Department - Author 1

Social Sciences Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Social Sciences

Date

12-2009

Primary Advisor

Christopher Bickel

Abstract/Summary

Our society’s public school education system is reproducing, if not enhancing, social stratification and inequality. The United States spends less on the schools that have the largest population of low-income and minority children than on schools with children from the more affluent families, typically White children. We are only further widening the gap between rich and poor when we give the children who come from the bottom end of class structure and give them even less when they leave their homes to come to class. In the United States, we spend approximately $900 less per year on each student from the poor school districts than we do in the more affluent communities; a gap that is unchanging. In addition, $614 less is spent per student in districts that have a majority of students of color compared to districts with a large white population (Education Trust, 2005). With statistics like this it is almost impossible to say all children growing up in the United States have equal access to equal education and sadly, quality of education is closely related to race and economic status. Reproduction of inequality in the United States through the public school system is a result of institutionalized racism, underfunded schools, and lack of resources. As a result, there is often a lack of qualified teachers in low-income areas, a constant blame game, and a lack of culturally sensitive teachers. In this paper I will illustrate that we live in a society that is structured to keep the hierarchical kingdom intact by means of the education system

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