Reference no: EM132282096

Part 1

Read the article titled A Poverty, Not Education, Crisis in U.S. The article suggests that in the United States, education reflects social stratification, is the division of society into groups that are arranged in a hierarchy. Explain what the author of the article means when he says that education reflects social stratification.

Based on the readings, consider how educational reform could potentially break the cycle of inequality.

What do you think individuals can do to help combat inequality in education? What can social agencies do to help combat inequality in education?

Part 2

In response to Stacey and Kimberly post below, discuss any similarities or differences between your opinion and your peers'.

Stacey post

We all know that education plays a very important role in our lives. Education reflects social stratification because now days, the success of a child is based on their poverty level, race, and social status of their parents. In the article "A Poverty, Not Education, Crisis in the U.S, a comparison was made. The comparison was that U.S. student scores remained in the middle of the pack. But the most difference between Finns and Americans when it comes to education is child poverty.

I believe if the education system would stop stereotyping children based on their race, poverty level, and where they live, it will help combat inequality in education.

Also, I believe if the system would remove the question that as for the household's income, that may also help inequality in education if the income is unknown. The article also states that education is not a crisis, but child poverty is. With that being said, Social agencies and government officials should start creating more jobs in the rural areas to help prevent child poverty.

Kimberly post

After reading A Poverty, Not Education, Crisis in U.S. , I felt like the Author was saying that if you live in poverty you don't receive the education that someone that is not living in poverty does. Basically you have to be rich to receive a higher education. I do think that people that live in poverty think this way as well and it could and possibly does lead to them not even wanting to succeed because they may just figure that it will never be an option for them.

It is really sad to think that money can dictate how much education you get. Everyone deserves a good education despite their financial situation. On a side note, I feel that this is also an issue with something as simple as health insurance. If you have good health insurance that you pay for you get treated differently than someone that has insurance paid for by the state. Do you agree?