This is a persuasive paper about the reproduction of inequality by parents and children in the schools. Inequality is a severe condition or situation in the society where specific individuals' have more opportunities than others. Parents together with children reproduce inequalities in school in different ways. Different aspects of various parents and children reproduce inequality in school such as parents’ income, wealth and family social class status. Children also contribute to inequality in various ways such as students form academic groups comprising of students which are of the same social status and with specific education performance. These students also discriminate students perceived to be less intelligent from representing them in different academic competitions and even children from different cultures and races. This paper will try to persuade how these factors reproduce inequalities in schools.
Parents’ income, wealth and social class status reproduce inequality in schools. These parents factors increase inequality in schools in various ways. Wealth is a valuable possession that one has while income is a monetary gain of an individual. Parents that are wealthy take their children to expensive academic institutions where their children have access to different varieties of educational facilities and services, unlike the middle and low-class school. It has increased inequalities between students in these different type of schools since some have educational advantages in services and facilities compared to others hence increasing inequalities in schools (Henretta, Wolf, Van Voorhis, and Soldo 2016). Parents with high income or are from famous and recognized families also increases inequalities among children and in schools. Students whose parents' receive high income get equipped with different educational resources such as book hence bringing inequalities in school since pupils from deprived families lack these resources. They also attend various educational trips, unlike their counterparts whose parent are unable to afford these expenses. Some of these wealthy parents tend to employ teachers and instructors to train and coach their children while still at home to improve their education performance. These have increased inequalities in school where some children have comparative education advantages compared to others due to their family or parents income, wealth and their social status class.
Students from wealthy and famous families are treated by teachers and trainers in schools in a unique way compared to pupils from middle and poor backgrounds. This has increased inequalities in schools among the children in various ways. Some of them are favored in different educational activities; they get appointed as class leaders and school representatives. These students are not assigned harsh and severe punishment from teachers upon breaching various school rules. It’s difficult for them to get expelled in these schools. Some of them also get admitted to different educational institutions of their choice without a lot of procedures or restrictions. Lastly, these kids are rarely assigned duties in these educational institutions (Shapiro 189). This has increased inequalities in schools in different ways. Students from needy families are discriminated in school and are not perceived to be equal to those from wealthy families. Some teachers have negative attitudes about these students, and most of them are harshly treated and are not given the priorities. Upon admission to these schools, they follow various lengthy and time-consuming procedures before they get admitted in these institutions despite some of the parents getting discriminated.
Children contribute to the reproduction of inequalities in schools in various ways. Some students from different families’ race and culture form academic groups comprising of students with similar social status and education performance. This has increased inequality in school since the discriminated students perceive themselves as being unequal to other in various groups and this has reduced different students' morale and confidence. The reason for specific selection of members for these groups is that these members view themselves as being superior to others hence increasing school inequalities (Alba and Holdaway 315). Students of different races are also discriminated where black students are perceived to be less intelligent by their fellow students and by some teachers in various school (Lomotey 189). Most of them are associated with all sort of bad things. They are discriminated in schools due to their culture and this lead to inequalities in schools. Some of the white students’ in these schools also do not like associating with them in various educational facilities. Their parents too do not want their children to associate or interact with these black students since they have negative perceptions about them. They believe that these black kids are from needy families and that they may influence their children behaviors since most of them are associated with unethical practices (Lomotey 210). Students also reproduce inequalities in school whereby they discriminate their fellow schoolmates who are perceived to be less intelligent, and this increases differences among them whereby they view themselves as being superior to others.
Religion has led to inequality in education to both parents and children in various ways. Different schools are associated with specific religious beliefs where there are those educational institutions that were established by different religion, and an example is the schools built by various churches such as those found by the Catholic Church. Students who are this schools but are of different religion and faith experience most of the inequalities associated with education (Byrne 2017). Some of the differences related to religion in these school to students include the following. They are forced to follow the culture and the faiths associated with the schools, irrespective of their religion. All students are assumed to belong to the regions associated with these schools hence they are taught some courses related to those religions. Religion has also resulted in some students being denied admission chance to specific school since their beliefs are different from the school religion hence religion-based schools admit students that are affiliated with their religion (Byrne 2017). Culture and race thus further increasing education inequalities.
Parents and children reduce inequalities in schools since they are not concerned about the culture, race and educational performances of their children schoolmate while their children interact freely with their schoolmates irrespective of their religion, race and their family social status. But this is not the case for all parents and children in different schools. Some are very choosy and prefer taking their children to the school that matches their social status while their kids tend to associate to students’ that they think are equal to them in different aspects of life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it's evident that Parents together with children reproduce inequalities in school in different ways. It's also apparent that various factors such as race, culture, religion, family social status, wealth and different level of intelligence in school have increased inequalities in school as mentioned in this paper and inequity in school has adverse effects, and this problem should be resolved.
Works Cited
Alba, Richard D, and Jennifer Holdaway. The Children of Immigrants at School: A Comparative Look at Integration in the United States and Western Europe. 1st ed. N.p., 2016. Print.
Byrne, Cathy. "Education, Religion and Religions in Education." Religion in Secular Education2.33 (2017): 7-32. Print.
Henretta, John C., Douglas A. Wolf, Matthew F. Van Voorhis, and Beth J. Soldo. "Family structure and the reproduction of inequality: Parents’ contribution to children’s college costs." Social Science Research 41.4 (2016): 876-887. Print.
Lomotey, Kofi. People of Color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration. 1st ed. New York: New York Press, 2016. Print.
Shapiro, Thomas M. Great Divides: Social Inequality in school in the United States. 2nd ed. Mountain View: Mayfield, 2015. Print.
