Poor Schools Essay Samples

The majority of students attending public schools in the United States come from poor or low-income families. Their parents are forced to take on two jobs to be able to provide for the families and afford them an education. But it is unfortunate that, the school system highly favors the rich in the society and disfavors the poor. More resources are given to schools of the rich which need them less, and denied to public schools which are for the poor, and they need them more. Therefore, it is apparent that, there is inequality in our schools which leads to poor schools in our society. Poor schools are schools that lack enough funding and are mostly attended by children from low-income families.
Four authors, Leonie Haimson, Lashanda Henry, Brian Jones, and Kay. S Hymowitz discusses poor schools, and how they can affect the learning of our children/. Kay S. Hymowitz, the author of Manning Up and a contributing editor to City Journal, tackles the subject of poor schools in her article Poverty isn’t an Insurmountable Obstacle to Education. Hymowitz talks of inequality in American public schools and how students from low-income families are affected. However, she argues that, with supporting parents, children from these poor schools excel academically. Apart from Hymowitz, Lashanda Henry in her article Parents Need to Set Standards for Children also talks about poor schools and how low-income parents support their children’s education thus enhancing their outstanding excellence. Lashanda is the creator of Mahogany Momma Magazine, and Black Parenting Blog. The two authors Lashanda and Hymowitz share the same views about parents supporting their children’s education despite the fact that they are poor. Leonie Haimson, a founding member of the New York State Allies for Public Education, also tackles the topic in her article Blame the Policy Makers, not Parents, for Poor Schools. In addition, she is an executive producer of the Class Size matters, and a board member of Network for Public Education giving her credibility on the topic. Leonie argues that, parents should not be blamed for poor schools, but poor leadership, inequitable funding, poverty, and high-class sizes should be blamed. Lastly, Brian Jones, a member of the Movement of Rank and File Educators and is pursuing a Ph. D in Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center argues that, the government should stop pointing fingers at the parents. Having the experience of teaching in New York public schools, Jones writes that, the society does not value our students as the parents do. Therefore, it is vital for the state to cater for all schools equally and to provide an equal environment for learning for poor schools and affluent schools. All the authors talk about a great disparity in education between the poor and the wealthy students, each giving their opinion on the issue. One apparent thing in all the articles is that, even though children in poor schools face difficulties in learning, their parents are always there to support them.
There is a common ground between Lashanda Henry, and Kay. S Hymowitz. According to them, parents regardless of their status have higher expectations of academic achievement for their children. According to Hymowitz, parents from low-income families do not doom their children to a future behind a McDonald’s counter, but they instill a positive attitude in them for a better future. Low-income parents always believe in a bright future for their children because they have a strong belief in education as a path to future success for their children. These parents always have a positive certainty in their children in that, they will study, go to college and help the family out of poverty. Comparably, children from affluent families have it all and can get the best education from any university or college, but despite all the enrichments, they are not making it in their education (Hymowitz). Hymowitz gives an example of children who are born from poor low-skilled Chinese immigrants, and are making it in public schools and the labor market. Most of these children come from poor, uneducated families, but are thriving in their education because of the support they receive from their poor parents. Such parents are always ready to support their children’s education with the hope that they will move them out of poverty. Hymowitz concludes that, these poor children make it academically because of the support and stability they receive from their parents, despite their economic status.
Comparably, Lashanda Henry has the same views like those of Kay Hymowitz on the issue of poor schools and the performance of children from low-income families. Lashanda remarkably notes that, education starts at home (Lashanda). She narrates her story as an immigrant whereby her parents moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn in search of a healthier future for their children. She says that, she grew up in neighborhood whereby most students used to fail, but she excelled in her studies, and obtained a degree from Columbia University. Just like Kay Hymowitz, Lashanda argues that, high educational achievement is instilled in children by their parents at a tender age. Additionally, parents play a significant part in the achievement of their children regardless of their social and economic positions in the society. For Lashanda, her school standard pass mark was 65, but her mother had set a different standard for her which was nothing less than a 95. Such a standard instilled hard work and discipline in Lashanda, and it was her mother who contributed to her academic excellence. According to her story, her mother was an immigrant who worked two jobs in order to fend for the family. Despite her busy schedule, she could still find some time to push Lashanda to the standard mark, which enhanced her academic performance.
Kay Hymowitz and Lashanda Henry believe that, parents can play an important role in the excellence of their children irrespective of their poor social standing. Therefore, it is vital for all parents to get involved in their children’s education and the educational process as a whole. Learning should not stop at school, it should begin and end at home. If parents learn to push their kids to perform better, they can use their children’s excellence to drive the educational system to provide enough funding for public schools. Overall, their argument is that, even though at times the education system fails when it comes to funding public schools, let not our children’s under-performance be blamed on the schools. Parents play an essential part in their children’s education and achievement. In addition, parents should take a proactive lead in encouraging their children to excel as they expect a change in our schools. If parents take the leading role in nurturing their children with respect to education, they will be a significant and positive change in our schools. Therefore, the authors believe that, poverty is not an insurmountable impediment to education; it is the work of the parents to set standards for their children and help them excel despite coming from poor families.
Even though there is a difference in the author’s arguments, at least they do share some aspects on the education of low-income family students. The authors share the idea that, parents do value the education of their children that even the society. Hymowitz, Lashanda, Haimson, and Jones believe that, parents are very imperative in the academic performance of their children. One notable difference is how they approach the issue. Lashanda and Hymowitz approach the issue from the low-income parent’s point of view, and how they highly influence the academic performance of their children.
Leonie Haimson in her article takes a different approach to the issue by blaming the poor leadership, inequitable funding, poverty, and high-class sizes for poor schools and low students’ performance. According to her, the government should stop blaming the parents for rejecting policies that impose unpiloted standards on our children yet there is inequality in funding of our schools. She argues that, the Obama administration is violating the children’s rights and putting more pressure on them, especially those from poor schools. Instead, the government should reform the systems, and provide quality education for all schools including poor schools. In addition, in his article, Parents Value Schools, but Society Doesn’t, Brian Jones also argues that, the government should stop wagging fingers at parents, yet the society does not give children the treatment they deserve. He further argues that, if the state indeed cares about our children, instead of wagging fingers at the parents, they should be able to provide an equal educational environment for both poor and rich schools.
In conclusion, poor schools are schools that are mostly attended by children from low-income families. Four authors, Leonie Haimson, Lashanda Henry, Brian Jones, and Kay. S Hymowitz discuss about the issue of poor schools in different articles. Each other expresses his/her point of view on the issue depending on their upbringing or experience. Lashanda and Hymowitz take the same stand by arguing that, parents from low-income families can make a difference in their children’s life through their support. They argue that, parents can help their children improve on their grades despite attending poor schools, and this can help them move out of poverty. On the other hand, Haimson and Jones insist that the government should stop blaming parents from poor schools because they are the problem. But it is clear that, all others see a problem in poor schools and the problem can be solved by both the parents and the state.