we have to end provety andEducational inequalities

 Sarah Elgohary Christina Otto        

Sociology 201 4/14/13

My Reaction to Article 37 the Uses of Global Poverty: How Economic Inequality Benefits the West by Daina Stukuls Egitis and my answer to Critical Thinking Question # 1.     

This article was very interesting to me for many reasons. I have always known that global poverty is increasingly becoming one of the biggest social problems people face around the world today, but I did not know how severe the extent of poverty was in the world. I did not know that 1.4 billion were homeless and living in absolute poverty close to starvation every day. This is because the government only pays the poor below minimum wage providing the poor working class citizens with just enough money for them to barely be able to survive, even though the poor working class citizens work very hard for long hours .The government does not pay the poor working class citizens equally compared to the upper class white citizens and the working middle class citizens because of racism and sexism. This article is an eye opener for me; especially the astoundingly, unbelievable statistics of the gross national income of the world’s countries and the substantial gap of between them, the differences in the gross national income in countries like the United States and China the numbers really surprised me. I loved the article, although it was very hard to understand the article the first time I read it I had to look up many words in the dictionary. I still do not understand why she continuously uses the word rhetoric many the article like when she says or uses the phrases political rhetoric, rhetoric commitment, Western rhetoric assistance program . Why does she repeat the word rhetoric in many different ways in the article? I think she uses the word rhetoric to exaggerate, emphasize the fact that the governments ‘role in society is just to talk big it never really takes action we never get anything done in the capital all of the false promises government makes to reduce poverty to fix the gap of the misdistribution of wealth between rich and poor nations and the government has never done anything to end poverty. I do not like how Daina Stukuls Egitis is very critical of poverty and she looks at poverty from a functionalist perspective, in this article when she should have look at poverty from a social conflict and symbolic interaction perspectives theories in my opinion, I do like that she does not agreed that poverty is right and she thinks that poverty is not needed in the world for society to function as a whole. She says it is not absurd to ask how the existence of a poor class states serves the wealthy states that might contribute to a better understanding of global poverty and global class system. Although, I strongly want to put an end to global poverty, I do agree with Daina people need be aware of and have a better understanding of global poverty and global class system. The three most convincing uses of poverty in my opinion are points4 point 8, and point 11. 

Point 4 I never really thought global poverty would the medical field. Although, it is very sad that nations like America, England Eastern Europe use poor people in India china as guinea pigs to test how effective vaccines are to cure diseases like meningitis western countries need test subjects to produce new medicine. The poor nations need the money and the western countries need medicine for illness. I found it really interesting and surprising that the United states leads the world in drug consumption and the pharmaceutical companies which stand astride 350 billion dollar and growing conducting drug trials on ill inhabitants of poor states. They test unapproved antibiotic on sick children that is not fair.

Point8 This point was convincing to me because it actually gives poverty a positive function in society. Out of all the reasons for the uses of poverty this reason was my favorite because in my opinion, point eight was the only reason in the article that did not give the poor working class a negative side effect from the advancements of Western countries. Point8. Poverty provides jobs for specialists employed to assist advice protect poor people. Point 8 made me realize that without poverty millions of people would be without work psychologists’ sociologist social workers. In addition there would be no organizations like U.SAID and the Peace Corps would not exist without poverty. I also realized that the academics in the education system would change completely like economics, sociology, international affairs, political science because these fields actually write about and decipher poverty. Journalists and novelists build career around poverty it is functional for society. These reasons for poverty actually make sense to me. 

k/*Point 11 the poorer countries which reproduce at higher rates than Western countries are useful scapegoats for real potential environmental threats. I know that female in third world countries reproduce many children because of lack of education about birth control pills. I learned from point 11 that third world countries reproduce a lot because of high child mortality rates. Overdevelopment of the West may be a bigger threat to the environment, though the growth of third world populations and a limited supply of resources, which I thought that, was very interesting. I found it very sad that the poor divert attention from the environmental problems caused by western overconsumption. I still want to greatly reduce global poverty, but I liked the article it was very informative convincing, and educational I learned a lot from the article it changed my perspective on poverty in society.

Sarah Elgohary Christine Otto

Sociology 101 4/22/13 

https://www.cpp.edu/~plin/EWS375/The%20Sociological%20Imagination.htm

It is “The individual who applies the sociological imagination, as Anthony Giddens has put it, is one is able to put him/herself away from the familiar routine of his/her own experiences with daily life.pg 90 .”( keiser pg 90

American sociologist C. Wright Mills came up with the term “sociological imagination.”( keiser pg 90 Mills was trying to say that in order for people to understand the world they need to peel away the layers of society, which means that people need to analyze a specific aspect of society in terms of all the different factors that are causing it. Therefore, this is one reason there is so much inequality in the education system. Most people do not have the sociological imagination, which is why they only look at the inequality in the education system through one aspect. They do not look at all of the different elements that cause education inequality in society. The many reasons for social inequality in the education system are not just financial differences, but also racism, sexism and there are many factors that have led to lack of school funding and educational inequality such as race, sexism, one’s culture, social status religion and many other factors 

 

People tend to look at the levels and structures of society at face value. But in order understand why society is the way it is, then people have to be like sociologists and peel away the layers individually to see where the problems really lie and the solutions to fit social problems. One way people understand the depth of finances as a reason for educational inequality to examine the article “The Savage Inequalities: Children in US Schools” was very interesting to me for many reasons.. The statistics of the different populations of poor children in schools, the overcrowded classes and the students in the comparison between rich and poor schools really surprised me. Schools funds are distributed unfairly and unequally to poorer populations such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. This is in opposition with schools in wealthier neighborhoods who have more access to funds and resources. This discrepancy between poor and wealthy communities is because of racism and sexism in society. The study showed examples of how unequal the education system is. For example, students in the Bronx only have access to old textbooks and worn facilities. In opposition, wealthier communities have newer resources and facilities. This is due to unequal distribution of funds in schools that base the funding on economic status. Even though, I know that school funding is greatly influenced by the economic status of certain areas where people live in society, I agree with Jonathan Cool’s argument that “schools stack the deck against poor children (Kozol pg 61956?)”. Unlike Jonathan Cool however, money is the only reason for lack of school funding and educational inequality in many public schools. Those who live in underprivileged neighborhoods do not get the same funding as privileged neighborhoods not only for financial aspects, but also because they do not have power of influence. 

      There are many factors that have led to lack of school funding and educational inequality such as race, sexism, one’s culture, social status religion and many other factors. That is why I believe Jonathan Cool’s argument on the problems, education inequality of inner-city schools is incomplete. Improving student performance requires not merely spending more tax money but also getting parents to take more interest in their children’s educational progress. Kozol, who concedes that equalization might alienate affluent parents, shows that spending more tax money might help poor schoolchildren; he offers no airtight case either for funding equalization as a solution or against such remedies as choice plans or magnet schools. Yet by letting readers hear the voices of studious, articulate inner-city teenagers, he combats stereotypes; by challenging comfortable assumptions, he contributes to public debate I Agree with Jonathan kozol that it is the job of our schools, we like to believe is to give children a chance to develop their abilities and complete with others for our in society .but has the game been “fixed “right from the start? In my opinion the” savage inequality of economic status social status, racism sexism and culture division of class differences are obviously not equal. Kozo1’s analysis proves once again that our social stratification system is based on capitalism is a closed system .We are not a open system in which people are not socially mobile because of social inequality and class differences. I think we should be an open system in society.

 Another aspect of educational inequality is than the gap between rich and poor nations. In savage inequalities, Kozol, having visited many inner-city schools, he finds black and Hispanic schoolchildren to be isolated from white schoolchildren and shortchanged educationally. I think that is unfair It makes sad but. I never realized before I read this article that the gap between rich and poor school districts educational inequality is just as or maybe even bigger than the gap between rich and poor nations In global poverty In my opinion that is very sad to-me the gap between rich and poor Only by closing the gap between rich and poor school districts in the amount of tax money spent on education, Kozol contends, can we give poor minority children an equal chance. To show just how high are the barriers to learning arising from inadequate school funding, Kozol paints a bleak picture of severe overcrowding; dilapidated school buildings; a shortage of supplies and aids to learning; and teacher salaries too low to let a school either attract good teachers or do without substitute teachers. He repeatedly contrasts inner-city austerity with the bounty of suburban schools.

Kozol blames an unjust and uncaring society for inner-city children’s low levels of academic performance, high rates of dropping out of high school, classroom discipline problems, and low levels of college attendance or completion. Although the emphasis on societal guilt can be overdone, it has value: Learning about overcrowding in ghetto high schools makes the dropout phenomenon easier to understand. Some of the numbers and facts in the article were unbelievably astounding to me especially the examples of a very poor public school 261 in district 10 the capacity of students in 900 ,yet the actual size of the class is 1,300 students 

Then what about the children left behind in the places vividly evoked by Kozol, places like East St. Louis, Ill., ,? Children who attend schools with 40 or 50 kids to a classroom, a new teacher every few weeks, little or no art, music, foreign language, or advanced science courses, and too few books to go around. Poor Schools have one guidance counselor for every 930 students. Schools are in poor conditions with holes in the roof; schools with raw sewage in the basement; schools where more than 80 percent of the students drop out before graduation. I find the statics very shocking. I was really interested and shocked to find out how P.S 24 labeled blacks and Hispanics are put in special classes based on evaluations children are classified as EMR educable mentally retarded or TMR Trainable mentally retarded it was an outrage to me

Currently, schools are funded by local property taxes. In more wealthy areas where there are extravagant houses, big industry, and businesses, the taxes collected are more than efficient to fund their schools. Schools like P.S.24 in New York have a planetarium, where the gifted children “are designing their own galaxies.” Students in Cherry Hill have the “use of seven well- appointed ‘music suites’ ” (This contrasts greatly to schools in poorer cities where, even though citizens are taxed at higher rates, the tax base to support these schools is too low and inefficient. In some areas, like East St. Louis, most residents are on welfare, and what little industry they have attracted has been through tax exemption. This lack of funds leads to the terrible conditions of the neighborhood “spilling over into schools” in these poorer areas. Many of these schools have few toilets that work, textbooks enough for only half of the class, teachers that do not show up, holes in the ceilings, and “8th grade students that cannot add five and two.” Most of these poorer schools are located in urban areas where the children face enough problems outside of school to pull at anyone’s heartstrings. They suffer sickness that goes untreated caused by pollution and poisons from nearby industry, poor nutrition, and lack of dental care. “Children live with pain that grown-ups would find unendurable. These children deserve a beautiful school full of books, flowers, music, and working toilets, and teachers who inspire and nurture as much or maybe more than the students in wealthy communities. Without this, they have little chance to grow up to be happy, successful people and to escape the terrible conditions under which they must live every day.

The children are aware of the atrocities of their surroundings and that others have much better schools. This is seen as a racial issue to many because most of these poor, inner city districts are mostly black and Hispanic and the issue of desegregating these schools has been attacked ferociously by the wealthy districts that are mostly white. Children in these poorer schools often come from parents who were raised in similar areas. Their education levels are low and they often feel undeserving of better in the eyes of people with the power to change their situations and smooth the differences of this dual system. They feel that their children are unwanted by other schools, and are viewed as undeserving. Many times these parents lack the power and resources to demand change. Unfortunately, influential politicians and others with the power to change such things, often listen to the citizens who are the most powerful. These are those who fund campaigns and vote the most (which tends to be middle to upper class) instead of those who truly are in need of help, such as these people and their children. Without assistance this pattern of social reproduction will continue. Generation after generation will be taught inefficiently and doomed to repeat their ancestors’ plight. In addition, some of these schools are terribly overcrowded with classes far beyond practical numbers. In one school in the Bronx, “four kindergartens and a sixth grade class of Spanish speaking children have been packed into a single room”, and there is “a second grade bilingual class of 37”. The teachers’ abilities are undoubtedly unreasonably stretched to properly instruct in any roomful of this many very young children.  

Many argue that the reasons for these disparities in what the children become are not the schools, but the environment that the children come from and their parent’s attitudes. Though there is much truth to this, every child deserves the best opportunity to succeed. Schools are that area that we, as a society, have the most direct control over. “The school is a creature of the state, the home is not.” Having a quality school with dedicated teachers may be the only chance these kids have to escape their substandard environments.

The academic curriculum in these schools is often stripped down to provide room for test taking preparation. Because greater funds are given to the schools with higher test scores, teachers must teach to the test. However, often what are needed are greater funds in order to raise test scores the state “mandates higher scores. But it provides us with no resources” If these schools had the resources to provide richly, full academic curriculums like the wealthier schools the kids would be engaged in learning about the world enough that teaching them how to test would become unnecessary. These kids are not any less capable than kids in other schools, and with the right resources, could be just as successful. The amount we spent on kids was as variable as $2,000 to $19,000 per kid, per year in 1990 Does his send the message that some kids are not as valuable as others, and for what reason are these kids being held down? 

I have always known that there is global inequality in the world’s education system let alone in the United States of America. I just did not know how severe social inequalities of the education system were In the United States