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Why Is Public Education Unfairly Unequal?

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Everyone strives for a chance have a great job, live in a beautiful home, and to have completed the pursuit of happiness. This fantasy is often referred to as the American Dream, but is it fit for everyone? Researchers have confirmed over the last several years that the highest scoring education systems are limited to wealthy, predominantly white areas, from which many children have been excluded due to their family’s income or ethnicity. After conducting research on America’s diverse public education system - one intended to be fair, equal, and just - I wondered how public education became so unfairly unequal, and how American schools can resolve these stark imbalances. In order to research the topic and answer the question at hand, I found …show more content…
The Washington Post states that “Districts with higher poverty rates have fewer highly educated, experienced teachers and less stable teaching staffs. Students from low-income families have little chance of being tested for gifted-and-talented program eligibility” (Strauss). District laws are denying students living in low income communities to attend top schools outside of their districts. The article suggests, firstly, to end long standing practices and advocate for genuine reforms to allow all students equitable access to the best schools in their areas. The imbalances in the education system clearly contradict the American Ideals of “equality for all”. More so, the article recommends that the department of Education directs additional funding to schools suffering from student poverty.. Together, the article’s ideas and perspectives can help improve the imbalances in the education system to ensure all students receive a top …show more content…
The editorial states that “Black students are more than four times as likely as white students — and Latino students are twice as likely — to attend schools where one out of every five teachers does not meet all state teaching requirements” (Rich). The article also states that “70 percent of white students attend schools that offer a full range of math and science courses, while just over half of all black students have access to those courses” (Rich). According to the article, in his budget request to congress,President Obama’s proposal of 300 million dollars in incentive to states and underprivileged school districts that develop programs to close some of these education gaps. Overall, it is clear that the US is still far from offering equal education opportunities to all. The ideas and perspectives of this article reveal to us that the US still struggles to find fair and equal solutions to grant all students with opportunities to

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