Topic > Effects of Social Positioning on the Education System and Appropriate Solutions

In today's society, education is highly valued by most people. The problem with education is that not everyone gets the right education they deserve and a lot of it has to do with the effects of low socioeconomic status, and these effects are boiled down into three main categories: school, family and ethnicity. . There are many possibilities when it comes to solving this problem; However, three main options involve increasing funding for school systems, changing old regulations, and addressing individual student concerns. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Looking at the big picture of the problem related to educational success, it is possible to divide it into three groups. The first of these is the school itself. Schools in areas with poorer economies often do not have enough funds to hire all the teachers they need, so the class size to teacher ratio is usually very high (Hoschild). This means that students usually do not receive the one-on-one help they may need to excel in their lessons. Another problem found in poorer areas is that it is difficult to acquire and retain experienced teachers (Duncan and Murnane 147). Children in these poorer areas do not receive the best education possible because they do not have quality teachers. Another problem found in these low-economic areas is that students are often absent or late and transfer between schools more often (Duncan and Murnane 147). This results in them missing out on much of their lessons, so they never learn some lessons that may have been crucial to their education. An important factor in school systems is money. This is a problem for schools in low-income areas because the money they receive is all based on taxes and donations. Because these schools are so poorly funded, they cannot afford new textbooks, lots of staff, and teaching aids. This causes a decrease in the quality of education because children are not getting the most out of their schools. During a study of 5 elementary schools, Jean Anyon, found a shocking difference between schools of different social class levels. Schools in upper-class areas were “organized to produce future doctors, lawyers, and business executives,” while those in lower-class areas guided children onto the professional path (Anyon). This is seen as a way to keep classes separate. The working classes receive a curriculum based on manual skills and clerical knowledge, while those from the more advantaged social classes receive more medical, legal and managerial knowledge (Anyon). The second category influenced by socioeconomic status is family demographics. Families with lower incomes do not have money to invest in their children's education. Those with higher incomes have the money to buy their children books, supplies, laptops, and help resources such as tutoring (Duncan and Murnane 146). Something surprising that may influence the gap in educational success between socioeconomic statuses is how much time families spend together. Those from higher-class families spent an average of 1,300 or more more quality hours together from birth to age six (Duncan and Murnane 146). The reason this impacts education is because the time spent together helps one gain the knowledge needed to understand key concepts in social studies and science during middle school (Duncan and Murnane 146). In a studioconducted by the Institute of Education at the University of London, it has been shown that parenting techniques are better in higher social class families because they participate in activities such as reading before bed (Sheperd). Another problem related to families with lower incomes are children with behavioral problems (Georges). These behavioral problems range from extreme aggression issues to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Georges). Children with these problems scored much lower than their peers on tests and were shown to come from low-income families (Georges). Children from lower social classes do not possess great non-cognitive skills such as self-control and approach to learning compared to those from higher social classes (Garcia and Weiss). Noncognitive skills include the ability to communicate effectively with teachers and peers, the ability to play well with other children, and a child's creativity (Garcia and Weiss). The third factor that influences education is ethnicity because it tends to go hand in hand with socioeconomic class. In a study of 11,000 elementary school children, ethnicity was shown to be linked to lower economic class and poorer parenting (Sheperd). Compared to Caucasian and Asian students, Hispanic and African American students lagged far behind in math and reading proficiency, and this gap was shown to be primarily due to the students' social status (Garcia and Weiss). Hispanic and African American students have been shown to have many disadvantages because most live in poverty (Garcia and Weiss). These disadvantages include having a single-parent rather than nuclear family and not having access to early education such as kindergarten (Garcia and Weiss). Another reason why ethnicity affects education is the racial stereotypes and sometimes even outright racism that students face (Rashid). If a teacher views everyone of a certain race the same way, it can affect the help and grades the student receives. Children from ethnic backgrounds also face many different factors outside of school than most students. These children sometimes have extended family living with them, so their living spaces are overcrowded and very busy most of the time (Rashid). Most of the time these family members are unemployed, so sometimes these children face extreme financial difficulties (Rashid). This problem has been faced for years and many people have tried to solve it; however, nothing that has been put in place has worked to reduce the education gap. In the past, things like No Child Left Behind and Common Core have been put in place, but neither really seemed to work. Considering the causes of the educational gap, there are three ways that could help close the gap. The three categories for possible solutions are money, regulations, and individual help. At present, schools receive funding from federal, state, and local sources (Blummerman). However, schools rely primarily on local and state funding because they do not receive much from federal sources (Blummerman). Because they rely so much on local funding, poorer areas don't receive as much money because there isn't much money in the local area and government. If local taxes were not the main way schools were financed, their conditions could be much better. If federal funding sources were increased, especially in the higher socioeconomic classes.