Is Schooling Equitable?
Teachers have the most effect on student learning out of any other school aspect. However, excellent teachers, those who have a greater influence on student learning than the ordinary, are also more likely to work in rich schools. This puts students who are located in low-income areas at a disadvantage in their education. Students must have access to well-funded schools, advanced content, and skilled teachers to succeed. Teachers in schools have a responsibility to be leaders in order for there to be equity in education. They should not be responsible for regulating or calming every single incident in the classroom, but they should be clear about standards and principles. Classroom expectations should embody an attitude of enthusiasm, attentiveness, and openness. Teachers committed to equality must direct their efforts toward identity so that they have the confidence to begin the actual task of equality. Once this takes place, issues ranging from student behavior to staff culture that formerly seemed isolated will start to get better. The majority of the time, an issue inside an education system is a sign of injustice in the procedure, infrastructure, or individuals in the organization. When equality efforts are carefully developed, they can have far-reaching benefits in a school. Equity acknowledges that various students demand separate tools in order to attain the same objectives as their classmates. It takes into account the fact that a student with a handicap requires distinctly different physical aids at school than a peer without a disability would. This is the same thing as we look at equity inside of a school. Overall, no, schooling is not equitable, but it can be.
Hi Avery! I really enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you that schooling isn't equitable, but it can be. Even though we have seen adjustments throughout the years, it still isn't enough. Higher income schools are getting the better education, teachers, and treatment. A lot of the schools can fund to have dual credit, and allow students to get a step ahead in college. Sadly, in lower income schools they don't have the best teachers, education or treatment. Many of these students didn't get an opportunity to take dual credit or get a head start on college. Often times, these students feel behind or they are actually behind in college because they didn't get the best education in high school. It's a very unbalanced situation, and I hope one day it will change for the better. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteHey Avery! I loved hearing your thoughts this week, it was a very intriguing read! I do have to say that I disagree with your first point when you stated that all of the excellent teachers work at the higher income schools, because growing up, I have had teachers who made a significant impact on me while I was not always at the best school in the district. I do agree that there tends to be less success for a student in a school with a lack in materials, resources and content than others, because that is what creates an uneven playing field. I love how you brought up where the education issues stem from, because those are all things that are more than fixable. I think enthusiasm, attentiveness and openness are all very important, but I think true equity lies in something much deeper. This was a great post, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Avery!
ReplyDeleteI think that the school system has put so much on a teachers plate it's insane! They make teachers do all this work and expect them to be perfect in classroom management, lesson planning, etc. when all of this takes time to learn. I think that teachers tend to go to high income schools is because they have the support they need that the low income schools don't offer. That is not the teachers fault that is the school system fault and they should be doing everything in their power to change that. We become teacher to help educate our future generations so I don't think we would mind working with lower income students its just that its hard when no one is willing to help us.
Hi Avery and wow what a great blog post! I love the beginning where you state that excellent teachers usually work in schools with greater resources. This hit home for me because when I decided that I wanted to be a teacher, I went into it wanting to make a change for children. When going into this profession, of course you want to go where you have the greatest amount of resources possible. To me this is a large issue because all schools should be able to have amazing resources for the teachers and the children. When we don't have access to these resources it can be extremely frustrating and it leads to excellent teachers leaving to another school that will have better resources accessible. This is something that has to change in order to allow an equitable environment for our students to flourish. This is a big challenge to tackle, but it is one that we must take on so that our schools can be equitable and all children have access to the things they need to succeed. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteHi Avery, I loved reading your take on this week's question. I somewhat agree with the first statement you made, some of the best teachers are at private schools. Although throughout my schooling experience I did have some amazing teachers, the others were only doing the bare minimum. Students in the low-income areas do need more attention and patience. They are the students that need the most support, and they probably aren't getting that. I also agree that each classroom should have the same standard of expectations. I can really relate to the last sentence you wrote. Schools may not be equitable at this moment but they can definitely get there. I also think that just by attending school you are building up self equity, by graduating you are giving yourself more of a chance to succeed in the real world. By getting a diploma you have a better chance of getting a job.
ReplyDeleteHi Avery!
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed that many of the "more qualified" members of our field tend to gravitate toward schools in higher socioeconomic areas and I think we can attribute this largely to the pay gap in these areas. Naturally, we would want to accept the career with the greater pay out. While it might not be the most ethical decision, it might be what we feel compelled to do for the sake of our families, or our professional development, or a variety of factors. It isn't so simple to tell poor schools to just pay more for better teachers because they lack the funding to do so. Something that I think is interesting that I'd like to share here is that historically within our state legislation has existed, entitled as the Robin Hood system, which redistributed the property taxes across the state to give the schools more equal funding. From my understanding, and feel free to correct me if this has been taught differently within the state (I am not a native Texan), the rich people did not like giving up their money to the poor people, and eventually the state legislature did away with it by 2005 by replacing it with a series of bills which returned the funds to their original districts. While the Robin Hood System pushed toward equality, rather than equity, I think it was at least a step in the right direction and by removing it we took steps backwards. I think its a measure that our State legislature should revisit, and work on improving.
Hi Avery, I loved your post! I love how you discussed that the "good" teachers are usually in a school that has more money and is able to fund more resources for students. However, you are absolutely right that this leaves students in the lower income schools with less of an opportunity to have these great teachers that advocate for more resources. I also agree that in order to have equity we need to have equality in the classroom, with standards and expectations that fit our students needs. A school system can not be equitable unless we as teachers or parents stand up for the students in the schools. Administrators are not in the classrooms they typically don't form relationships with students like teachers do, so if we leave it up to them to make school equitable for all students it will not happen because they don't see what students need everyday.
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