Education
Education in the states is not equal among various locations. When reading the two articles, it became relevant that location certainly defines a school and what it has to offer students. This issue needs to be resolved becasue we cannot keep saying America is equal when the inequality is right under our nose.
In the article, “Shame of the Nation”, the author Jonathon Kozol points out the disparity of students’ dollar worth betwen two schools. You have one district, located in the slums, who can only affor “$8000 per student a year, while down the road, in the white suburbs, [the amount of] students’ worth rises to $12000” (pg 150). This $4000 difference can result in funding new programs for students to develop intellectually. I can relate personally to this because my school was located in a normal white suburban area, and our facilities were not up to par. We had to severely fundraise to afford a new gym. However, down the road in Clovis, California each high school had state of the art facilities for sports and arts programs. A 10 mile difference caused a fluctuation in the well-being of schools. This was due to money and location. Wherever the money is, the better the public school. Take LA and the Bronx for instance. Because of their low income, many high schools cannot offer the same AP classes or electives as a normal high school. This hinders their ability to correctly take courses allowing to further an education. “Education should serve as [a] ladder out of poverty” (What Will Become of Miguel, pg. 264).
While both articles discuss educational inequality, I noticed “What Will Become of Miguel” was largely biased towards the Latino/Hispanic community. As a Hispanic myself, I did not agree with Pedro’s statements of being “under represented in the academics” and facing “schools with over crowding and lack of classes”. My high school was severely over crowed, but some how 700 seniors found a way to graduate and have a life plan out of the 3500 total student body. My school could only handle a maximum of 2000. I did not appreciate the belief that Lations have it horrible in the United States. Please do not give me a pity story about how you deserve a college education because your life is hard. Majority of people have a hard life. Race does not determine your life, it is the choices you personally make. A person can write a cover letter explaining their hardships, but to me personally it comes down to grades. Do not blame the school or teachers for not getting accepted into college. For the schools that do not offer certain classes to follow UC/CSU guidelines, there are other options. A person can take a class at a city college. If you have a money issue, most city colleges waive tuition fees. There are multiple ways to get where you want to go. It is all about hard work. Every race has its hardships, not just the Latinos. My mom, who is Portuguese, was considered a nothing in her town because she wasn’t a mixed american. She was looked down up on in the economic and social status. Her high school did not offer AP classes, but my mom was determined to go to college. She studied for the tests herself because AP tests can be taken even if the course is not offered. My dad, who is Mexican, grew up sleeping on a couch and dealt with the daily activites of drug-abusing brothers. He chose a different path and put himself through city college. No one is owed anything from the country simply because they exist and their race. Every person has choices in their life to act upon. It is all about making the right ones. Please do not put race as an issue for education problems. It is up to you to change your life.
I have not started my volunteer work with Catholic Charities Kids Club, but I have been to the orientation. From what I have learned, many of the students come from a low economic back ground and they are endanger of not passing their grade. From what I have heard from the community partner, most of the students enjoy learning and want to work towards a higher education. I believe that they can achieve this because they have the determination to change their life and enjoy the school work in front of them.
