Bill Clinton was quoted saying that the key to ending poverty is education (paraphrased). However, many critics have refuted this claim and insisted that education contributes to poverty, at least from the conflict theory perspective. In this regard, education shows inequalities as noted in race, class, and gender relations. Thus, it is directly responsible for advancing inequalities when equal opportunities are not provided for learners as shown in the video, A Tale of Two Schools.
Consequently, critics have observed that education has failed in its major goal of ensuring that every child succeeds in learning and later on in life. Significantly, educational achievements determine subsequent aspects of life, including the choice of college, career, and earnings. Multiple factors have however undermined the role of education as a tool for poverty eradication and social mobility. This short assessment presents at least three examples of differences between the schools that lead to disadvantages in the education system and finally provides a suggestion to help bridge the gap.
School resources
It appears that some schools in the US are well endowed with learning resources and other state-of-the-art facilities relative to others. Consequently, the education system, in this respect, greatly contributes to inequality. In poorly financed schools, teachers are forced to supplement teaching resources with their resources, which are meager and cannot meet the needs of all students (A Tale of Two Schools). In this case, the lack of resources due to inadequate funding significantly contributes to learner disadvantage in some schools across the US.
Means of transport to school
From the video, getting students to school is one of the major issues many students face. While some students may drive to school, some must commute for several hours via multiple buses. Although students’ transit challenges are individualized and difficult to understand, they indicate how getting to learning institutions to fast and efficiently is difficult for some students. Consequently, education is responsible for learning inequality, especially when buses fail to run on time, which leads to shorter class hours and ultimately absenteeism. Therefore, student transit is a source of inefficiency that leads to disparities. In some instances, poorly equipped schools may fail to provide means of transportation for their students (McDaniels 1).
Academic subjects
The short video shows that American students are not exposed to the same academic content they need to learn. This implies that the education system creates inequality when the central issue concerns equal opportunity to learn similar content across various disciplines, including leadership. Academic contents are the core of schooling, which in this case demonstrate inequality in the system. The video shows that academic subject coverage has large inequalities. Hence, learners are exposed to different learning opportunities. One should not be surprised that inequality in academic subjects is common in underprivileged schools.
Students who attend poorly equipped neighborhood schools found in high-poverty areas are often exposed to less thorough academic content. Some schools demonstrate high-levels of academic subject specialization while others have general instructional contents, which only advance inequality in the education system that is responsible for learning difficulties (Jensen 67; Alphonso and Grant 1; Burkam and Lee 1).
It is widely acknowledged that many challenges have hampered the education system in the US. Hence, educational reforms can be used to address current inequalities brought about by the current education system (Gross-Loh 1). Schooling funding can help toward alleviating some resource-related issues that many schools in marginalized areas encounter. Also, other factors, which have promoted inequality in the system, such as tests and assessments, teacher and student retention, and supporting low-scoring schools, can help in addressing the problem.
Works Cited
A Tale of Two Schools. Online video clip. YouTube. 2009. Web.
Alphonso, Caroline, and Tavia Grant. “A tale of two schools: The correlation between income and education in Toronto.” The Globe and Mail. 2014. Web.
Burkam, David T., and Valerie E. Lee. Inequality at the starting gate. 2002. Web.
Gross-Loh, Christine. “Finnish Education Chief: ‘We Created a School System Based on Equality’.” The Atlantic. 2014. Web.
Jensen, Eric. Teaching with Poverty in Mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2009. Print.
McDaniels, Cynthia. Equality of Educational Opportunity: Race and Finance in Public Education. 2016. Web.