Running head: EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES ACROSS THE

U.S. 1

U.S. Education: Still Separate and Unequal

Adrienne Ducato

Dominican University of California

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Abstract

This paper explores three published articles that report on education inequities across the United

States of America. The articles, however, vary in their reasoning for why the education system is

failing its students. On the one hand, Rose (1989) tells of his personal story to provide evidence

that educators are at fault, whereas Moore (2004) uses a variety of statistics to emphasize his

point that teachers are not to be blamed rather it is the flaws of the government. On the other

hand, Anyon (1980) provides information about the five different levels of schools and proof that

they are not providing students with equal access to learning. This paper not only examines what

the United States’ education system is lacking, but the improvements that need to be made.

Keywords: education, students, problems

U.S. Education: Still Separate and Unequal

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Introduction

Education is not equal for all therefore, the United States of America is not fully

succeeding at its noble goal. The education system in this country has been failing the majority

of students for quite sometime, by allowing for students to fall behind and not receive the same

access to success. In three divergent articles, the authors, Mike Rose, Michael Moore, and Jean

Anyon, discuss the lack of improvements being made to fix major educational issues and how it

has ultimately led to negatively great effects.

Discussion of Articles

The article “I Just Wanna Be Average,” written by Mike Rose, tells of his personal high

school experience. The detail provided throughout this article made me stop and question how

many students have felt neglected like Mike Rose did. Average is alright however, students

should believe that there is more to strive for than this. Sadly, the truth is students who feel this

way are being neglected, when they should instead be encouraged to strive for better. The vast

majority of educators are dedicated, but there are others who are undoubtedly disengaged.

According to Rose (1989), “But mostly the teachers had no idea of how to engage the

imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond” (p. 2). His point is

that too often teachers go into this job with the wrong motives, which ends up hurting students in

turn. I consider education an extremely valuable resource that deserves to be handled in the most

responsible manner and no longer with laxity. There needs to be better mechanisms put into

place for educators, in order to enhance student learning. Rose (1989) himself writes, “My

homeroom was supervised by Brother Dill, a troubled and unstable man who also taught

freshman English. When his class drifted away from him, which was often, his voice would rise

in paranoid accusations, and occasionally he would lose control and shake or smack us” (p. 1).
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This sort of physical behavior is unjust treatment, which is highly unacceptable and should never

be tolerated. Frequently, however, teachers raise their voices in anger and do not handle

situations in a calm demeanor. Jack MacFarland was the first teacher Mike Rose came across

who displayed genuine care for his students and urged them to work hard (Rose, 1989, p. 6-7). I

believe this is important, because it encourages an individual to strive for more than just the bare

minimum. Knowledge is powerful and through the process of education Mike Rose became

much more than just average. Every student deserves an educator who truly expresses and acts

upon making sure all students have the ability to achieve a favorable outcome in life.

In Michael Moore’s article, “Idiot Nation,” his point is that intelligence among the

American population is unprecedentedly low, because of the problems surrounding the education

system. Moore (2004) states, “American schools are literally falling apart” (p. 8). He supports his

argument by providing a large amount of statistics and factual evidence, while doing so in a

cynical manner with multiple sarcastic phrases. Michael Moore (2004) himself writes, “There are

forty-four million Americans who cannot read and write above a fourth-grade level—in other

words, who are functional illiterates” (p. 1). This is not to say that teachers are to endure all of

the blame, but politicians are part of the problem. He goes on to say, “A nation that not only

churns out illiterate students BUT GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO REMAIN IGNORANT AND

STUPID is a nation that should not be running the world” (Moore, 2004, p. 2). His beliefs stem

from the overwhelming corruption throughout this country and how the focus is more on

bombing than educating. Politicians, Moore argues, should begin to focus more on education and

not on destroying other countries (Moore, 2004, p. 3). My own view is that education is a

valuable resource that should be used properly and made equally available to all. It has become

common today to focus on trivial issues, instead of addressing fundamental issues. Students are
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not receiving the proper education they deserve and this needs to turn around quickly, because it

is simply unjust. Nevertheless, I disagree with Moore’s (2004) view that, “The ultimate irony in

all of these is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequately are

the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have fallen behind the Germans, the Japanese,

and just about every other country with running water” (p. 9). By focusing on the lack of

educational funding, Michael Moore overlooks the deeper problem of students lacking

motivation. As recent research has shown Finland along with many other countries give far less

funding to their schools than the United States does, yet the students are far more advanced. Thus

supporting my point that funding is not the issues that needs attention. Finland’s education

policies have been highly praised for their efficiency and its high student performance rate. The

main driver of Finland’s education policy is not competition between teachers and between

schools, but cooperation. Instead of focusing on a so-called lack of monetary resources, I believe

the focus needs to be put on finding new ways to engage students and improve their

performance.

Jean Anyon’s literary work, “Social Class and the Hidden curriculum of work,” talks

specifically about the status of five different school types in detail. There are crucial problems

facing the United Sates’ education system, but one stood out to me the most. Anyon (1980)

states, “Creativity is not often requested” (p. 79), in a Middle-Class School, which I find mind-

boggling. I’ve always believed that creativity is an important factor to incorporate into a

student’s education, because without it individuality is not promoted. With this being the case it

allows for students to believe that being average and doing the bare minimum is alright, when in

fact this advances a student nowhere. Anyon (1980) maintains that “Their is little excitement in

school work for the children, and the assignments are perceived as having little to do with their
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interests and feelings” (p. 79). The author is surely right that if experimenting with one’s creative

side is not promoted then the student’s passion will diminish. In short, it is simply unfair to allow

for certain students to not receive beneficial experiences, while others do. An important aspect of

education is learning to be creative, because it lets a student display their remarkable

individuality. Hence through creativity, excitement is built and students can begin to explore

more of their own interests.

Conclusion

It is an unfortunate reality that not all students are exposed to an equal education.

Improvements have needed to be made for quite sometime now regarding the problems that have

come about, because of poorly run schools. Greater efforts need to be made to improve the

quality of education for all. This needs to happen now and in a well-structured, long-lasting way

for student success rates to increase. Students in America deserve to be properly and equally

educated, so that every single individual has the possibility and capability to succeed.

References

Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. The Journal of Education, vol.

162(1), pp. 67-92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42741976

Moore, M. (2004). Idiot nation. In G. Colombo, R. Cullen, and B. Lisle (Eds.), Rereading

America (pp. 153-172). Boston: St. Martin's.

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Rose, M. (1989). I just wanna be average. Lives on the Boundary (pp. 1-7). New York, NY: Free

Press.