America is looked at as a melting pot. A country that is to be diverse and filled with numerous opportunities, but who gets to receive these chances? It’s taken America hundreds of years to try and give every individual the same rights and equality. Many Americans believe that the country has successfully achieved these. Dreadfully they are wrong. This country still has major inequality issues in the public school system that keeps the society from growing together. When looking at the nation’s overall scale of education, social class, and success it is clear to see the enormous gap between whites nd blacks.
There is a continuous circle of African Americans living in poor neighborhoods that are then forced to go to underfunded schools that then drop out and contribute to the crime and poverty in their neighborhood. This unpleasant circle can be broken once Americans acknowledge that African Americans have a disadvantage in the educational system and fight for equal opportunities. The start for change begins with the public school system. The following research of Darling- Hammond proves that minorities struggle for a well education due to lack of resources provided to them.
I then use Gregory Mantsios studies to show that America avoids accepting that African Americans are disadvantaged through a theory called “Class Avoidance Phenomena”. In concluding of the research I use Joan Wynne’s first hand knowledge of racism in schools that manifests the ideas of why teachers expect the suppose unsuccessfulness out of African Americans. All three authors bring something important to the analysis of the social stratification and so taking from each author helps best in understanding the disadvantages of African Americans in the public school system.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African Americans were suffering from segregation, racism, and inequality. Although America has came far from what horrible treatment that was placed on minorities, to this day they still suffer from a new modern form of inequality. The next giant milestone for African Americans and the public school system happened only sixty three years ago. Brown vs. Board of education was when the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to segregate in public schools.
Although this was a great achievement to reach, to this day African Americans are still struggling with improper reatment and face unfair disadvantages. Linda Darling- Hammond proves that educational outcomes for minority children are much more a function of their unequal access to key educational resources, including skilled teachers and quality curriculum(1). Equal opportunity does not exist and this is shown through test scores and dropout rates. More laws need to be put into place to allow African Americans to have equal access to a higher quality education.
Funding to public schools in poor areas would make a huge difference not just to individual students but also the future of America. A child’s education should not be harmed due to their disparities. The children in the white schools have a higher success rate and that should be concerning that not every child has equal access. The education system is skewed and it’s not as likely for an African American to be given the same educational opportunity as a white children. In the American educational system, students receive dramatically different learning opportunities due to social class.
Students whose parents have more money invest more time and have greater expectations for their school board to hold a igher standard. Parents who don’t have a high salary like the majority of minority groups, are not as involved in their child’s educational life and are usually more concerned and busy with their career. Mantsios brings up the top of how America ovoids the discussion of class privileges, class oppression, and the overall class nature of society (308). This shows that the American people or the majority don’t want to admit or take blame for the massive inequality of the distribution of wealth.
It is hard to make change when the group that is suffering ubstantially is misrepresented in our political government. Why would America’s congress help when the majority of them are rich white males who do not have to suffer or have experienced the same disadvantages African Americans do? This is what Mantsios calls ” Class Avoidance Phenomenon. ” They believe if they ignore it, it’ll just go away. Africans Americans low mobility in social class is due to the cause of lack of education. Proper education is what shapes our leaders and high paying professionals.
The lack of education in the African American ommunity is the main reason for the gap in the career salary. To achieve greatness in this society the people are expected to have degrees from higher educational schools. Many schools serving low-income and minority students do not even offer the math and science courses needed for college, and they provide lower-quality teaching in the classes they do offer. Due to privatisation of colleges it’s extremely expensive and more challenging for minorities to receive their funding needed for it.
They already are at a disadvantage with salary average but on op are coming out of poor school systems that show low success rates. Tannen explains that education is what shapes individuals in society. “It is there the seeds of our adversarial culture are planted” (537). If a nation wants a strong society, then everyone needs to be given the same opportunity to become important and successful. The only way this can be accomplished is through the investment of equality in the educational system. America is known for economic mobility when in reality it is extremely hard to advance in life without having wealth or being white.
Whites are naturally born more privileged than any other race in America. They are also statistically more prominent not to face the same hardship as African Americans would face economically. There is a huge gap in between classes that directly relates to race. “The richest twenty percent of Americans hold eighty three percent of the total household wealth in the country. “(Mantsios 310). The unequal distribution of wealth takes a huge toll on the African American Population. This does so because minorities are predominantly underclass or working poor.
A parent’s income ffects not just themselves but also the children they are trying to provide for. “Approximately one out of every five children in the United States under the age of six lives in poverty”(Mantsios 311). Children who live in poverty are less likely to succeed due to the lack of resources and stable household. Parents who are unable to supply their children with what a normal middle class citizen would call “easy” and “affordable” materials can not. These underclass children who are predominantly African American struggle to get their hands on paper and pencils that pply to their daily educational lives.
The parents in higher income areas are likely able to provide each child with these items and more to better their education. Families who struggle should receive extra help from either their school or the government to provide students with a fair chance to achieve their goals. A child’s household income should not affect the potential of their future or education. African Americans have a higher chance of being born into an lower class household and this gives them a disadvantage in life due to America’s unfair economic system.
