Instructor Monique Williams
English 1A
September 30th, 2013
Schools that fall within the
integration of the bay area, alike those to Burbank Elementary, Explore Middle
and Hillside Elementary schools, are at low achievement alike the many of the
schools in states like East St. Louis High, Woodrow Wilson High and Du Sable
High, which don’t receive the necessary aid which doesn’t bring about the same
factors to that of other better aided schools. In Differences exist far away
from each other in fact these schools are very much alike. According to
Jonathan Kozol’s view, as he mentions in one of his projects Savage
Inequalities, the image which the poorest schools he’s visited create a feeling
of, “simply, bleak.”(91) Kozol’s observations in regard to the schools he
attends to are pointed out as inappropriate environments for the children. In
1965 Kozol experienced “35 children in the [fourth grade] class [that] hadn’t
had a permanent teacher since they had entered kindergarten.” In the state of California,
“[the] average number of students per teacher [is] not to exceed the greater
[number] of 29.9” for grades four through eight; according to the California Department
of Education in the current fiscal year of 1964. The average numbers are not
much far from each other’s. Regarding a recent post as of the year 2011 to 2012
“Union City where schools had an average of 34 students per class” (Oakley,
Doug) without including that school officials expect for, Union City high
schools, members within a classroom to increase up to 37 students per class by
2013. Districts received no new funding which lead them to cut down their staff
members to a lower number leaving the students with fewer teachers and less aid
from these members, “Less money forced school districts to cut staff so class
sizes grew and individual students got less attention,…” (Oakley, Doug). Teachers
in schools located in Boston, Chicago, New York and New Jersey, and other
states mentioned throughout the reading, have had to share other school areas
that have no relativeness with lecturing a class. Instructors have been forced
into school restrooms, hallways, gyms and other extensions that do not
contribute with lecturing. Having been enrolled in two of the lowest performing
high schools in Hayward, CA Tennyson and Mt. Eden, I have experienced many of
these unpleasant happenings. Tennyson’s school campus did not quite had a
special application for a computer lab nor did the library had any computers or
even an expansion for suitable reading. The supposed “to be a” computer lab had
many old computers, computers from 1998 which are rarely found nowadays. Indeed
there were many of these computers inside the look-alike storage room, however
about an eighty percent of these did not work. Space is not the only factor for
low achievement within these schools, however, the branch spreads its twigs. Alike
many other urban schools, “We don’t have the money.” (Kozol 168) to afford new
technical equipment for students. “Each school in which I volunteered suffered
from lack of current technology, but the extent of inequality in this realm was
baffling.” states the author of the article Reboot
Our Schools as he portrays his experience while volunteering at San Francisco
public school, alike the situation of typewrites which are still being used in
a Camden school, as mentioned by Kozol. Restating the fact that schools within
the bay area region, we don’t only lack the money to keep the staff but we lack
the motivational and willful teachers similar to Irl Solomon the 58 year old history
teacher who had been teaching for nearly thirty years and still received an
income of $38,000 or similar to the 40 year old fifth and sixth grade teacher Cola
Hawkins who invests her own money on school materials to provide her students
with the most she can help with and keep them enrolled. Many children attending
schools in the bay area, alike the students mentioned by Kozol, are dropping-out
of school “because they are not getting a strong foundation at the elementary
level” reason why “Adequate Yearly Progress [is] not meeting the proficiency
levels in both English-Language Arts and Mathematics.” (Kurhi, Eric). Among
these elements, school districts can’t provide a safe environment for the
children in Glassbrook elementary parallel to the East St. Louis children.
Glassbrook is a “very bad school to go to if you want your children to have a
good life. they have gangs and kidnappers. i was a student there once and
everyday there was this guy that would be there, say hello, and then disapear
in a split second. i was very worried that i was going to get kidnapped or
molested.” comments one of the reviews posted for the school’s overview on
great schools web page. Schools don’t
have the position of these fundamental necessities due to money and yet its
members are only children, innocent victims who don’t deserve such scarcity.
Savage inequalities, brings about
every bit of information as possible to the reader. I concordantly, gathered
from reviews of witnesses to numerical statistics, including factual events.
Alike Kozol whom introduces his own attestants I searched for reviews on
GreatSchools.org which asserted to have experienced the lack of funding and
little appreciation towards the education of the children; very similar points
of view to that of the characters in the book. Kozol also introduces a great
variety of supportive numerical statistics which I also found in a different
research on the California Department of Education web page. The CDE page
contained information similar to that of the statewide salaries to teen
pregnancy and parenting in California rates. The Oakland Tribunes post article
With new state funding, East Bay schools eye crowded classrooms by Doug Oakley
supports one of Kozol’s main arguments throughout the whole book. Oakley, in
its article, mostly addresses the fact that schools and students can increase
their achievement in a successful technique, meanwhile on the contrary the low
funding can harm its performance.
Many of these elements are all unfavorable
factors due all to funding. Low funding towards the education of children does
not only create a melancholic bleak atmosphere in addition it also constructs a
blue anonymous soul. Is not just about fighting over a crayon rather how
fighting over crayon affects the thinking of a child. It creates the thought of
wonder of reason why educational materials dissolve within his or her
surroundings. Computers of expensive brands can be of luxury for those who can
afford them, however what poor schools require and ask for their students, to
succeed in class and complete with their assigned researches, are updated
computers. Teachers are one of the main essential appliances for learning, yet
mentoring as any other existing service has a value. Teaching has a value which
is out of reach for many schools. According to California Department of Education
statistics statewide salary for a beginning elementary teacher is $38,625 while
for the higher annual salary for a high school teacher is $77,129. The
districts may just look at it as just a waste of money but for a poor crowded
school it means a four square foot more of space. School resources are vital
for the students’ achievement however much high of a cost the object may be.
Students seek for their mentors for aid alike their mentors who seek for
assistance to help out their students. It’s a cycle, without funding there is
no improvement without improvement there is no funding; as ironic as it may
sound. Not only does the teacher feel more secure with an accessible class
along with them the students feel more successful and less pressured reason why
the more available the teacher becomes the more students become encouraged to
ask questions. Once leadership takes a start by one of the students then encourage
is passed on into other students, and makes them feel comfortable as they get
involved with their teachers. These emotions that are created within the
students are therefore to be appreciated due to the availability of enough
teachers.
Restating what Doug Oakley states
in With new state funding, East Bay
schools eye crowded classrooms an article in which the foggy view for
several districts is finally releasing away from the stress cause by the cuts
which were made years ago. Due to cuts many staff members got released from
their positions at schools which eventually harmed the performance of students.
Oakley summarizes the cause and effects due to low school funding in a small
portion of the article. Generally, Oakley asserts that class size does matter for
education in fact it creates a better education for its students particularly
for kids enrolled in kindergarten or preschool educational programs which is
the most affected area of all. Additionally, it addresses the fact that focused
teaching for students who fall behind is more reachable and adjusted to classes
of smaller sizes. According to one of the studies mentioned smaller class sizes
doubles the knowledge grasped by students. Class size also creates concern
within the parents and the wellbeing of their children. In kindergarten
teachers have more time to spend with their students, individually and in
smaller groups, during reading time which can help to increase the child’s
capability of reading. The CDE web page provides its user with more accurate
numerical facts akin to the state’s constitutions. Reboot Our Schools with anonymous author arguments the lack of
current technology within the public schools of San Francisco which he/she experienced
encountered while volunteering for a non-profit organization. The author
discusses how some schools lack actual computers however it argues that neither
the government nor schools districts are at fault for such shortages. In fact, who is at full fault is the San
Francisco district for not keeping up with the maintenance of the already set
up computers at these school. The author includes within its article the
charitable act of obtaining donations from other companies to include their computers
to the schools at no cost. With the identification of this gap the author
believes he/she and community members can actually financial stakes could be
easily avoided through corporate donations.
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