Roughdraft to Education Essay

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.