’t have peers to help challenge and increase their competitive edge.
We also have fallen victim to a system of mindless teaching. Our education
system dislocates us from our talent. We focus on manufacturing on a linear
level, rather than an organic level, thus hindering our ability to feed our
spirit with excitement to learn. We are obsessed with our fast-food system of
education; making fast deposits of education, only for us to spit it out and
not retain the information. So out of fear, we continue in this cycle of
conformity, because it’s safe and predictable. Some of us don’t have the
financial means to break out of this cycle, so we continue to work mindlessly
like robots in this system. Jiddu Krishnamurti says “…where there is fear, there is no intelligence.” To some, it’s
more convenient to stay in this system and not challenge it because it seems
like such a daunting and unattainable task. But we fail as a society when we
choose ignorance due to convenience.
Throughout our nation, our educational system is flawed. There is
a mismanagement of funds, where money flows freely where it’s needed more
elsewhere, and where bad teachers get paid to do nothing. Our government turns
a blind eye and refuses to investigate the reasons behind our failing schools.
They give us a blanket solution to a nation of extremely varying needs. So the
gap between the poor and the privileged areas continues to grow and creates a
nation of several isolated nations, rather than just one. And when the
conditions seem sufficient, our teaching methods are still lacking. We’ve
conformed to a process of robotism, where we teach, not inspire our youth. We
fill them with information, but not challenge to exercise their minds and
spirit. Teaching has become a duty and not an opportunity to inspire them to
become believers in making a difference. No system is perfect, and our system
is far from that. But change must start somewhere, even if it starts small. Erich
Fromm says “Man has continued to evolve
by acts of disobedience.”We need the strength to challenge what is wrong because
only then, will we be able to better our situation. The power to influence is
infectious and we are all empowered to make a positive change. But it starts
with acknowledging the problem and that will take us a step towards the right
direction.
