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Unequal Education

In: Social Issues

Submitted By nwagh507
Words 1172
Pages 5
1. After watching the video “Unequal Education”, reading “Savage Inequalities” by Kozol and all other assigned documents, it is clear that there is in fact a relationship between poverty, race, and school spending per pupil. The relationship is the impoverished are generally non-white (black or Hispanic) and their school districts spend less on students than those that are located in more affluent, white areas. As a result, the more affluent areas provide children with many facilities for different activities, equipment to keep students engaged, and after school activities to keep students away from community dangers while poorer neighborhoods teach classes in storage rooms, provide an inadequate amount of equipment for each individual, and practically have non-existent after-school programs. Additionally, poorer school districts cannot afford enough teachers to comfortably accommodate all students. The difference that Kozol points out between the Montclair and East Orange high-school students is shocking. East Orange High School with 2,000 students has only four physical education teachers while Montclair High School, with only 100 students less, has 13 physical education teachers. In many case, teachers from poorer schools will teach multiple subjects that they are not familiar with or certified in. Even more shocking is how in Jersey City, the art budget is $2.62 per student (for one year), which Kozol states as being “less than the price of a pad of drawing paper at a K mart store.”

2. In “Savage Inequalities,” Kozol states that “it is difficult to know what argument a counselor can make to tell a failing student that she ought to stay in school.” The difficulty that these counselors face is that considering the deplorable environments of poor schools, it is sometimes actually difficult to determine whether dropping out is “a logical decision.” The odds of

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