Introduction
Public schools are usually considered to be dominated by students from lower and middle class. Preference of such a class of people is due to their lower fees and the fact that they follow the general academic standards as required by the government. On the other hand, most people, even from higher class prefer to take their children to public schools because of their perceived good performance or course preference. Social class has a likelihood of affecting the education quality of a student once he or she acknowledges or fails to acknowledge the reason for being in school. Social class in the eyes of a student is about the achievements of their parents, which may be a motivating or a de-motivating factor in education quality. In this paper, we shall analyse the issue of social class and education quality as we focus on three schools in California. The schools are Piedmont, McClymonds and Balboa.
The records of its performance over the years and the achievements of the school alumni mostly measure the quality of education. My school, Balboa high school has recorded good performance since it was rebranded with a state record of 7. It is a good definition of a public school considering the diversity of students in the classrooms, 48% Asian, 6% whites 28% Hispanic and 6% African Americans. Such student diversity is complemented by the courses, which are offered by the school and hence enabling them factor on specific subjects. In my opinion, social class boosts performance levels of students who feel the need to stand out (Banks 94). For instance, those in privileged social classes would work hard to prove that they also got brains and the resources to perform well. On the other hand, those who are not privileges as their counterparts will realise the need to outsmart them. They will hence work to prove that even though they lack the material resources, they have brains that will usher them into a brighter future.
Most of the schools, including piedmont, Balboa and McClymonds were established in the early 1900’s when racial discrimination was still a big issue in United States. Those were the years when whites had their specific schools, blacks as well as people from other ethnic backgrounds. The main reason for this was because class was measured in terms of race. It was believed that African Americans had slave origins and hence struggled economically. In fact, their economic prosperity was at the mercy of the whites who mostly served as their employees. The poverty situation among the African American communities also made them recognized for some crimes and negative habits. Whites, who were exposed to better resources and opportunities lived more decent lives compared to other races. They were hence considered disciplined, intelligent and rich due to the home advantages they enjoyed. The thought of a white taking a child to a black dominated school could send shivers into their mind on the possibility of being polluted and even abused. The anger that other races had towards the whites and especially the African American was so deep due to the discrimination they continued to face (Rothstein 90). There are hence fears of probable revenge attacks that each community tries to avoid.
Balboa, even though was founded in the early 1900’s, it has faced various academic challenges that has made the school go through rebranding. The rebranding that recently took place and saw the school boost on its performance was most probably the best that could happen to my school. The rebranding saw a number of students from different communities enrol into the school as well as the introduction of more subjects. The school administration must have realised the importance of embracing diversity to boost performance. Diversification, which must begin on the kind of subjects offered as well as other non-class activities has the ability of attracting people from different races. For instance, McClymonds seems to favour students from the African American communities due to friendly courses and activities offered. This also applies to piedmont, which offers white friendly environment for their students.
Asian students dominate my school Balboa, though the percentage is not as high as that of the whites in piedmont and African Americans in McClymonds. Comparing the education quality of the three schools, my school Balboa records high overall grades. This implies that diversification, both in student population and subjects offered helps in improving the education quality. I loved and enjoyed my stay in Balboa because one could hardly notice the difference in social class. When there is a mix of races, it becomes quite challenging to know who belongs to a rich or poor family (Nieto 83). The fact that students are picked and dropped by school buses makes it hard for the students’ body to know the kind of car a particular parent has, which is mostly responsible for discrimination and segregation. In Balboa, it seemed as if each student understood what brought them to the school and concentrated on it. The academic goals of the students and the teachers keep them so focused that they do not have time to notice class differences.
When considering an appropriate school for me, my parents and I had many options of high schools in California. I remember my dad mention that in the current economic environment, it would be appropriate if I were taken to a school that will give me an opportunity to interact with students from different communities. This will enhance my social life as well as guarantee me more options to join an international college of my choice. After analysing all schools in California in terms of performance, location and diversity, Balboa stood up for us. I went to the school with a lot of anticipation to learn and interact with other students. It also gave me an opportunity to learn more about the different cultural believes and their significance. It enabled me appreciate such communities even more as I realised that there was a lot I could learn from them rather than criticize (Banks 34). There are very rare cases of discrimination in the school and once such is reported, the administration will do all they can to settle the matter.
Looking at the education statistics of Piedmont high and McClymonds high schools, we realise that social class is an attitude that has affected education quality among students. Piedmont records a higher performance and enrolment of students, most of which are whites at 72% while McClymonds records lesser enrolment of white students at 1.5%. Whites, being natives of the land obviously enjoy more opportunities in terms of resources while blacks still have to fight to be accorded what is rightfully theirs. Such attitudes hence still places whites to belong to a higher social class compared to the blacks. This has gone ahead to affect their performance where students in Piedmont perform better than those in McClymonds. White dominated schools have less to worry about in terms of them being admitted to prestigious colleges due to high fees, low performance or discrimination. Such an attitude hence boosts their overall performance. On the other hand, African American students have many struggles that include family crises, discrimination and the fear of not being able to achieve their goals no matter how much they work hard because of the environment they live in. Such an attitude is likely to make them loose the morale to work hard and hence affecting their overall performance.
Conclusion
Works cited
Banks, James A. An introduction to multicultural education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1994.
Banks, James A. An introduction to multicultural education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1994.
Lareau, Annette. Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000.
Nieto, Sonia. Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Longman, 10 Bank Street, White Plains, NY 10606., 1992.
Rothstein, Richard. "Class and schools: Using social, economic, and educational reform to close the achievement gap." Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute (2004).
