I read this article on BBC news and it caught my attention. The article focuses on an ethnic group in the Czech Republic known as the Roma (gypsy). Lack of equal education makes it hard for these children to earn a competitive place in the economy thus adding to their social exclusion as adults. The article focuses on the issue of these children and mentions that it’s a vicious circle, less educational opportunities create lower social standing which leads to their children receiving less educational opportunities. While this case is specific to the Czech Republic and to a specific ethnic minority, trends such as this can also be seen in the education system of the United States.
School districts in the United States have huge gaps based on socio-economic status of the students and based on ethnicity. The school district that I’m student teaching in is Allentown School District and it is in the 2nd percentile of the entire state of Pennsylvania, that’s almost rock bottom. Ten minutes away is East Penn School District where I’ve also taught at, they’re in the 83rd percentile for Pennsylvania. Other than 10 minutes apart in location, what are some other differences between the two? Allentown sports a poverty rating of 82.6%, East Penn only has 11.8%. Allentown is comprised of 80.6% minorities; East Penn is 13.6% minorities. What do their test scores reflect, student ability or an inferior education based on their socio-economic status?
A child’s ethnicity and economic background are no excuse for an inferior education. Just because their parents can’t afford state of the art facilities doesn’t mean that good facilities shouldn’t be provided to the students. In order to break the vicious circle of “systematic discrimination” of students based on their background, we need to provide equal educational opportunities to all students.
Article on BBC about unequal education in schools in the Czech Republic: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8456882.stm
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