Rosy Clemente-Morales

Education 255
Journal #3 Mr. Juarez

The conditions at Mr. Juarezs new school were so much different from those in the
suburban school in that it was an older building that was frequently vandalized. The suburban
school Mr. Juarez previously attended had been built only a few years before and it even
included state-of-the-art science labs. Also the urban school smelled bad, the halls were dirty,
his classroom did not have enough chairs for all the students, the paint was terrible on the
walls, and numerous ceiling tiles were missing. Comparing to the suburban school the urban
school building was in terrible shape.
The chances of Mr. Juarezs students being academically successful at the same level as
his students in the suburban school are very low. The suburban school had the support of the
parents of the students, the students were proficient with computers, participated in
extracurricular activities, and 90% of the previous graduating class had enrolled in
postsecondary programs. In the urban school the students barely had chairs for the classroom,
did not have enough books for every student, and supplies were limited. The urban students
did not have the resources to be at the same level as Mr. Juarezs previous students at the
suburban school. Students from low-income households and students of color are more likely
to be taught a low-level curriculum with low standards for performance (Darling-Hammond,
2010). So the chances of Mr. Juarezs students being academically successful at the same level
as his students in the suburban school are VERY low.
The students in the urban school are more likely to drop out, become pregnant, and not
attend college because in the years they do attend school they are not provided the proper
education with the proper materials. Also younger women having children are more likely to
have preterm babies, crack babies, and fetal alcohol syndrome children, and teen births are
disproportionately high among the poor (Gollnick & Chinn, 2013). Adolescents in poverty,
especially those of color, are more likely to live in neighborhoods with conditions that
contribute to criminal activity (Gollnick & Chinn, 2013). The students in the urban school are more
exposed to drugs. Drugs, pregnancy, and the improper conditions of the schools are more likely to lead
students to drop out.














References
Gollnick, D., & Chinn, P. (2013). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society. (Sixth ed.). New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc.