Annotated Bibliography

Education has been a major influence on government policy and social standards concerning American youth. With hard work and education, one can better themselves and open up more opportunities for financial and social success. Waiting for Superman directed by Oscar winner, Davis Guggenheim, counters that the current education system is failing students by limiting their upward mobility, particularly among minority and low income groups. The documentary advocates for a radical change in the modern education system, modeled after charter school curriculums. Even though these successful schools produce great students many children, majority African American and Hispanic, are being left behind. In Maya Angelou’s

The way a person speaks is a direct link to a person’s culture and the environment which he or she was raised in. A person’s language, skin color as well as economic status influences the way he or she is perceived by others. Lisa Delpit and eleven other educators provide different viewpoints on how language from students of different cultures, ethnicity, and even economic status can be misinterpreted due to slang and dialect or nonstandard English by the teachers as well as his or her own peers.

In Jonathan Kozol’s “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid” he explains that the difference between the low class schools and the urban class schools inequality by the lack of importance, the low funds, and the segregation. Kozol admits that no effort is put into the minority public schools that are isolated and deeply segregated. “At a middle school named for Dr. King in Boston, black and Hispanic children make up 98 percent of the enrollment”(Kozol 349). The schools that are named after Civil Rights leaders shows no proof of what these people were trying to succeed. Kozol comments on the extremely low funds in these minority schools. In one school he illustrates how dirty and grimy the schools are. “I had made repeated

Socioeconomic obstacles impede the academic achievement of students. “Hispanics have poverty rates that are two to nearly three times higher than whites; and 40 percent of their population is foreign born” (“Hispanics: Special Education and English Language Learners”). Living in poverty affects educational attainment. There is a gap in the educational outcomes because of socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, the American Psychological Association (APA) states, “large gaps remain when minority education attainment is compared to that of Caucasian Americans”. For example, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the nation, “in 2005 the high school dropout rate of Latinos was the highest, followed by those of African Americans and American Indians/Alaska Natives (“Ethnic and Racial Minorities and Socioeconomic Status”). White students had a dropout rate of 2%, 6% for Hispanics in the United States while Hispanics Kansans had a 3.6% dropout rate. This fact corroborates a correlation between Hispanics high school dropout rates, lower college enrollment and the Hispanics low SES that contribute to the low rates of Hispanics educational attainment in the State of Kansas and the United

In the case of Brown vs. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was not legal to keep public schools segregated by race. This was a significant success for minority students, but they still have a long way to go (“...Look…”). In 2015, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released data that included a statistic stating that 40% of the enrollment for schools that had gifted programs was Black and Latino students, but only 26% of those students were in the gifted programs (Hsieh). Gary Orfield wrote on a similar topic that “We have become a nation that accepts...unequal [classrooms]” (Orfield). A lot of racial minority student are separated into different classes with a lower standard of education, even if they should be in a more advanced course (Darling-Hammond). Racial disparity in advanced courses in high schools today is caused by students of color not being in gifted programs earlier in their education; being one of the only students of their race can make racial minority students feel isolated and uncomfortable and the disparity limits opportunities for them in their future.

These outlooks can dictate the continuation of schooling for these individuals and through this create an achievement gap between minorities and whites. The ability groups in which students are split into during elementary and middle school does not show a significant affect on their achievement after high school in terms of college selection, however placement during early schooling does have an impact on the curriculum a student is taught, which can affect college selection and achievement (Moller, Strearns, Potochick, and Southworth 2011).

Considered the “melting pot” of the world due to its high diversity, the United States has been renowned for the varying cultures and races populating the country. However, with diversity comes inequalities that people of color face throughout their lives. A particular issue in the United States, specifically in education, is unequal opportunities and treatment in regard to race. Research shows that students from single-parent black families had a high chance of dropping out and participating in illicit behavior (Hallinan 54). While the issue of race is a complicated issue to breach for

In the article “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Education Apartheid” author Jonathan Kozol argues that segregation is still a major issue in our education system. Kozol talks about schools where minorities make up the major student body. He states that schools with namesakes tied to the civil rights movement are some of the most isolated schools for minorities where white students make up less than a third of the student body. Kozol proceeds to talk about these schools where minorities make up the student population, he says that these are some of the poorest schools they are old and in need of repairs and new technology and supplies. He says that the education of these students has been deemed less important and that they are not

There are certain tools that are essential in schools for the success of education. Whether it be reading, writing, comprehending, or problem solving; these are all tools that are advantageous to possess in one’s education. Unfortunately, not all groups are able to acquire all these tools as easily as other groups are. It is unequivocal that education plays a major role in one’s future, but certain students cannot achieve their ideal education because of the lack of a proper education system. This is what leads to the inequality in education for students of color who are from an underprivileged area, compared to students on the contrary. This is also the cause of what we call “achievement gaps”, which is the disparity of academic performance between white students and students of a minority, along with students from low income families and those from higher income families. Jonathan Kozol and Diane Ravitch are two different writers who wrote on similar claims, however, they both had written their pieces with different strategies to convey their arguments.

Jane L. David and Larry Cuban do a great job of informing the reader of issues involving closing the achievement gap in education in their book, “Cutting Through the Hype”. David and Cuban, friends and colleagues for forty-five years, collaborated yet again to revise “Cutting Through the Hype” to re-address the “far more pronounced” effects of the federal role and the philanthropic foundations in funding and setting the policy agenda for reforming U.S. schools. Chapter three, Closing the Achievement Gap, begins with a realistic scenario of a fifth grade classroom of thirty students that range from six non English speaking students, limited English speaking students, and fluent English speaking, high performing students. The

According to the 2011 ACS, (Automated Collection System), the median household income of Dane County’s African American families was $20,664, less than 1/3 the median income enjoyed by White families ($63,673). These statistics showed the problem of income disparity between black and white families. This income disparity might have negative impact in all domain of the black population life such as education, healthcare, etc.….

The video “Tale of Two Schools: Race and Education on Long Island” presents David and Owen, two African-American students with similar backgrounds and grades who attend two different high schools in separate districts that have drastically different access to resources, community support, income, etc. Wyandanch Memorial High School is located in a poor district, while South Side High School is located in Rockville Center which is a more affluent and diverse district. The effects of the districts having varying levels of access to quality resources and diversity is exemplified throughout the video with regards to the way the students interact with each other, their grades, and their careers after high school.

affecting the student academically. The article "Educational Equity Demands Empathy" described the inequality in education that school created between White students and low-income families. The achievement gap limits the low-income family students potential to learn in school and unprepared to advance to college. The article "The Challenge of Diverse Public Schools", explained how a school adjustment in racial balance can affect many low-income families and creating more obstacle for student academic. While the strategy decreases the racial gaps and increases student achievement, many low-income parents find it's difficult to make time to help their children's school assignments. The lack of support from family discourage a student from learning and lose interest in school. The article "Friend with Academic Benefits" explained how different networks can influence the student academic during the college year. Depend on the network of their chosen, the student will gain academic support or distraction throughout their college years. These type of social groups are important because they shape the student career and preparing them for a larger social

The idea of segregating racial minorities into crowded residential areas is a reality, which influences lower socioeconomic standings and limits equality to health. Institutionalized racism serves to seemingly brand and constrain upward movements of success in society. Many of the schools, including junior high and high school, located in minority filled communities are limited in their educational merit and do not instill and prepare for higher education and advanced opportunities in employment (Williams & Collins, 2001). Residentially segregated schools are said to fall short in areas of teacher quality and educational resources (Williams & Collins, 2001). The schools themselves have less funds per student and are surrounded in high neighborhood

In a speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education at Vanderbilt University, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (2014, May 20) questions the country’s lack of “collective outrage over our nation's achievement gaps”. The ROS problem under study addresses the local response to the academic achievement gap by focusing on the instructional practices of secondary school teachers who successfully teach children of color in hopes of finding replicable instructional practices.