Greg J. Duncan, who wrote this article, is an education professor at the University of California at Irvine. Richard J. Murnane is a professor of education and society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. They are co-editors of “Whiter Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools and Children’s Life Chances,” published by the Russell Sage Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.
Similarly, read this.
Addressing the inequalities in income only partially addresses the prejudicial systemic disparities embedded within the public school system. As long as home ownership is the fund from which resources are drawn there is little hope of academic equality and higher draw of quality personnel. There are complexities which are layered in teaching children from under resourced communities about the opportunities that lie outside of the neighborhoods where they are being raised. Many of these communities are filled with abandoned homes and apartments which contribute nothing to a dwindling pool of financial resources. The justice question is why was the unjust system remains the method for funding public education. Without community involvement through business, church and resident covenants, local public education will continue to produce excuses for their inability to bring resources and personnel to students who are the most in need of hope, preparation and exposure. We don’t need another study or more research to tell us that our current system will continue to sustain the inequities demonstrated by the widening gap in achievement test scores and national placement or admission tests. Our justice work demands a change in the system, that in its current form will never be able to provide equality … or maybe that has been the intent all along … Uhmmm
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01.05.12 at 4:44 pm