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  • Essay / Effects of Social Ranking on the Education System and Appropriate Solutions

    In today's society, education is highly valued by most people. The problem with education is that not everyone has access to it with the equity they deserve and this is largely due to the effects of low socio-economic status, and these effects boil down to three main categories: school, family and ethnic origin. . There are many possibilities to solve this problem; However, three main options involve increasing funds invested in school systems, changing old regulations, and focusing on individual student issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay When considering the problem of educational success as a whole, it can be divided into three groups. The first of these being the school itself. Schools in areas with poorer economies often do not have sufficient funds to hire as many teachers as they need, so the class size/teacher ratio is usually very high (Hoschild) . This means that students generally do not receive the one-on-one help they might need to excel in their classes. Another problem encountered in poorer areas is that it is difficult to acquire and retain competent teachers (Duncan and Murnane 147). Children in these poorest areas are not receiving the best education possible because they are not receiving quality teachers. Another problem found in these low-economy areas is that students are frequently absent or late and change schools more often (Duncan and Murnane 147). This results in a large portion of classes being missed, so they never learn some lessons that could have been crucial to their education. Money is an important factor in school systems. This is a problem for schools in low-income areas because the money they receive is based entirely on taxes and donations. Since these schools are so poorly funded, they cannot afford new textbooks, lots of staff, and teaching materials. This leads to a decline in the quality of education as children do not get the most out of their schools. In a study conducted in 5 elementary schools, Jean Anyon found a shocking difference between schools of different social class levels. Schools in upper-class areas were “designed to train future doctors, lawyers, and business leaders,” while those in lower-class areas mentored children on the professional path (Anyon). This is seen as a way of maintaining class separation. The working classes receive a curriculum based on manual skills and clerical knowledge, while the more advantaged social classes receive more in-depth education in medical, legal and managerial knowledge (Anyon). The second category affected by socioeconomic status is family demographics. Low-income families do not have the money to finance their children's education. Those with higher incomes have the money to buy books, supplies, laptops for their children, and support resources such as tutoring (Duncan and Murnane 146). One surprising aspect that could affect the educational achievement gap between socioeconomic statuses is the amount of time families spend together. Those who come from upper-class families spent an average of 1,300 hoursor more quality time together from birth to age six (Duncan and Murnane 146). The reason this affects education is because time spent together contributes to the acquisition of knowledge necessary to understand key concepts in middle school social studies and science (Duncan and Murnane 146). In a study conducted by the Institute of Education at the University of London, it was shown that parenting techniques are better in higher social class families because they participate in activities such as reading before bed (Sheperd). Another problem linked to low-income families is that of children with behavioral problems (Georges). These behavioral problems range from extreme aggression problems to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Georges). Children with these problems performed significantly lower than their peers on tests and came from low-income families (George). Children from lower social classes lack great non-cognitive skills such as self-control and their approach to learning compared to those from higher social classes (Garcia and Weiss). Noncognitive skills include the ability to communicate effectively with teachers and peers, the ability to play well with other children, and the child's creativity (Garcia and Weiss). The third factor that affects education is ethnicity, as it tends to go hand in hand with socioeconomic class. In a study of 11,000 primary school children, ethnicity was shown to be linked to lower economic class and poorer parenting (Sheperd). Compared to Caucasian and Asian students, Hispanic and African American students were significantly further behind in math and reading skills, and this gap was shown to be primarily due to students' social status (Garcia and Weiss) . Hispanic and African American students face many disadvantages because most live in poverty (Garcia and Weiss). These disadvantages include having a single-parent family instead of a nuclear family and not having access to early education such as preschool (Garcia and Weiss). Another reason why ethnicity affects education is the racial stereotypes and sometimes even blatant racism that students face (Rashid). If a teacher views everyone in a certain race the same way, it can affect the help and grades the student receives. Children from ethnic backgrounds also face many different factors outside of school than most students. These children sometimes have extended family living with them, making their living spaces overcrowded and very busy most of the time (Rashid). Most of the time, these family members are unemployed, so these children sometimes have to face extreme financial difficulties (Rashid). This problem has been addressed for years and many people have tried to solve it; however, nothing that has been put in place has reduced the education gap. In the past, measures such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core have been implemented, but none of them really seemed to work. When it comes to the causes of the education gap, there are three ways that can help close the gap. The three categories of possible solutions are money, regulation and individual assistance. As it stands, schools receive funding from federal, state, and local sources (Blummerman). However, schools depend.