Summary Of Inequality In Children's Contexts

While reading Ann Owen’s article “Inequality in Children’s Contexts: Income Segregation of Households With and Without Children” I became very interested in the relationship between inequality and income segregation. Owens found that among families with children income segregation is driven by an increased income inequality along with school district options. Income segregation between neighborhoods rose twenty percent from 1990 to 2010 and it was around twice as high for households that have children versus those that do not. The income of a family alone can tell us a fair amount of why the schools can be so segregated.

Parents today are in pursuit for the best education possible for their children and this means that families with a higher income will have more of an advantage. They have the opportunity to buy a home in a better location so their children can attend some of the best schools. Higher income families also have the option of sending their children to a private school. According to Owens, high income
Most of the families in the school I went to were willing to pay just about anything to see their child succeed and this is something that really bothered me. A higher income neighborhood having a better school system has become the cultural norm. Every person is under the impression that you have to have a high income in order for your child to succeed academically. What I really want to know is what makes a school so great? I understand that schools in a higher income neighborhood will have more funding, but if you were to put that fact aside, what do parents see in these schools that make them so much better? Is it the fact that schools have better sports, a bigger library or more technology or to parents look at the quality of teacher or the diversity of the student body? Do they look beyond the exterior design of the