Readings for Oct 30th

The readings for this week centered around the question of 'how does poverty impact schooling?' Money and use of money in a school system was a big part of this topic.

Myth 34
Forced Integration has failed.
This myth discussed the idea of segregation. We has all learned that desegregation happened a while ago, in the 60s, but we have slipped back into segregated schools. Due to school choice options, schools are becoming more and more segregated. This is harmful to both sides; you lose social and academic benefits of segregation and you undermine the opportunities and social experiences if you do not have diverse schools. This leads to narrow thinking and perspectives, which will filter out into our society. I found it interesting and sad that there is a connection between race and poverty and that desegregation is actually unofficial in the 'North.' The 'South' actually has better desegregated schools, so both sides benefits in the schools.

Myth 35
Money doesn't matter. We're spending more money than ever, but test scores are stagnant.
This article pointed out that scores are actually increasing, not stagnant, if you look at the average student. They pointed out the cost did increase, quite a bit, but if you think about it, everything is more expensive than it was. It costs more money to education students now because not only do you need books, but you also need computers and tablets and smart boards. Technology is integrated into schools, and technology is expensive. Also, special education is now required in schools, and that is expensive. So yes, we are spending more money, but the game has changed. The things we need to pay for just cost more. In general however, we all know that resources predict outcomes in schools, and like I said, resources cost money. So money does matter. The more money you have as a school, the more resources you can get and the better the outcome you can have. Plus, you get better results with more experienced teachers, and they have higher salaries. To say money doesn't matter is ridiculous, and if it were true, parents wouldn't be so pro-school choices.

Myth 36
The money available to school districts is spread equally across their schools.
I would think this is the case, actually would hope so, but apparently it is not. The money schools get come from the federal government, state government and the local community. The federal is pretty standard, but the state funds can depend on the density of the population and the funds from the local community depends on how supportive they are of education. If the local community is older and does not care about paying for the education of kids they don't know, the school will get less money than another school whose community supports it. This translates into poorer communities having poorer schools with less resources, but more students that need them. The whole idea that each school does not get equal funds is unfortunate because that means they do not have equal resources and therefore the students do not have equal opportunities.

Myth 37
In America, public money is not used to support religious schools.
Again, I really hoped that this was actually true, but apparently not. We have also heard that church and state should be separated. Doesn't that translate into not paying for religious schools? I do not like the idea of giving money to these private schools because it takes away money and resources from public schools. This topic was touched on when we were discussing school choice, and my opinion is still the same. If you want to send your child to a private, religious school, that is your choice as a parent, but then you should pay for it.

Myth 46
AP courses are providing minority students an opportunity to get a head start on a college education.
AP courses are a great opportunity for many students to get a jump on college credit, but that does not necessarily mean that it is an equal opportunity for everyone. Minority populations, and the schools they attend, might not offer as many AP classes and they might not be as rigorous as other schools, which means they don't really get the benefit of AP courses. This is again a lack of equal opportunity, which is not fair. The idea of AP classes in minority schools is amazing, but they need to be up to par with everyone else so they get the benefits. Dual enrollment, which offers college credit at community colleges, might make more sense for these students. Interestingly, this article pointed out that while many more people take AP courses now than when they were first created, the same type of people still take the test-white, upper middle class.

Myth 48
Education will lift the poor out of poverty and materially enrich our nation.
Wouldn't this be awesome? But poverty is a multifaceted issue, it is pervasive and affects their whole lives. Education alone cannot fix such a widespread issue. In order to do that, we need fundamental social and economic reforms, we need to change the thinking of a community. The fact that people think education can fix poverty leads to more people getting more education, which is great, but then not getting the financial benefit they were expecting. The fact is that education and income are correlated, but not the end game. In fact, there is evidence that educational attainment significantly exceeds the educational requirements of the available jobs. So we have a whole bunch of really education people, but jobs in the service industry, like McDonald's. Plus, when focus so much on the part of education that will make us money in the future, we lose the other sides of education, like social, emotional and intellectual goals.