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Essay / Educational Inequality in America: An Obstacle to Progress and Equality
Table of ContentsIntroductionImpact of Educational Inequality on MinoritiesAttempts to Resolve Educational InequalityOvercoming the Issue of Educational InequalityConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionSince the dawn of time, education has been the foundation of human development, not only as human beings, but also as a society. Education has always been the key to a thriving society: from experiments to discoveries, from hypotheses to theories and from imagination to reality. Education is not knowing how to read and write; it is being able to study different subjects and having the ability to establish connections between the knowledge acquired and the world; think. When children are born, they begin to experience the basics of education. Not only when parents try to teach them words, but also when they are taught how to behave in front of others and how to treat others. Because it is parents who educate their children on ethics and morals, it is said that education begins at home. For children to get the right education, parents need to know what their children's interests are, and that's where it can get tricky. Some parents may know their children's interests but lack the resources to provide them. Not everyone has the same opportunity to access a high-level education and, although the reasons may vary, ethnicity and socio-economic factors are among the main causes of educational inequality . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayImpact of Educational Inequality on MinoritiesEducational inequality is still present today, especially among minority groups. Minorities are deprived of a good education. This society robs them of the opportunity to grow and acquire the knowledge necessary to succeed in life. Some may say that everyone today has access to public education and that should be enough for a person to progress on their own. However, after studying this topic, it is more than wise to deduce that when it comes to minorities, the education system seems to have failed as an effective equalizer. In the article “Where Have All the Strong Poets Gone,” people get clarity on current policies that did not provide equal opportunities to students. It was made clear that white students had the opportunity to learn things that would lead them to become future bosses in this country, while African Americans and Latinos sat in a classroom and waited and were taught by inexperienced teachers who would not have the ability to transmit. the knowledge students need for secondary education (Jones). This proves that minorities are deprived of the opportunity to have a good education and that society plays a vital role in not giving everyone the same chance to grow and succeed in life. It is difficult for minorities to learn how to navigate the system used today because it is not designed to show the strength of variety that exists today, but instead is centered around whiteness. If schools are not legally required to address their racial equality issues, this issue will continue to suppress minority groups. Early access to education is what helps a person determine whether they want to pursue higher education or enter the job market. Although a large number of studentsfrom minorities have decided to enter the country's higher education system, it is white students who are accepted into elite universities. African American and Hispanic students are typically concentrated at two- and four-year colleges that accept most of their applicants. A report by Allie Bidwell found that 80 percent of new white enrollments occurred at the nation's top universities "while more than 70 percent of new African-American and Hispanic enrollments occurred at the top universities." universities across the country. Summer at open-access colleges. Even when they have the same level of preparation, and sometimes even the same GPA, minorities are disadvantaged and are not treated the same way; white students have more opportunities to earn their bachelor’s degrees at better-funded colleges. The fact that qualified minorities do not have the pathways necessary to realize their full potential is what illustrates the disproportionate pathways in the higher education system. Attempts to resolve educational inequalities Many Americans believed that an educational orientation was the solution to giving minorities the opportunity to develop their potential and have the chance to be part of gifted programs where they can achieve great things in the life. However, it was proven that the benchmark was not effective and that inequalities existed. Inequality consists of not giving the same opportunities to everyone and having some form of favoritism towards others. This situation creates a scenario in which people's rights can be violated and not managed fairly, and that is why steps must be taken to change the system in which this society has been living for a long time. In Joni M. Lakin's article, "Universal Screening and the Representation of Historically Underrepresented Minority Students in Gifted Education," research by Card and Giuliano showed that the old teacher referral system was ineffective in addressing African-Americans, Hispanics, low socio-economic people. status and English-learning students to be part of gifted and talented programs, leading to underrepresentation of minorities in these types of programs. In the research, the authors found that “28 percent of third-grade gifted students were African American or Hispanic, although these students made up 60 percent of the district's population” (Lakin). This demonstrates that guidance decisions can be biased by teachers and that they can neglect certain students who do not fit the archetypes of giftedness. This survey was helpful in finding out that universal screening is a better way to give students the opportunity to be identified and what are the best services that could be provided to them based on their educational needs. The importance of using screening rather than guidance is that it promotes diversity and equitable representation in programs designed for talented students. Overcoming the problem of educational inequality Although it would be impossible to eradicate a problem that has been present in society for a long time, in a short period of time, it is never late to develop solutions. For example, in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, the Supreme Court addressed racial inequality in education and provided the equity needed to allow students of color access to meaningful learning opportunities. This case helps prove the importance of race and how a simple opportunity can completely change. 1999).