American Colleges: A textual analysis - Essay Example

? s American Colleges: A textual analysis The luxurious lifestyle and posh districts in the United s of America attracts visitors and immigrants from all over the world, however on the flip side, there are people in this very country who struggle to gain access to even the most basic of needs (Coutts & Lafleur 2013). The main question in this text is not simply highlighting the best and worst states for education, but it highlights the clear distinction between the Haves and Have-Not’s within the American society. The latter is obvious when students from affluent families are able to sign up for advanced courses, whereas the less privileged ones are barely able to keep up with their core units. The paper will summarize and analyze the current state of the colleges and how the government is trying to include students from rich and poor families in the education system. It can be deduced from the article that the main the American society lays great emphasis is on the fact that education or learning are opportunity that should be given to all, and the text explains how this goal can be achieved in light of Florida and the current state of Colleges and the students. The text explores the education policies taken up by each of the states to help accommodate different classes of people to evaluate which state does a better job in creating an all-encompassing program to include people from all socio-economic strata and provide equal opportunities regardless of the income bracket the individuals may fall under. The article highlights advanced courses are offered in every educational institution but very few people are able to gain access to it due to financial constraints. These courses ensure greater success in college life but the fact that only a handful of people are able to benefit from it is unfortunate and increases the divide between rich and poor. This divide is known as ‘opportunity gap’, which has become a defining feature of many of the schools in Maryland, Oklahoma and other states. So far Florida is the only state that successfully offers all these advanced courses in public schools as well, so students from all social groups can have an equal and fair chance to go attend college and get a topnotch degree in whatever field they desire. The article cites studies and researches reported on Pro Publica that describes the methodology used to acquire the data. The statistics are an aggregate of the figures obtained from various public schools that record grades and AP course scores. The statistics are further compartmentalized according to race, socioeconomic group and other variables. The data is also organized according to the faculty provided to the students; their qualifications and length of experience. Therefore the survey and statistics try to account for all the disparities; however the methodology seems reductionist for it does not take individual performance in to account. Moreover, the passing and failing rate is completely attributed to poverty, whereas there are other variables that determine an individual’s performance on an academic front, for instance crime rate and their domestic that may contribute to learning and high performance. The government department of education works to broadcast this data and make it accessible to the general masses, so they can also look up schools and see where it stands with regards to the courses offered to its students along with the yearly enrollments and the pass/fail rates. The primary purpose behind this measure is to raise awareness within the population and to make the people realize the existence of this gap in order to raise sympathy and work to fill this gap. The more people contribute in getting over the divide, the easier it will become for the education departments to come up with a viable policy. Moreover, since the data is more performance-based, it becomes easier to shortlist candidates and schools in order to grant awards, scholarships and subsidies. The data is a clear justification for taxpayers and will also raise common ground amongst the masses, so they realize that every individual is capable of excelling in academics regardless of their income brackets and poor families need opportunities not alms. The move is meant to be more of an eye opener to the general public and the government offices so they can provide equal opportunities to children from all areas. Although, poverty is the main defining feature of the opportunity gap, but the statistical data also included racial differences but still was dominated by the former. Previously, Maryland publicized the fact that they had the most number of students enrolled in AP courses, but only after these in-depth studies, it was revealed that even though high rates of enrollment, the state still maintains the disparity between the rich and poor. Normally schools simply remove AP courses from their curriculum because of their costly nature, but this move is also unfair because the students are completely deprived of them. In face of such challenging opportunity gaps, only Florida has successfully implemented policies that have made a substantial difference in reducing the divide. Even though in early 2000, it is reported that the situation is Florida was much worse than any other states. Politicians and policy makers had noticed that Florida had the most lopsided education system that only catered to the rich and poor families had very limited number of options (Coutts & Lafleur 2013). The policies changed drastically with the election of Jeb Bush as the Governor of Florida and this was achieved by establishing a partnership with College Board, which is a non-profit organization that deals with AP courses and manages its implementation. It is understandable that as soon as the partnership was brought into effect, AP courses became more accessible, schools were given incentives to provide these courses and students were also motivated to choose them as electives. They are also implementing the same policies in rural districts as they are trying to get rid of the stigma or popular myth attached with students that only certain people are meant to attend college. As a matter of fact, the policy makers are trying to promote the idea that every individual has a right to opt for higher education and it is not because some students are meant to go to college and some are not. Higher education is not a mere privilege but an opportunity or a right that must be given to all and it is the state’s duty to ensure that everyone gets it. They give higher priority to inner city schools by giving greater incentives and free lunches to them. The text then cites various quotes from influential to legitimize and justify the reasons for overcoming the opportunity gaps and to help create balance between the rich and poor. The most obvious problem plaguing the current state of colleges is definitely the economic one. Recession has affected several households and it is obvious that education to this day is still a luxury enjoyed by only a few. Even being a pure capitalist society, many states in America recognize the need to support the students because after their graduation they are going to be contributing the economy and its important that they are well-equipped to bear such a huge responsibility in the long run. Currently, only Florida has successfully has overcome the gap but the remaining 51 states need to follow in the footsteps as well. It is ostensibly that as of now there is not a proper all encompassing policy and most educational institutions still work for the sake of generating profits. While rich families go unscathed despite the costliness of education, but the poor families get the shorter end of the stick. The greatest drawback of the data presented in the article is that it is too reductionist. Although, economic factors are the first to be taken in to consideration, but some students fail to perform well which are the social factors. For students to excel at AP courses, the government and school need to work to provide safer learning environment. Lower socioeconomic strata face other problems other than financial, which included increased crime rate and domestic turbulence that may further demotivate them from excelling in their academics. Therefore, poor families do not only tackle financial problems but students belonging from these households have plenty of other things that hinder their performances. But it is understandable that the government is first dealing with the most predominant factor. As a matter of fact the issue is rapidly gaining attention from a variety of individuals; even though the lawsuits filed for greater awards and subsidies for needy students seems like a hassle and fodder for media attention, it will gain enough awareness and garner support to pressure the government for a better policy. Although, many states try to send the students off to community colleges, instead of offering AP courses they just get them ready for community college that will in turn teach them a trade. Therefore, the education system’s prime objective is to help them get employment and not a decent job that can make the social hierarchy more flexible. The main emphasis is the authorities not just give them adequate education, but train and equip them with the skills as any individual from a wealthy household. It can be established that America has excellent education facilities, but right now their main challenge is to make that facility accessible and available to everyone. So far, there have been six lawsuits but it is still a start. A steady and all-encompassing education policy will be an excellent move for America to provide children with stable and intellectually stimulating environments. As more people have a chance to et out of the downward spiral of poverty, it can lead to greater accord and more progressive society, and not just educated one. However, on a day to day basis the government faces a number of problems due to the economic uncertainty. For instance, during the recession era and financial policy changes, the government was known to cut down the funding and subsidies provided to students, which served as a great setback to many families. This was the grounds for many lawsuits filed against the education system, who wanted to restore the funding for they realized that the repercussions to this does not only affects the poor but other social groups as well. Education Attorney, Allan Rupe further identifies that is not just the needy but immigrants, special needs children and minority groups that lose the most because of opportunity gaps and lack of funding to public schools. This is why these lawsuits are pivotal to come up with a viable solution for the funding is important for schools and even the taxpayer’s need to realize how important their contribution cooperation is for the authorities. The colleges are currently only open for the wealthier students and community colleges do not ensure specialized position, but in conclusion it can be deduced that there is a lot of potential. This article is meant to be a source of enlightenment for policy makers to understand that even though many states have clearly failed, but they can still learn from the success stories of Florida and the undeniable contribution of College Board in helping to ensure higher levels of intake in AP courses and making sure that students from all economic and social groups have an opportunity to lead a great future, and not just employment. Work Cited Coutts, Sharona & Lafleur, Jennifer. Which states do best and worst jobs at educating kids? Results may surprise you. Alter Net. 201. Web. Accessed 18th Nov 2013. Read More