Why are urban schools so unsuccessful? The problems with urban schooling stems from many different directions. A major issue associated with urban education is funding.
Inner-city schools receive less money per child in revenue than their suburban neighbors despite the level of need. Problems also stem from the condition of the buildings in which they learn, the condition of the city, and the condition of their home environment. The quality and training of the educators effect the schools success. Critics say that the problems with children’s education is not only the fault of the child but also of the parents. Recently, schools have been introducing security guards and police officers into schools to increase safety, when in fact, the increased security has worsened the problem. Violence is also associated with the unsuccessfulness of the schools. Students bring their street reputation into the school setting which creates fear and tension. Finally, will these issues that have been evident for so many years ever be resolved? Some critics have possible solutions that may improve the condition of the schools but, the issues associated with violence, racism, and poverty will never be resolved.
Funding is one of the largest contributing factors to the problems with urban education. The money used to fund the schools comes from three different areas. About 48 percent of the money comes from state government, 45 percent from local property tax, and 7 percent from federal government. If most of the community is in poverty the schools will only receive a small amount of money from property tax which accounts for almost fifty percent of the funding. This lowered amount of money will result in a lesser condition of the school, fewer resources, and a lower quality of educators. The idea of redirecting the funding from the advantaged to the disadvantaged creates chaos. For many legislators the idea of giving more money to the disadvantaged is not a good idea. Some people view urban schools as a money pit, they feel urban schools produce too many students that can not spell. One case study found that only 40 percent of city schools are meeting minimum standards in reading, math, and science. The fact is that it would cost too much money to bring the existing buildings up to code, about 112 billion dollars, and that is solely for the buildings.
The condition of the children’s schools, homes, and community are a big factor in their quality of education. The quality of education is a reflection of the surrounding community. Most of the major cities suffer from unemployment, poverty, crime, and a declining sense of community. All these factors effect the success of the schools. The condition of the school itself contributes to the problem also. It suffers from racism, violence, aging buildings, inadequate supplies, and the shortage of licensed teachers. Today, urban schools are centers for violence, drugs, corruption, and terror. By their own efforts, urban schools can do little to contain or relieve these conditions.
Schools are only as good as their educators. One problem is urban schools lack good licensed teachers. Once they find good educators they are hard to keep. Generally teachers in urban schools lack training and skills to properly communicate with students. They are more interested in their lesson plans rather than dealing with personal needs. It is often too time consuming, emotionally draining, and potentially harmful. “Teachers become mechanical, insensitive, unemotional, detached, and avoid social engagement with students.” Most well-trained teachers do not want to work in an urban environment.
Some people blame the problems in urban education on the parents. In some cases this is true. In many urban communities the family is usually more troubled than the school. Around 70 percent of urban teachers say that the lack of parental support is a serious problem. Since many of the urban families live in poverty they often times do not have the resources or the knowledge to help with their children’s education, despite their concern and caring. Although the parents may be a large factor in the unsuccessfulness of urban schools, it is also the fault of the children. The child has to overcome their problems and attempt to succeed. “Similar to blaming the victim, students, parents, and indolent principals are seen as responsible for the perils that besiege inner-city schools.”
The introduction of security guards and police officers have not had a good effect on urban schools. Students feel violated and unsafe in the presence of police officers. Students should feel safe and comfortable in their surroundings. Children feel they are being constantly watched and sometimes act out against these feelings of insecurity. Students should not have to walk through metal detectors and get searched everyday in order to enter their school. “Security officers scan, search, and observe students behavior… feelings, interests, concerns, and individual circumstances are left out of the equation altogether.” Many feel that security officers have taken over the traditional role of teachers. Security is one of the main causes of violence in urban schools.
Violence is a major issue in urban schools. There are many factors that are critical for understanding the nature of violence. First, is the high number of drop-outs. About 1 in 3 urban students leave before completing or receiving a diploma. Next, is the high number of student and teacher transfers. Good teachers are hard to keep in such a challenging environment. Finally, family relation, community, and school also contribute to violence. Many of the children had complicated, rough childhoods. They learned to solve their problems through violence. Many students begin to fear other students rather than authority figures. People on the streets bring their reputations into the school setting to protect themselves. This causes street and school cultures to merge. Some argue that school violence is produced by the teachers tendency to ignore student problems and avoid conflict.
A lot of people have proposed solutions to solve the problems in urban education. The first idea is to downsize the number of students in each school. Students do not know each other in larger institutions which increases the likelihood that students will engage in abnormal behavior. If the school size is smaller, then the classes will be smaller, therefore increasing the amount of personal help and attention. This would make it more open to learn and to discuss feelings and concerns. Other ideas include a large initial investment to improve the condition of the schools. This added funding could give the schools a more up-to-date curriculum, better materials, a well trained staff, and access to social services. These ideas would not change anything over night, but it would be a good start.
“The quality of education will determine the strength of our democracy, the vitality of our economy, and the promise of our ideals…” In order to have the best future possible the quality of education needs to improve. There are many steps that can be taken to improve this and it should start with the betterment of the communities. “Schools are merely microcosms of larger society, and they tend to mirror those social realities.” Like the old African proverb says, “It takes a whole village to teach a child.”
