Moral Education In School Education

Assuaging poverty is one of the gist missions of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the United States today, exceeding “13 million” children live in poverty. We understand that children, who experience the backlash of poverty, often live in an unpleasantly conditions, unstable homes, and are at a great distance less likely than other children to get a favorable education and/or sufficient health care. The exposure to life of poverty more often limits learning abilities; bringing about the inability of getting the best jobs and earning maximum income, making it impossible for them to live up to their full potential, which will more like result in imprisonment.

A school setting provides opportunities where issues of social justice, oppression, and discrimination can be addressed. According to Bemak and Chung (2009), students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. These disparities in academic

Fifty years after the declaration of war on poverty, an increasing number of children still grow up in poverty in this country. Poverty is now more determinative than race as a predictor of student educational success (Reardon, 2013). The achievement gap between the poor and the more economically advantaged child has actually widened over the last three decades (Reardon, 2013). If we are to provide all children with equal and excellent educational opportunities, it is imperative that we utilize the most effective strategies and enhancements to overcome the educational disadvantages that poor children experience.

Until quite recently, education in the United States has been more of a privilege than a human right. Slaves were deprived of reading and writing, and schools were not integrated until the Civil Rights Movement in the twentieth century. Even then, African-American students continued to face the harsh realities of discrimination and inferior opportunities to white students. Still today, while education has become mandatory for all children through law, many students are not provided with the proper information and resources to become successful adults. We often take education for granted, but for many young students, the idea of lifelong knowledge is somewhat of a liberating factor. Through often difficult yet inevitable situations, however,

Lack of money, health insurance, and other poverty related issues have also led to lower academic performance among children in poverty. In David Berliner’s Letter to The President, he explains how “medical problems are harming student learning in our schools” (252). Since poor children may not have health insurance, or their families may not have the funds to see a doctor, poorer children miss more school due to illness. Also, more children in poverty come from single parent homes, which leaves numerous children on their own after school. In fact, “three fourths of all single mothers are in the labor force” which means there happens to be usually nobody at home to assist poor children with their homework, or help them study for tests

Even though slavery happened almost 400 years ago, the disparities between African-Americans and their Caucasian counterparts is still present in today’s time. According to one source, African-American children are more likely to be in poverty than Caucasian children. These unsettling facts do not stop with just childhood, the unemployment rate for African-Americans is twice as high as it is for Caucasians (Ethnic and Racial, n.d.). When reading these statistics, some people might think that education is the answer that can fix all problems. They might even say that everyone essentially has the same chance to achieve greatness and become successful. However, even high-performing African-American students can be subject to unfair treatment.

Childhood poverty is a pervasive problem in the United States. Unfortunately, many children are affected by poverty, with young children being the most vulnerable. Some of the causes of poverty include lack of education, family composition, immigration, and unemployment. The government can help in many ways by promoting marriage and free and reduced school lunch programs. Poverty is a social problem because it’s widespread. People do not have the acquired skills needed to succeed in today’s society. Childhood poverty is even more challenging because children cannot help themselves and the solutions must come from social change in order to have a significant impact. To improve poverty, it is important to create enhancements in education

In light of this information about the demographics and outcomes of urban populations, along with the readings discussed in lecture pertaining to these populations, the purpose of this paper will be to explore the intersections of race and socioeconomic status of urban high school students. Lastly, this paper will explore how teachers and staff of these high schools may be able to better serve these students by knowing their histories of oppression, advocating for success, and promoting change.

The issue of child poverty needs to be emphasized since so many families are in this international turmoil. Recent studies show that children from economically disadvantaged families have lower levels of cognitive functioning, academic achievement, and social development, including health and

The effects of low Socioeconomic Status (SES) on African American children can be detrimental to their cognitive development. Some government programs such as Head Start and No Child Left Behind Act was enacted to assist with the disparities in the achievement gap that is affecting low income students. However, African American boys’ that are in a low SES are at a much greater risk than their counterparts. According to The United Way

The total rate of poverty in the United States of America in 2014, according the U.S. Census Bureau, was fourteen point eight percent or forty-six point seven million people. For the aforementioned report poverty was defined as being below the federal poverty line (DeNavas-Walt & Proctor, 2015). The National Center for Children in Poverty, also using 2014 data, state that children under the age of eighteen represent twenty-three percent of the population while comprising thirty-two percent of individuals in poverty. Furthermore, the same report put the population of children under three years of age at eleven million (Jiang, Ekano,& Skinner, 2016). This number, and the implications that surround it, are mind boggling. Children born into low-income families face more challenges throughout their lives than children that are born into families with higher incomes. These challenges typically lead to poorer outcomes thoughtout the life span. The challenges, as well as the poor outcomes they wrought, are particularly evident in education.

About one in five children in the United States has the misfortune of living in a family whose income is below the official poverty threshold (Borman and Reimers 454). Poverty has harmful effects on a child’s academic outcomes, general health, development, and school readiness. The impact of poverty has on a child depends on many factors for instance community features ( crime rate in neighborhood and school characteristics) and the individuals present in the child’s life like their parents, neighbors, or relatives. It is clear that schools and outside environmental factors contribute to whether a child is successful or not in their academic life. A child’s family, neighborhood, and type of school effects that are related with poverty

This topic is important to see if there is some significance to discipline, academic success, attendance, out of school suspension, and dropouts. This study will also look at school resource officers’ data to get an understanding of how their data compares with many of the school referrals. It also will be looking at schools with a high poverty index versus schools that do not have as high of a poverty index. The study will be looking at fifty percent as the mark that will divide the high and low poverty school districts. Children of poverty in education have a difficult time to close the achievement gap,

Every person, throughout their life, develops a unique standard of morals. Morals help to establish personal opinions, choices, and both social and private behavior. Overall, Morals craft personality, an attribute special to each individual. However, many people struggle to identify the place of origin of which their morals were initially acquired. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, follows the moral development of Jean Louise, or “Scout”, and her older brother Jeremy “Jem” Finch as they grow throughout the course of the story. While a personal experience can help to establish moral beliefs, the greatest production of major moral education is obtained through one’s elders when they are an adolescent. Scout and Jem are constantly taught moral lessons from their father, Atticus, who provides the children with a wise and honest statement about current conflicts. Miss Maudie serves as one motherly figure and gives Scout and Jem hope, optimism, and judgement. Calpurnia is another motherly figure and teaches the two children about manners. Aunt Alexandra and Mrs. Dubose are both representation of what the children hope to avoid in maturing but each ghastly figure provides a deep lesson in respect and honor. Each elder that is present in Scout and Jem’s daily life serves as an outlet for a moral education.

In The Night is Dark and I am Far From Home, Jonathan Kozol writes that "The first goal and primary function of the U.S. public school is not to educate good people, but good citizens." (1). He implies that the public school has no function but to turn out people who will vote, pay their taxes, and follow the nations laws without protest. If this is so, and I believe that it is, should the philosophy of the public school system be changed to produce morally upright individuals? I believe that schools should try to produce the best people they can. Many people argue that morals should be taught at home, but that isn't good enough. Some say that good citizens make good people, but I say that that isn't the case.