Education and Poverty Essay

genteelness of poor is a challenge that has kept American political and schoolman quarters on a precipitous edge. Although the government spends billions of dollars on various complaisant welfare activities especially directed towards eradicating poverty and bridging up the enormous gap that exists poor deal always found education a distant realm, where their access is limited and its longevity is in doubt. The issue takes a really drastic form when fifty-fifty the minorren of American poor are unable to avail available educational opportunities.Among all the deviseed countries, United States of America reports highest levels of nestling poverty where one child in all(prenominal) six children lives be first poverty line. According to US Bureau of Census (1998), out of total 36 million poor life in USA, 15 million of them were children and among them, around 25 percent children face extreme poverty. Incidences of poverty among children have extremely negative implications f or their academic and educational opportunities, staidly devastating their early formative years, that in turns jeopardize rest of their life.An overwhelming volume of research in the field brings out conclusive relationship amid social economic status and educational opportunities. The relationship becomes more proportional with get downing economic status where academic underachievement and discrepancies in educational opportunities are very acute. This paper looks into the social, economic and political implications of under-education of poor children in USA and identify the ways that can prove effective in ensuring compulsory education for every American child, irrespective of their socio-economic status.Education as a social chore The issue of education has become a matter of great public and social concern due to the differential nature of the education policy and the civilize system, creating and an unbalanced and destabilized social grammatical construction. Moreover, as academicians, have indicated, the reason for worry is that while school system has been made elaborate, their deliverable content has been not, negating the purpose of the education and creating a society of literate notwithstanding uneducated people (Kumar, 1997).Educationists and public policy makers, notwithstanding their claims and efforts of creating a world class school system and education model to cater to the needs of future America and meets the purpose of extending educations benefits to every class of the society, have missed the beat by focusing more on academic parameters while ignoring the socio-economical-cultural aspects that play equally important part in determining the final outcome (Pipho, 1999).A failed socio-economical system, with widesp show social evils and depleted living conditions, especially in the semi-urban areas and urban slums creates diversified pockets within the social structure that makes the possibility of any qualified education and schoo l system a difficult proposition under the existing set of circumstances. The vicious cycle Education and poverty share a very deep, although inverse relation, each one determining the eventual impact and influence of other(a).For example, according to National Assessment of educational Progress (2000) evaluation, educational outcomes is determined by birth weight, nutrition, housing quality, and access to health care. These factors have important bearing on cognitive functioning of child and quality of parenting, that in turn determines educational achievement. Low quality of educational attainment is a major cause of poverty, and poverty is a key antigenic determinant of academic performance.Therefore, poverty establishes a vicious cycle where it reinforces its effect in a continuing cycle to make educational underachievement chronic, inflicting heavy costs on social development. Educational standards are further effected by lower public funding for schools serving low-income gr oup than schools serving higher-SES children. Funding equity is til now largely unimplemented , and a number of discrepancies, including differential state and federal policies in fund allotment comes in question to affect equitable distribution of resources. pauperisation for Early Intervention One of the most important determining factors of effective education is childrens academic interest that has substantial impact on academic achievement ((Wagner, Spiker and Linn, 2002)). Children displaying interest, motivation, engagement, goals, values, and self-efficacy demonstrate higher degree of academic success, highlighting the importance of these factors in educational outcome.According to Chapman et al (2000), quoted by Wagner, Spiker and Linn, (2002) shows that the relation between interests and skills starts to develop in the early formative years, and it has crucial role in predicting future achievement and learning capabilities of children. (Chapman et al. 2000). Research has shown that in the early years of development, children from both lower and higher socio economic groups show comparable degrees of confidence level, learning attitude, grasping ability and concentration(Alexander & Entwisle 1988, Stipek & Ryan 1997).However, as they are denied further opportunities to pursue education in an tasteful and timely manner, they lose interest in school within the first years and gradually their competence, self confidence and educational inclination dwindles, bringing dissymmetry and disorientation in their approach. (Stipek & Tannatt 1984, Wigfield et al. 1997 as quoted by Wagner, Spiker and Linn, 2002). Skills and interest are reciprocal in nature and their outcome is often influenced by the available exposure and opportunities. thus children who read more, get to develop better reading habits and children who give more time to mathematics have their numerical skills sharpened. Similarly, children who do not get to read or do not get engaged in mathem atical exercises are likely to stay behind others. Children also get discouraged from actively taking up education due to their repeated academic failures, increasing frustration levels, and lack of motivational educational guidance.Failure, distress and teachers negative attitude towards children from low socio-economic groups are the key de-motivational factors that severely affect poor children and keeps them at permanent disadvantage against children from higher soci-economic structure((Wagner, Spiker and Linn, 2002)). Lower levels of expectations parents indifference, and ground economic condition are other demotivating factors. These problems take irrevocable form as children get older and form their own peer groups that create substantial barrier in their integration with educational mainstream. ((Wagner, Spiker and Linn, 2002)).Students from lower economic groups form a disadvantaged lot from the very beginning of their life. They have very few books, educational toys and ex perience with education. Research intimately poverty and educational facilities have shown that less than half the pre-school children from lower economic groups have access to educational books, while for better off families, almost 98 percent of pre school children have complete set of educational accessories. Children from poor families on average receive only 25 hours of book reading by the time of school entry, while the same figure is 1000 to 1700 hours for core-class children.Poverty misshapes the entire educational construct and context of children. It substantially alters their emotional and behavioural function, relationships with adults and peers, and family, school, and community In these key areas of development, low-SES children are placed at risk and disadvantage against their peers from higher income group (Stevenson, 1997) Poverty instigates a range of externalizing problems such as aggression, inattention, impulsivity and rebelliousness- all of these leading to g radual academic underachievement.Children become disruptive and noncompliant and develop behavior problems such as problems in paying attention, relating to others and controlling their emotion. This problem is further compounded by teachers reaction to situation, who adopt a stricter code of conduct for children displaying behavioral problems in attempt to bring their focus back on studies. However, more than often, children from lower socio-economic background are knowingly or inadvertently discriminated.It pushes them closer to each other and instigates rule breaking habits, indiscipline, disobedience and finally tumble-down behavior-a process that completely sew off their connection with schools and academics ((Wagner, Spiker and Linn, 2002 Stevenson, 1997) Analysis of Academic Influence One of major initiative in bridging up the gap among children from middle and higher income group and children form lower income group is application of technology and science. It is envisaged that computers could play a important role in bringing about a harmonized and equitable educational structure.Although current computer access is very limited for low-income group children, the increasing pace of their expansion in educational good example holds many promises towards its re-design and restructure that could benefit large number of children from lower economic groups (Stevenson, 1997) Researchers have constantly identified need of integrating technology through the soonest phases of education to prepare them to compete with other children when they grown mature.Issues in improving public education to include Poor With huge investment and cash flow, but insignificant results to show for, following are the major issues in improving the American school system to orient them to needs of all the socio-economic group (Barnes, 1997)