It’s All About Education: Is the American Dream a Pipe Dream?

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Lauri Lee, GoLocalProv Education Expert

 

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Lauri Lee

Our national conversation often revolves around “the American dream,” that uniquely American notion that anyone who works hard can live a full life that includes a secure job, satisfying personal relationships, the freedom to share one’s opinions, and maybe even home ownership. Recently, though, I’ve been reminded of two things: 1) we live in an increasingly dichotomous society, with the gap between the haves and the have-nots growing daily; and 2) the terms we use to discuss this inequity may in fact be hampering true conversation and change. 

Last month, a research bulletin released by the Southern Education Foundation showed that the majority (51%) of our nation’s public school students now qualify as low income. In 40 (80%) of our 50 states, low income students make up 40% or more of the student body. The achievement gap between students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and their wealthier peers is well documented. According to Paul Thomas, writing on this issue on AlterNet, “poverty blocks children from high-quality educational opportunities while privilege insures better schools, advanced degrees, and access to jobs linked to the networking of privilege…. The lives of adults in the U.S. are more often than not the consequences of large and powerful social dynamics driven by poverty and privilege—and not by the character or tenacity of any individual.” 

Perhaps not surprisingly, according to US News & World Report, those students who attend high-poverty schools are also less likely to enroll in and complete college.  In fact, the gap in college degrees between our nation’s richest and poorest students has more than doubled since 1970; while only 9% of students from America’s poorest families earn a bachelors degree, a whopping 77% of their wealthiest peers do the same (see the Pell Institute’s full report). Dr. Margaret Cahalan, Vice President for Research Council for Opportunity in Education and Director of the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, believes that, “we have a national imperative to improve postsecondary educational opportunity equity both from a social justice perspective and from a national competitiveness perspective.” 

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Many education reformers, myself included, have written about the pervasive lack of equity in our public school system and the need to address these societal issues before we can hope to improve the public school system for all children. As cited in the Children’s Defense Fund’s report titled Ending Child Poverty Now, the United States has the second highest child poverty rate among 35 industrialized countries, and a child in the United States has a 1 in 5 chance of being poor. In the foreward, Marian Wright Edelman states, “Child poverty is too expensive to continue. Every year we keep 14.7 million children in poverty costs our nation $500 billion – six times more than the $77 billion investment we propose to reduce child poverty by 60 percent.” 

The language we use to discuss educational reform can also influence this national conversation. In September 2013, Conor Williams reflected on the use of buzzwords like “professionalism” and “accountability” and their relationship to equity. The Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss adds the terms “choice” and “no excuses” to these examples of values framing; in other words, these terms (and numerous others) have been co-opted by policymakers to suggest that education reform is in progress, when the actual practice may be far from the original intention. 

The National Education Association (NEA) has even published an internal document cautioning their members against using terms like “educational equity,” “inequality,” and “education reform.” Rather than educating students to be “college and career-ready,” for example, the NEA wants teachers to help students be “equipped to succeed.” What’s the difference? In the grand scheme of things, there probably isn’t one. However, words have power, and this national conversation is just ramping up. More citizens are beginning to realize that our society’s inequity is reflected in our schools, and that it is going to take more than a small, committed group of individuals to make broad, sweeping changes. We cannot shy away from this conversation or these words, no matter how uncomfortable they make us feel. It is time to get serious about creating a public education system that offers real opportunity for all students, regardless of their background or zip code. If we can do that, then maybe the “American dream” won’t end up being a pipe dream. 

Lauri Lee is an independent consultant with over twenty years of experience in both public and private education, with learners from infants through adults. With experience in teaching, marketing, communications, social media, development, admissions, and technology, she is able to synthesize many of the issues facing our educational system today. She lives in Providence, RI with her family, a big dog, and a small cat. She blogs at http://www.AllAboutEducation.net and you can follow her on Twitter at @fridovichlee. 

 

Related Slideshow: RI Experts on the Biggest Issues Facing Public Education

On Friday November 22, the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, the Latino Policy Institute of Roger Williams University, the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, the Providence Student Union, and RI-CAN: Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now will host Rhode Island leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors for a symposium on "the civil rights issue of the 21st century, adequacy and equity and the State of Education in Rhode Island."

Weighing in on the the "three biggest factors" facing education in the state today are symposium participatnts Gary Sasse, Founding Director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Leadership; Christine Lopes Metcalfe, Executive Director of RI-CAN; Anna Cano-Morales, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, Central Falls Public Schools and Director, Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University; Tim Duffy, Executive Director, RI Association of School Committees; and Deborah Cylke, Superintendent of Pawtucket Public Schools.  

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Sasse

"Provide a state constitutional guarantee that all children will have access to  an education that will prepare them to meet high performance standards and be successful adults.

Bridge the gap between the educational achievement of majority and minority students.  This will require the implementation of a comprehensive agenda for quality education in Rhode Island’s inner cities."

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Sasse

"Revisit school governance and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the state, school districts , neighborhood schools, and school teachers and school administrators.  Develop and implement a system to hold schools responsible for student outcomes."

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Sasse

"Build a consensus and buy in of all stakeholders around  the education reform initiatives being advanced by the Board of Education."

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Metcalfe

"Set high expectations and raise our standards across the state for anyone that contributes to the success of our students. From adopting the Common Core to discussing rigorous teacher evaluations, conversations around creating a culture of high expectations have to be at the center of the work."

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Metcalfe

"Expand opportunities and start earlier - we must ensure that all kids have access to a high performing public school of their choice, which includes full-day kindergarten."

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Metcalfe

"School facilities - with an aging infrastructure, underutilized buildings and the need to provide fair funding for school facilities for all public school students regardless of the public school they attend, this needs to be a top issue tackled by the RI General Assembly in 2014."

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Cano-Morales

"Meet the academic potential of all students but especially with regards to urban schools students -- 3 out of 4 are Latinos in Providence, Central Falls, and Pawtucket." 

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Cano-Morales

"Connect through specific best practices the academic successes of our students to careers jobs. Investing in schools is economic development as a whole for Rhode Island. " 

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Cano-Morales

"Increase the access to -- and completion of -- higher education and post- secondary opportunities.  Poverty? Struggling families? Education and access to careers and competitive wages is the best antidote."

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Duffy

"Providing adequate funding is critical -- and there are going to be pressures on the state budget, which mean stresses to meet the education funding formula.  With the predictions of the state's projected loss of revenue with the casinos in MA, education funding could be on the cutting board, and we need to ensure that it's not.  Do we need to look at strengthening the language of the constitution to guarantee funding?"

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Duffy

"Implementing the common core standards will provide continuity -- and comparison -- between states now.  With over 40 states involved, we're embarking a new set of standards here."

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Duffy

"Accountability and assessing student performance -- how that it's driven by the common core, we'll be able to compare the best districts in RI against the best districts in say MA.  That's the intent of the Common Core is a standardization of how we hold the system accountable."

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Cylke

"Issue one is quality.  Your quality of education should not be dependent on your zip code.  And the reality is, certain cities are distressed, or whose property values are not as high, I know each town has a different capacity to fund education. There's an absolute, clear relationship between the quality of public schools, and economic development of states. There's irrefutable evidence that quality public schools can make states more competitive."

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Cylke

"Issue two is equality.  In West Warwick and Providence, the per pupil spending is around $16K.  In Pawtucket it's $12.9.  What's wrong with that picture? If I'm in charge of overseeing that my students are college ready, they need to be adequate funding.  A difference of $3000 per pupil?  We're talking in the tens of millions of dollars -- more like $25 million in this case.  An exemplary school district is Montgomery County, MD -- they have roughly the same number of students, around 145,000 -- there's one funding figure per pupil. There's equitable funding for all kids."

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Cylke

"Issue three is Infrastructure.  A critical issue is whether the state is going to lift its moratorium in 2014 for renovations for older schools, ore new construction.  If that moratorium is not lifted, and those funds are not available, it is critical to us here in Pawtucket. The average of my schools is 66 years, I've got 3 that celebrate 100 years this year. These old schools have good bones, but they need to be maintained.  These are assets -- and this is all interrelated with the funding formula."

 

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