The Decline of the Educational System in Harlem, NY - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The Jim Crow legislation, which was rampant in the South, widened the education gap between the blacks and the whites, which had adverse effects to the education system. The public education system did not serve the needs of the blacks adequately which worsened the problems experienced by the blacks (West 287). For example, the schools in the South Carolina became more overcrowded, the teachers were not paid well, and many of the teachers were not qualified. In addition, possessing education in the South did not guarantee the blacks with jobs and was difficult to gain high school status and earn respect for the knowledge gained in the education system. The emergence of trade schools provided the blacks with the training in fields such as millinery and sewing. Other schools, which underwent the renaissance time include the Bronx Community Chatter School, Fausset Districts Schools and Queen Metro High School. Harlem Renaissance came into the end in the 1930s as the Harlem artists and intellectuals drifted to other opportunities (Coy 124). Because of the prevalence of the racial segregation against the African American students, the Harlem students could not access the education they needed in order to have a substantial participation in the country affairs. In Harlem schools, the students performed dismally due to the low educational standards in schools. The government did little on the provision of the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the learning process (West 287). The education system denied the Harlem students to join decent jobs, participation in the nation’s economic and political affairs, and fight for a fair society. The education system in Harlem is often one, which does not provide students with adequate knowledge as resources in these schools are scarce compared to the students on other regions. The inadequate resources have made the students to score poorly. Consequently, the Harlem schools always post low grades during the internal exams and the national exams. The students often score poorly in mathematics and science subjects. For example, the score in mathematics is as low as below 30%. This has been linked to poor infrastructure, and inadequate staff because of understaffing by the government, as the priority of teacher allocation by the government is not in Harlem schools. The rate of drop out in the Harlem schools is high as 26.3% of the total number of the students drops out during their high and lower schools levels. The number of students who proceed to the tertiary level is extremely small. On average, 8% of the total students who started in lower classes join colleges and universities and are because high rate drop out the educational process (West 287). The teacher training is still poor and most of the teachers in the Harlem schools are untrained, thus making them inefficient in presenting the content to learners, thus low performance. The principle of the District-bargained contracts with the teacher unions has led to decrease in employment and sustaining highly motivated teachers. The high rate drop out has also affected the number of students who graduate from the colleges ad the universities. This means that the students of the African American in Harlem schools ar ...Download file to see next pagesRead More