Asked by Kaitlyn Simon on Jun 17, 2024
Verified
According to Jonathan Kozol, how do public schools help reinforce inequality?
Jonathan Kozol
Is an American writer, educator, and activist, best known for his work on public education and his books on the inequalities in the American education system.
Public Schools
Government-funded and run schools that provide education to children and adolescents at no cost to the parents.
Reinforce Inequality
The process by which social structures and behaviors perpetuate disparities in resources, power, and opportunities among different social groups.
- Evaluate the impact of educational structures in perpetuating systems of inequality and explore possible reforms to mitigate these challenges.
Verified Answer
PM
Paige MurrayJun 18, 2024
Final Answer :
The text points out two distinct ways in which public schools might help to reproduce class-based inequality: by the way they are funded and by the way they affect student morale.
Kozol contends that because schools are funded by local property taxes, children in poor neighborhoods are trapped in poor schools, which effectively reinforces inequality. He documents the significant differences between America's schools: "The highest spending districts have twice as many art, music, and foreign language teachers . . . 75 percent more physical education teachers . . . 50 percent more nurses, school librarians, guidance counselors, and psychologists . . . and 60 percent more personnel in school administration than the low-spending districts."
His overall impression was that these urban schools were, by and large, extraordinarily unhappy places. How, he asks, could the children in these schools have an equal chance at success?
Kozol contends that because schools are funded by local property taxes, children in poor neighborhoods are trapped in poor schools, which effectively reinforces inequality. He documents the significant differences between America's schools: "The highest spending districts have twice as many art, music, and foreign language teachers . . . 75 percent more physical education teachers . . . 50 percent more nurses, school librarians, guidance counselors, and psychologists . . . and 60 percent more personnel in school administration than the low-spending districts."
His overall impression was that these urban schools were, by and large, extraordinarily unhappy places. How, he asks, could the children in these schools have an equal chance at success?
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate the impact of educational structures in perpetuating systems of inequality and explore possible reforms to mitigate these challenges.