Equality Of Educational Opportunity

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Equality of Educational Opportunity I believe Equality of Educational Opportunity means all students regardless of race, gender or class have the same access to the educational tools needed in life to succeed. Unfortunately this is simple in theory but complicated in practice. Prior to the landmark Supreme Court decision (heralded by many as the “case of the century”) Brown vs. Board, segregating students in the classroom was considered a means of equality thanks to Plessy v. Ferguson. In hindsight it’s easy to call the contemporaries of this time racist and/or lacking logic, but what will the citizenry of Americas future think about how we control the opportunity of education. Simple numbers don’t lie and it’s not hard to prove inequality in Americas education system. If your born a shade of color other than pink in this country your chance for a first rate education automatically lessens, even more so if your born poor. I believe its imperative for teachers to leave all their stereotypes at the door of the classroom and try to understand how different social-cultural influences have shaped their students. We don’t all get the same opportunities at home but school should be the great equalizer, where a student’s success isn’t based on factors they can’t control but by the factors they can. Funding for schools in this country is grossly disproportionate to educational needs. Funding plays a giant role in student success rates, and most school district funding comes from the districts them selves. A poor district doesn’t have the resources a rich one would. If a child grows up in a society with an inferior education, how is that child going to contribute to his society as an adult? Chances are he wont be able to and the cycle will just continue. More money should go toward problem districts and schools. A great quote by Thurgood
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