The American Dream: Private Schools Vs Public School Education

The American dream begins with quality education… something we all still don’t have The public school education isn’t one that is the same for all kids in America. Public schools are a public good just like waste removal, parks, street lamps and even our national defense. However, because public school funding comes strictly from property taxes, and not from a government level, your income is directly correlated with your child’s education. Now, some of you might not see a problem with this but let’s break this down.

Education is something we tell our children, time and time again, is how to gain economic mobility. Going to college, getting a degree and joining the workforce with the right set of skills is bound to get any kid “out of the
Cities have tried to better school districts themselves. After speaking with C.W. Whitaker, Trustee, Dallas County Schools Board Member and of Nova Academy, he portrayed to me that Dallas, like many other large metropolitan cites, often struggle to keep low preforming schools open and funded. When city funding is directed towards schools that preform better i.e. Schools in richer neighborhoods, it leaves the poor students behind. While there are programs implemented to try to help the individual students and teachers do the best they can in these circumstances, it’s just almost impossible to make structural change without equal
Comparing our school system to homogenous countries’ school systems, is a useless act. Reminding ourselves that we are a country built by the backs of slaves and did just about everything we could to exclude and instead of include all people of color. We can not look at this issue from a color blind way. Equalizing spending might improve classrooms, infrastructure and overcrowding. However, unless we instate a major change for implicit bias, students of color will always be disadvantaged. Overcoming this large hurdle will be tough, but we have to start somewhere. We can’t begin and end with the Little Rock Nine. Providing quality education for everyone is something that I hope we as America can achieve in this lifetime.

Coming from a very privileged educational background and reflecting on this, I realize exactly what made my education magnificent. My school was well funded, small class room sizes, breaks through the day and honestly the list could go on. It took a step out of this environment to realize how amazing my high school was. I hope that one day everyone is able to receive an education they can be proud