Income inequality is based on how much money an individual or a family can make at a job. Because people
have such a hard time finding jobs it is hard for families to afford certain ideals (Murray). One ideal that these families find hard to pay for is education. This is why income inequality can affect education and learning. Schools that are close in distance have drastic differences. I looked at high schools that are found in the city of Kankakee. The differences that I found between these schools were interesting.
The first school I looked into is
called Kankakee High School. At this
school the students that come from a low-income inequality is about 82% of the
student body. Some general facts about the students are that about 74% of
students are going to graduate. 19% of
students are going to be read to go to college, if they can afford to go to
college. 17% of students have some kind of learning disabilities. The state
gives schools money to put towards different types of teaching either
instructional or operational. 6,559 dollars goes into instructional teaching,
and about 12,014 dollars goes into operational education.
Kankakee High School also has to
take the ACT and the percentiles are broken down to two categories, either
college readiness benchmark, or do not meet the college bench mark. The four
areas of content that the ACT looks at are Reading, Math, English, and Science.
In reading 19% make the benchmark and 81% does not. In Math 11% made the
benchmark and 89% did not make the mark. In English 26% of students made the
mark and 74% of students did not. In Science 10% made the mark and 90% did not.
When I hear this information about students not doing well on the ACT I
think of two main reasons. One reason that comes to mind is that students can
just be bad test takers, which in some cases is true. In this case of having a
larger percentile of students coming from a low-income inequality. The reason
being is that student’s families are not going to be able to afford to get ACT
prep for there children. This can affect how they will do on the ACT. Based on
these test scores from the ACT Illinois sees that only 19% of these students
are ready for college. This based on the composite score that they achieve
after taking this class.
Another factor that can effect by
income inequality would be the attendance of the students during the school
year. The attendance rate is higher than what I expected for a school with low
income. One of the reasons why I thought Kankakee High School was going to have
low attendance was because I figured that families that did not have lots of
money would not care if there children were educated. In some ways I believe that if a student comes
from a low-income family the student is going to be motivated to do well in
school. They want to help there family have mobility in the future. If the
student can get into college at a discounted rate the student than can help the
family have economic mobility. Illinois report card says that about 17% of
families will mobility.
Herscher High School is the other
school that I am looked at. 21% of students are from homes that have low-income
inequality. Because this school has a lower rate of students being from
low-income families more students will have to chance to go to college. The
school believes that about 88% of there students are able to go to college and
afford college. In this school the money that goes to instructional and
operational learning is spread out in a different way. In this school the money
for instructional is 5,446 dollars. The money that goes into operational
thinking is about 10,019 dollars. This shows that money will be spread out
differently based on what the students need.
Herscher High Schools ACT scores
also can reflect how low income inequality can effect scores. Reading scores
show that 48% of students are ready for college reading and 52% are not
ready. In math 42% of students are ready
for college and the 58% are not reading in math. Science 31% of students are
ready for college level science the other 69% is not ready for college science.
Lastly in English 68% of students are ready for college and the remaining 33%
is not ready. This again can be because students are not good at taking test.
But another factor can be that families cannot afford to get help for their
children to achieve higher test scores. This can also affect getting into
college. One of the first things that colleges look at is the students ACT
score. If the score is low that can mean that the student is not ready. This is
based off if the student is reaching that College Readiness Benchmarks. Based
on this knowledge about the students ACT scores the state sees that about 53%
of these students are ready for college.
This is a higher chance than
Kankakee High School. This can be because students are getting a better
education. I think it is related to how much money is being put into the
child’s education. If a child is getting a quality education, test scores both
in school and statewide should show that. If the student comes from a family
that has a lower income it will be harder for that child to be ensured that
they are getting a quality education. As a future educator I hate saying that
if a child is from a low income they are going to get a bad education. At the
same time I feel that teachers that teach in low-income schools find it hard to
teach those students. They feel like these students do not care about
education. These students are only there to “get the grade” and not to actually
learn the material. This is disheartening but I know that is how some inner
city schoolteachers feel.
Income inequality can effect how
a student looks at education. It is either huge positive or a negative.
Students that use income inequality for a positive are going to use it for a
booster instead of using income inequality as an excuse. These students want to
learn; they will be there for class and participate. They will ask questions and
be engaged. Students that use income inequality, as an excuse will not go to
class, will not try to learn the material, and the school itself may not be in
good conditions. This can affect the students, the set up of how the school can
drastically affect the students. This is why schools that are in low-income
areas are usually run down (Illinoisreportcard.com).
References:
Alsamawi, A.,
Murray, J., Lenzen, M., Moran, D., & Kanemoto, K. (2014). The Inequality
Footprints of Nations: A Novel Approach to Quantitative Accounting of Income
Inequality. Plos ONE, 9(10), 1-10.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110881
"Illinois
Report Card." Illinois Report Card. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http://illinoisreportcard.com>
I agree with a lot of the points you made in this paper. I believe that the general assumption is that lower-income leads to a lower level of education but if there is good family structure and discipline, the students can achieve a great amount of success in any school. A good attitude by the students can improve the morale and atmosphere in any classroom which can lead to a more successful teacher because it will be easier to educate students who are eager to learn and be successful rather than teach kids who are there just to "get the grade".
ReplyDeleteAs far as paying for college in lower income households, I agree that it is more difficult to pay for college with tuition prices going higher each year. Lower income families would most likely need to take out parent loans and try to take advantage of any grants, scholarships that are available to ease the burden of parent and student loans. I agree with your overall point that income inequality can be a positive or a negative tool to how a student treats education. I believe it is crucial to have a good support system in your family to have successful students and not use income inequality as a reason for not getting the proper education
Krista Woldeit