Compared to the “home-made” podcast, this podcast about the story of Jada was made much more professionally. It was easier to hear the interviewer, Ira Glass and Jada being interviewed. Because it was from a professional podcast site it was clear that there was no bias from the interviewer, yet from the people they chose to interview and the story they chose to tell did lean in a certain opinion.
The story was of Jada, who moved from Akron Public School in Ohio, to Copley- Fairlawn School, which was in a nearby suburb. Her story speaks to a many flaws and obstacles Americans students face everywhere. Why she received a better quality education at one school, but not at her other school. Jada went to one public school in a “better” neighborhood; meaning that the people that lived there paid more for their houses and the things their suburb offered. This is answered through the idea that a school in a neighborhood with high property taxes offered a better education.
She described her old public school as teaching out of the book and having little resources to challenge their learning. The school in the suburbs she said was much more “serious” about her learning and had resources like greenhouses and other opportunities for her to embody learning as an experience rather than a requirement. Jada was later kicked out of the school because her an her sister were using an incorrect address so that she could have access to these resources. When we consider the disservice we offer students because of where their families choose to live, or the houses they can afford, we need to reflect on opportunities for change.
This has turned education into an economic good. Capitalism has made education something one must afford, not be given. Property taxes ensure that one student is receiving a quality education over other students in other neighborhoods. This has made our education inequal. One way I consider changing this is receiving property taxes, but splitting it equally among all the schools in a mile radius or state. That way all schools have the same resources and with teachers and administration who care to make the best with what they have, all schools can provide students with the education they deserve.
Comments
4 responses to “Podcast: 512: House Rules”
I agree that education has unfortunately become a good that must be purchased, and that it seems for the most part, the more you pay in property taxes, the better quality education your child will receive. This is one of the reasons that the wealth disparity is continuing to increase in this nation. Since children who live in poorer neighborhoods are going to schools with less funding, they are receive a low-quality education, while more well-off students are receiving a high-quality education. Now, poorer students who want to move up the economic ladder must not only overcome their “crappy education” as Michelle Rhee put it in Waiting for “Superman,” but must also compete with students who have far more resources and have received a far better education. All of this, in combination with social factors, leads children who are not well-off extremely slim chances of ever finding success through education.
I agree that changing how schools are funded is important in bettering the education in many low income neighborhoods in America. However, I don’t think redistributing property taxes alone will be enough, especially if wealthier at payers feel their kids aren’t getting as good of an education with decreased funding. It seems important to look for alternatives to funding schools outside property taxes.
I agree with the idea that education is irresponsibly being treated as an “untapped” market. I think this concept makes a scary amount of sense- this capitalistic force takes advantage of those who have little control over where they can live and where their children are allowed to attend school. The American love for the business dogmas strive for competition and a comparative nature that we carry into our public education system. I just thought (in maybe a pessimistic way) that while property taxes fund a part of public education, the “performance” of these schools is also a factor in determining property value if we calculate “good neighborhood schools” into the location and ‘ambiance’ of an area… I was thinking that this cyclic system of profits and values was also a reason to refute the reallocation of tax money onto other schools or school districts. To an extent, the desire for individual monetary values might even fuel the misconceptions of children’s academic potential so they feel the need to kick kids out of school similar to what happened to Jada.
I have seen many useful things on your internet site about personal computers. However, I have got the judgment that laptop computers are still more or less not powerful sufficiently to be a wise decision if you normally do projects that require a lot of power, for instance video enhancing. But for web surfing, word processing, and the majority of other prevalent computer work they are just great, provided you can’t mind your little friend screen size. Thank you for sharing your notions.