Education and Economy

Educational claims state that schools offer an equal opportunity for education to all students. Often, however, this claim is proven invalid. Many factors contribute to the falsehood of the idea of equal education, and one of those factors is the economy.

In many lower income areas, the quality of education is poor, due to lower property taxes. With minimal funding, these schools are less than satisfactory and the drop-out rate is skyrocketing. Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, developed his system of charter schools in the Harlem area to address this concern.

Despite government funding, many students from lower-income families struggle staying in school because of the priorities they may have. Many students are forced to work to help their families, which leaves them little time for schoolwork, and can often affect their sleep patterns. Some students are expected to take care of younger siblings while their parents work, making schooling difficult for them as well. In a local school, I once overheard a class discussing that a student was going to be late to school that day because he had to take his mom to work.  How do we meet the needs of these students? If the conventional school schedule is not compromising to meet their needs, then how do they receive a quality education? Are these students swept under the rug, passed along, or simply convinced to leave?

Can you think of ways the conventional school-schedule model can be adjusted to help these students receive a quality education?