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Judith de Leon
S. Olivas
English 201
22 November 2016
Knowledge Is Power
Born in 1818, Frederick Douglass was born into slavery and most likely the son of the plantation
owner, but even having a white parent, he lived a hard life but left behind a legacy. Douglass was
an abolitionist and politician, two important roles that help spark the conscious of America at that
time through his words. He wrote several autobiographies, one of his best sellers was his
autobiography that told the story of his life as a life and how he got to where he was, it is still
read and taught in schools. He had a hard life but from what he accomplished, without knowing
much else about him, one can infer that although he was a slave, he was an educated slave. How
else would he be able to read and write or even become a statesman? Unfortunately, for him and
a lot of slaves, he was illiterate and did not know how to write, it was not until he was about 12,
one of the slave owners wife taught him the alphabet but she was scolded by her husband
because in his mind, education ruins slaves, but that did not stop Douglass from educating
himself. The odds were tremendously stacked against him but he was able to remove himself
from his path through education. Knowledge is power and it helps us succeed and break through
barriers. Now, almost 200 years later, education is still as important in our society and wellbeing.
The obstacles that children face today is not slavery but poverty and in some cases, lack of
support at home. In The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara we see children learn the power of

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change and education. There is access today for free education, but the stakes are much higher
for children in poor neighborhoods compared to their wealthy counterparts in nearby areas.
Trial and error has taught us that the best and most rewarding way out of poverty is
through education. In Bambaras story we see a young girl, in 70s New York, learn and
understand social inequality and that she was able to change that. A way out of economic
hardship or environmental, like gangs and violence, is through education, but in some areas
poverty keeps students from remaining at the level of wealthier children and schools. Life is a
competition, we compete for jobs, acceptance into colleges and compete to achieve better. The
education system in the united states have not always been equal, a little over fifty years ago,
schools were completely segregated. Although they believed in separate but equal, it was not
equal. Equality is not the same as equity because all children are given the opportunity for
education equally, the quality of that said free education is not the same or fair. In the end, the
opportunity of education should be truly fair and impartial and not just equal.
Education is important and powerful, it is harder to oppress a population when they are
educated well, but sometimes, minority children which is actually the majority of the students
that tend to be low-income or living in poverty, are faced with a different reality. If life was a
race, the majority of the people left behind would be young children and a large portion would be
non-white. It is difficult to keep up when others were born ahead but it is not impossible to take
the lead, minority children face more and bigger obstacles, the goal and prize is the same-to be
better than they were. Education should start in the home but it shouldnt be hindered by going to
school. Although some schools in poor or dangerous areas have some teachers, it is still not
enough for all the students and that's where the disadvantages continue. Some of these schools
offer extra pay called Combat Pay, to entice them to come to those same poor and dangerous

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neighborhoods, but sometimes it isn't enough to attract teachers. The diservice or discomfort isn't
for the school or potential educator, but to the students because it is their future that is in play
now. According Jean Reardon, an education professor at Stanford University, who studies
poverty and inequality, low-income children of color can and do succeed in Americas public
schools, (it is not impossible), the odds are really stacked against you if you grow up in a poor
district.If we were to step back and look around today, we can assume that education is equal
and fair across the nation. We as humankind, have improved and invented new technology that
has helped improve education or just improve our lives in general. We live in an industrialized
nation, and one of the richest countries. But if we truly look around we can see beyond the glitz
and see the cracks we have have in our education system. Time has corrected a lot of injustices
but some are still there and the ones who suffer the most are children that live at the bottom of
society. Separate is not equal and no child is left behind, but sometimes there is the select few
that can not keep up in the race. The Washington Post published an article in 2015, stating, for
the first time in at least 50 years a majority of U.S public school students come from low-income
families, according to a new analysis of the 2013 federal data, a statistic that has profound
implications for the nation. If education is the way out of poverty, there is still long way to go.
As human beings, we learn from our environment and learn from those that surround us.
We do not have to be in school to learn and to be taught, nature versus nurture. The reality is,
learning is an ongoing process that begins in the home and continues into the outside world. For
some children, that reality is not the same, education does not begin until the child is at a certain
age to attend school and even then, the school is where it ends. Sometimes it could be
unintentional neglect such as working parents making ends meet in order to keep their children
clothed, fed and under a roof. Or it could be true neglect where education is not encouraged but

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ridiculed. As educators, they will never truly know the story of every child but that is why we
need an impartial education system that helps students that do not have the opportunity at home.
PBS created Sesame Street and other free educational programs, to help offer free education to
young children who are not school aged and if they are it also offers a continuation of that
education that has been given in the school. It is a battle to get an individual excited for school or
learning when there is no support system at home. It is on everyone in direct contact with that
child, to help kick start and keep that interest open. That is evident in Bambara's The Lesson.
Ms. Moore is the only educated person in Sylvias neighborhood, she graduated from college,
and is the only one in the neighborhood that really uses that to help the children. Although the
students are upset and believe she is ruining their summer, the lesson she is giving is more about
how there is a different way of life and they have the power to achieve it and can buy that
thousand-dollar toy boat if they want. Although Sylvia would not admit it to anyone, at the end
of the story, she realizes and understands what Ms. Moore was trying to teach. Students need
support and supplies to succeed in life not only in school. Education should not be a privilege
rather a human right.
Inequality in education does not pertain only to city children but it affects anyone living
in suburbs, city and rural areas. Problems low-income city students have may be similar but not
the same as students living in rural areas. Sometimes the problems in these education system
arent as covert as others, you can see the flaws. There are areas in rurals areas though, that have
come up with ways to combat these struggles, some low-income rural administrations have
sought to address these obstacles by partnering with local businesses, which may offer resources
that poor rural schools lack. (School Administration). Classrooms in rural areas tend to have
less students, but the resources still are not enough and in some cases, teachers can more easily

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identify which students are truly struggling. In general, rural teachers are more aware of
individual student progress than urban teachers, allowing them to better predict students
educational problems (School Administration). Even though the educators are doing something
to help, sometimes it cannot be the same at home. In the same publication, School
Administration, it states that grade-level students have families or parents that are less involved
with the education process compared to low-income urban families.
Although education is offered nationwide, individual states are taking their own take on what
they see fit for the students that reside in those states.SB 67 is a bill that would give five million
to help low-income students. This what it looks likes when states take control of what and how
they approach education. Senator Ann Miller, R-Odgen, presented SB67, that would create the
partnership for Student Success Grant Program, which would focus on improving education for
low-income students at a local level rather than the state level (Univeristy Wire). Some states
that offer standardized tests, passed a law that could choose if they want their child to take it or
not. Specifically, in the state of Virginia, Alexandria school tried to improve its ratings by using
the states new law allowing parents to opt their children out of the standardized test. When
laws like these pass, it is a disservice to the student. These these are meant to see where the
school is at through testing and when teachers abuse that by asking parents whose child is not
doing well in class, the state believe that school is doing well because it is a small percentage
that took the test to improve the schools ratings. Maybe, it started out as a good idea but it does
more harm than good in the long run. The students who need the most help are low-income
students according to the Washington Post. Tests provide objective information about how well
students are doing and what they need help in (The Washington Post). If a large portion of the
students do not take the test, its impossible for the state to figure out they need help when the

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results they get make it seem as if every student across the state is doing a great job. There are
other instances where young students figure out at a young age that they are not doing well
publicly and it does more damage than it was set out to do. In an article written by Launa Hall
for the Washington Post, she writes about a teacher using a new method of tracking students in
their class but in a way that is not beneficial to the child. In this classroom a young girl sees a
chart behind the teacher's desk with names on them, she finds and traces her name only to find
it's followed by bad colors like red and yellows. In that moment, the teachers saw the
disappointment in the young child's eyes and how from now on, that student will only see those
colors as a reflection of her, those charts are known as data walls...theyd been profiling in
schools across the country-an outgrowth of data-driven instruction (Launa Hall). In a way
these charts are good for teachers and parents, but to put these charts in an accessible location,
these students who are already struggling at home with their education, only to come in and see
their name and their classmates names followed by colors, and these children take these colors
very seriously. I only know how serious because when I would babysit my nephews when they
were younger, I followed the classroom setting by putting colors next to their name, and let me
tell you, yellow and red were colors that brought a reaction as if their pet goldfish had died. They
are powerful and controlling colors.
States don't just pass laws or send out new strategies to help students, states also send out money
to these districts. Some schools receive more money according to their tests score. Teachers often
times receive a bonus if their class succeeds in these state standardized tests. And that's when
teachers like the ones from Alexandria,Virginia talk to parents about opting out and allowing the
more advanced students improve the test's scores.When students become aware of these practices
they no longer see themselves as student and rather numbers on a check only because they notice

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or hear these teachers talk about how it will gain them a bonus, I was one of these students at my
elementary schools,my teacher explicable told us that he will get a pay bonus and even went as
far as using curse words to his fourth grade students when we would not get good grades on our
homework assignments during the months leading up to the state tests. To know that the person
who is suppose to be preparing you and furthering your education is very discouraging, and even
at that age I knew that it was not okay. Fortunately, I had a great encouraging system at home and
a mom that was actively involved in my school. The same could not be said about students living
in poverty and have two working parents or neglectful parents that do not bother to involve
themselves.
Although the education system plays a huge role in the education of low-income and
minority children, it is not solely its responsibility to help these children educational wise. The
learning process begins in the home and encouragement begins in the home, with the family or
legal guardians of the children. Michael J. Petrilli says that even though schools that serve
African Americans (and Latinos and low income students), (Michael J. Petrilli) there has been
a shift in the past twenty years that has seen improvement. But in the same article he says that
those same students, although there has been an improvement, they are behind the students that
are wealthy, white or even Asian. Programs are offered for low-income families like head start, I
was fortunate enough to be a child that use these services, or television programs like ones on
PBS that are free. Petrolia says that an average African-American fourth grader is sometimes
ahead by two grades when it comes to reading and math, compared to students in the 1990s. So
to say that all minority or low-income students are doing poorly would be incorrect, but there's
still struggle out there for these students. There have been multiple organizations, laws, grants

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and other help to these low-income students. But even when there are all these programs, some
families are not able to have access to them.
Knowledge is power and it helps us succeed and break through barriers.The obstacles that
children face today is not slavery but poverty and in some cases,lack of support at home.There is
access today for free education,but the stakes are much higher for children in poor
neighborhoods compared to their wealthy counterparts in nearby areas.Their improvement starts
and should not end in the home,and if we keep moving forward as a society those same resources
will help these students succeed in when they begin school. Language used around students and
the school system itself should see improvements to help create a positive environment. As a
society, as parents and as educators we have a responsibility to help these children succeed and
help them change their lives for good no matter what is put in their way to make it harder.

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Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. Lesson. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Clark, Samantha. "SB67: Bill That Would Give $5 Million to Help Low-Income
Students Passes Committee." University WireJan 26 2016. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov.
2016 .
Hall, Launa. "This Tool Meant to Motivate Students Shames Them Instead."
Washington Post 22 May 2016: B.5. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
"How the Testing Opt-Out Movement Hurts Low-Income Students (Posted
2016-09-12 23:15:01)." The Washington PostSep 12 2016. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov.
2016 .
Layton, Lyndsey. "Majority of US Public School Students Are in Poverty." The
Washington Post 16 Jan. 2015: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17
Nov. 2016.
Montlake, Simon. "Connecticut Schools: Unequal--And Now Unconstitutional."
Christian Science Monitor 07 Sept. 2016: N.p. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Petrilli, Michael J. "To Improve Education, Focus on Excellence--Not Failure."
Washington Post 07 Sept. 2016: A.17. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Tine, Michele T. "Different Worlds: Rural and Urban Poverty." School
Administrator73.3 (2016): 38-40. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.