Educational Inequality Needs to End

In the above video from “The cost of inequality: Education’s the one key that rules them all,” Harvard correspondent Corydon Ireland discusses the issues that cause disparities in education and solutions to these issues.

Students of color often fall behind their white classmates. The majority of students of color attend schools that are understaffed, under-resourced, and less safe that schools attended by the majority of white students. This de facto segregation is largely responsible for racial disparities in graduation rates and test scores.

“There are needs that kids in inner cities have that people in upper income suburbs never even imagine.”

Improving our schools is one of the most important ways we can have a more equal society in the future. Studies show that those with better education go on to have better opportunities in the future.

One key way to do that is by building a network of social support for students so that they know that they are supported and that what they are doing in school is important.

Another way to improve the learning environment in schools is intervening in the youth culture. By helping students become leaders in their schools so that they can help other students live out good values and create the type of culture they really want, students can help get rid of misbehavior in their schools and create a safe place to learn.

Other solutions presented in Ireland’s article include access to early learning, more family mealtimes, reinforced learning at home, data-driven instruction, longer school days/years, respect for school rules, small group tutoring, high expectations, and safer neighborhoods.

If we want to give everyone the same opportunity to be successful, we have to end educational inequality. If people are aware of the problem and the actions that need to be taken, we can create the society we want to see in the future.