School are burdened with much more than providing adequate chairs, tables, and white boards. The bare minimum that is provided by state funding is simply not enough. Schools that are located in high socio-economic brackets and neighborhoods reap the benefits of this, and their schools are better: they have more resources, better access to technology, more opportunities for extra-curriculars, and richer libraries, etc. I work in a school in one of the best districts in the state: Boulder Valley. However, our school is in East County, and has a lower socio-economic neighborhood, more diverse population, and many more needs than other schools in our district. We get adequate funding to keep our lights on, to keep the water running and the doors open. However, many of our neighboring schools get much more than adequate funding because they have PTOs that raise sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars more than us a year. Our largest fundraiser of the year garners us around 5k or 6k. At schools 10 miles away, they have fundraisers that raise over 100k. So, no, I do not believe an adequate education is enough because it is not equitable: some students, families, and communities thrive while others in the same district scrap and scrape.
I don't believe in equality. I believe in equity and justice. Equity is differentiated support based on the needs of a group of people or person, realizing that every individual might need different supports to attain the same goals. And, to me, justice is finding ways to remove systemic barriers that keep certain individuals or groups of people from having the same access to achievement and opportunities so that future generations can realize success on a "more equal" playing field.
I find this quote from "Politics, Adequacy, and Education Funding," to be particularly apt:
"A 'quality education' is defined differently
by different actors. These two variables do
not have a linear relationship. Perhaps this
question is more appropriately answered by
John Stevens in his October 22, 2010 blog,
“The Relationship Between Education Funding
and Quality,” when he stated that when
one asks this question, one is really asking
two questions:
1. Can we improve the quality of education
by improving the efficiency or
the priorities with which educational
funding is spent, instead of increasing
the funding?
2. What quality of education should the
public pay for, and at what point is
additional quality the responsibility of
the individual student or family" (Ikpa, pg. 472, 2010).
The second question is particularly important to me. It seems to me, from personal experience and national trends, that the neighborhoods with more needs put more weight on schools (and other social programs) that in wealthier neighborhoods are supported by family units. What is the line of what a school is supposed to provide in order for kids to have an "adequate education" and are the responsibilities of families? We do a hell of a lot more than provide 7 class periods a day, in some cases we provide clothes, two solid meals a day, and safety to students who otherwise don't get this in their family lives. Decisions administrators, school board members, and politicians make deeply impact these populations the most and if education in America is to move forward, we must think about the restructure of some of these social paradigms.
Ikpa, V. W. (2016). Politics, adequacy, and education funding. Education, 136(4), 468-472.
Liz,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post and citation. You've addressed each of the three concepts for us. I noted your comment: "Equity is differentiated support based on the needs of a group of people or person, realizing that every individual might need different supports to attain the same goals.".
Any parent with more than one child recognizes this simple truth.
Dr. Brown
Than you Elizabeth. I completely understand where you are coming from when talking about equity. Our school has many students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Our school provides 2 free meals a day. However, we as teachers usually come up with the money to help with clothing, essentials and sometimes even a place for our homeless families. We as educators need to come together and work to change funding or help raise awareness.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your thoughts about those schools with lower socioeconomic status. We are in the same boat at our inner city school in Pueblo. We provide 2 meals, clothing and basic necessities. The clothing and simple living needs many times comes directly out of the pockets of the teachers. We do not have funding to help our homeless families. We as educators refuse to watch our students suffer, so of course we all come together and give what we can. We do not have a PTO that raises funds.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you on your thoughts on equity and equality. Equal does not mean equitable nor does in translate to justice for our students. Sadly, equality is a step up from where we are now. How can voters be motivated to vote for equitable practices that don't necessarily serve their immediate needs?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think a lot of teachers can say they see a disadvantage within their districts about what some schools get are not what all schools get and that is unfair. However, if a school is in a part of town where they have a lower income, we have to work with what we can to ensure those kids still get the best education we can offer to them. Within my own school, we have that problem where we have students with parents who are CEOs' of a company, to parents who are single parents and struggle to make ends meet with 2-3 jobs. That is why at my school, we focus so much on equity and focus on understanding who our students are and what they need from us to help every student succeed. Teachers need to understand the backgrounds to ensure success to the best of that students ability.