How Poor Quality Education Affects Poverty
As discussed previously, many of the poor have no choice but to live in cheap inner city housing. A good amount of public schools funding comes from property taxes, which are not very much in poor neighborhoods, this leaves the school districts of poorer neighborhoods underfunded. The underfunding then leads to a lower quality education. According to the Shanker Institutes, a non-for profit organization that helps public schools, article Does money matter in education " on average aggregate measures of per-pupil spending associated wither student outcomes". Also higher salaried teachers are associated with better student performance(ShankerInstitute). Good, experienced teachers, and even many new teachers, do not except jobs in these schools because the pay is so low. This can lead to schools having bad teachers and moving at a slower pace. Classroom materials like textbooks are of less quality in poor schools compared to richer ones. Usually less extracurricular activities are offered including sports and clubs, which help many students develop skills they will use throughout their lives. The poor are also at a disadvantage in higher education. College is obviously expensive, making it more difficult for the poor to have a college degree. Student loans are available, although some make lack the credit to get it, or could take out a loan because they would be drowning in debt and unable to make the payments. Even without the financial aspect many poor students may find the curriculum harder to understand. Not because they are less intelligent than richer students, but because their public schools lagged behind and they were not taught some material, or not taught it in depth enough. Because of these difficulties many poor children do not attempt to get a degree. This can perpetuate their poverty because they now have a harder time finding decent paying jobs. |
Photo taken from californiawatch.org, listed url: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/feds-school-failed-stop-bullying-gay-student-11264
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