Educational Inequality: Post Brown Vs. Board Of Education World

Educational Inequality: The Product of Poverty and Inherent Discrimination Educational Inequality exists for students of all backgrounds in the U.S. but this inequality is extremely pronounced in minorities. It is no secret that the whiter, richer, more educated individuals in this country have generally had greater access to more stable learning environments, more knowledgeable, academically concerned parents, and better educational resources. However, In the Post Brown Vs. Board of Education world, inequality still persists at high levels for people of color and poverty. Despite the abolition of obvious forms of discrimination, students of lower socioeconomic status continue to receive worse educations and attain lower levels of schooling
Today’s education has markedly different goals than it did in the mid 1700’s in that its religious connotation is virtually eliminated and the methods of teaching are less Draconian. However, despite the vastly dissimilar goals of early 18th century and 21st century education, one must consider the implications of the former and its role in shaping the latter. Public schools were only formed to deal with the large increase in the immigrant population that occurred in the mid 1800s; these schools were poorly funded, and were meant more for supervised congregation than actual learning. During this time period, native U.S. citizens still largely attended private schools but public schools with larger numbers of native citizens enjoyed the benefits of better teachers, resources, and funding. This began the long trend of racial and ethnic discrimination in U.S. education. This notion of inherent inequality is important as it created the environment in which parent involvement and SES became integral to student success. Richer, more involved parents sought to improve their children’s education by either placing them in private school or a more prestigious public school, and the immigrant population recognized the importance of involvement in their children’s education
Since the founding of the public school system, students of higher SES with more engaged parents have done better and gone on to greater success after school. Furthermore, certain individuals are just born with higher IQ rates, often giving them an edge in the academic environment. Conservative arguments against low SES, funding, and race are irrelevant to the educational argument as they simply refuse to acknowledge them as key variables in education. Ultimately, inequality in education will only be solved when commonsense reforms are made. Increased funding for struggling schools and a workforce that can better relate to students of various SES will lead to an improved perception of the U.S.’ Education System for those in poverty who generally feel irrelevant in it. Once minorities and the impoverished feel included in the system, greater levels of education will ensue resulting in lower levels of inequality and prolonged economic