EDU501 History and Policy in U.S. Education

History and Policy in U.S. Education
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Institution
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History and Policy in U.S. Education
Discuss the policies and practices that impact both urban education and low-income suburbs. Address solutions that are being proposed that could have a positive impact on urban or low-income schools. Do you support these solutions? Why?
The United States is one of the most revered nations of the world. It is widely considered as the superpower, and its reign is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. However, in spite of its greatness, the U.S., like every other country in the world, has its problems. From racism to unemployment, to poverty, and education, the country appears to have a full plate. As a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, it is shocking to learn that the U.S. still struggles with an issue like poverty. This though is a fact, but education has often and is still being considered as a remedy for poverty. Education is indeed powerful, and through it, the world has grown and continues to develop in various aspects. However, in the U.S., the performance of students in public schools appears to be a major concern. Schools which are often in urban and low-income suburbs have been performing relatively poor compared to the other schools in rich neighborhoods as well as those that are well-funded. The above reveals one major issue that condemns students to low performance, and that is low funding. But is this the only problem and will increased funding guarantee better performance? This article seeks to discuss the impact of certain policies and practices on urban and low-income schools as well as the solutions that have been put forth.
One practice that impacts urban and low-income schools is funding. Public school funding has always been a major issue in American politics. Urban and low-income schools do admit more students than suburban and private schools. However, in spite of the difference in the number of students, the urban and low-income schools end up receiving less funds. While noting the demands of the United Federation of Teachers’ Perspective (UFT), Jeynes notes that UFT “believed that more money needed to be spent per pupil.” This was to be done regardless of the performance of the students. It is indeed unfair to have a class of 20 people where everyone has all their education paraphernalia while another class with 35 pupils does not have the education paraphernalia. The students in these classes will end up different because the latter will always be discouraged by the state of the school.
When it comes to policies, there are several that appear to impact urban and low-income schools. The first one is the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which “prohibits denial of equal education opportunity on the basis of race, language, or natural origin” (Jeynes, 2007). This has the potential of impacting both urban and low-income suburbs by making sure that nothing bars education enthusiasts from low-income suburbs from getting an edu...