My time and experiences in the classroom at the School of Education at the University of South Carolina have shown me huge discrepancies in the education system. Growing up, I went to a privileged school district on Long Island that had anything and everything I could ask for. I did not realize just how unfair the education system is today.

 

As I sat in EDFI 300 lecture, my eyes were opened to the ways these discrepancies impacted the students. It was clear that schools whose populations were made up of minority students were located in lower income areas which led to a lack of resources and funding that higher achieving schools received. Without the necessary resources, lower achieving students are not given the opportunity to improve their studies which leads to the widening of the achievement gap. In class, we read an article by Linda Darling-Hammond which talked about a school in California in 2000 called Luther Burbank. Luther Burbank was very impoverished and served students who were considered the racial/ethnic minority. This school did not have a working heating or cooling system, rodents throughout the school, only a few textbooks, two working bathrooms without soap, paper towels, and toilet paper, and more. These students’ educations were suffering due to the conditions of the school. Schools like these need more government funding and resources in order to provide students an education that sets them up for success.

 

What stood out the most, was that some of the government policies that were put in place actually hurt schools that were in lower income areas. For instance, the “No Child Left Behind” act failed to give low achieving students the resources they needed to succeed. This act, put in place by President Bush and his administration, promised to “raise the achievement levels of all students, especially underperforming groups, and to close the achievement gap that parallels race and class distinctions” (Darling-Hammond, 2011, p. 419). They planned to do this by mandating standardized testing to track students’ progress. Schools that would not meet the required percentages from these standardized tests would face consequences like a loss of federal funding, transferring of students, and being titled as a “failing school,” which would lead to teachers who do not want to work for a school with this label. The NCLB did not realize that the schools with the failing percentages were the ones located in lower income areas serving students who needed the most help. This policy was pushing these students further into failure when it was supposed to be doing the opposite. Author Linda Darling-Hammond suggests that NCLB should switch their rules around by awarding more federal funding and resources to schools with lower standardized test scores. It is important to make changes in the education system that allows all students to receive a fair and equal education, no matter where they live, their race, or their socioeconomic status.

 

In the Spring of my freshman year, I attended an alternative break trip to Morocco with my residence hall. We were able to immerse ourselves into Moroccan culture by participating in seminars, exploring different cities, and staying with local families. We also visited a school and learned about their education system. I found that there were both similarities and differences between the United States and Moroccan education systems. It was found that about 1.15 million students in Morocco have dropped out or never attended school (Mansouri & Moumine, Primary and Secondary Education). Students in Morocco face gender inequalities, location differences, and language barriers which impact their opportunities for education. During our visit to Marrakesh, we met three young girls who told us that they have to walk over an hour every day in order to get to school. Transportation is scarce in Morocco which becomes a huge factor contributing to the drop our rate for students living in rural areas. An even bigger factor is the gender inequalities in that country. Women and girls are constricted by Moroccan culture, and it is not normal for them to leave their homes all by themselves. In my homestay family, the mother never left the house without her husband or her 21-year-old daughter. Many families do not feel comfortable having their young daughters walk to school alone, so they decide to not send them to school at all.

 

According to Horace Mann, schools should be serving as the “great social equalizer”. It is important for children to receive equal educations in order for them to succeed. I believe all students should be afforded an education that prepares them for the next steps in their lives no matter their race, socioeconomic status, gender, or address. Being an elementary education major and aspiring teacher, I want to do my part in providing all students a fair schooling experience. It is important to me that minority students and students in lower income areas are given the resources they need in order to succeed. I want to work for an equal education for all because I believe that it is a right that every child has.