What does money have to do with it?
What does money have to do with it?
Hello again, it has been a while since I posted a blog and this week's question had me ready to start writing! Abba said it best, "Money money money must be funny in a rich man's world" and that is an extremely fitting lyric for this topic! We all know that schools do not get enough funding for everything we wish to do for the children, but when you put it in the perspective of different school districts with different property tax incomes it becomes a lot scarier. For some reason, I had never put two and two together but after listening to the podcast in this unit it really opened my eyes to the inequity that we face in our school systems regarding funding. There are students who are in low-income areas who receive even less funding than every other school district and that is an automatic red flag! If we are already thinking that all of our schools have low funding, imagine the schools that are in these areas. It is simply unfair. For instance, when we think of private schools you have to pay tuition to even be able to go there and this is to ensure that each student is getting a quality experience and education. Basing all of our public school funding on property taxes is just simply unfair because there are those who do not have the same resources as others. This does not mean that a child's education should be penalized for this.
An idea brought up in this unit was that families who live in low-income areas just have a low work ethic and they are lazy, but this myth was quickly debunked by Paul Gorski and he explained that 83 percent of these families have at least one employed parent. The issue is rooted in the fact that the severe shortage of low-wage jobs makes it to where these families will have to work more than one job, often two or three just to keep their household running. I hear so often in the teaching profession about children's parents and their lack of attendance at school events and they are shamed for it when most of the time we do not know the backstory of why they can't make it. As a future educator, it is important to remind yourself that these parents aren't uninterested or lazy, they are working harder than most to keep their family safe and comfortable and give their children an education.
So what does money have to do with it? It has everything to do with it! Without proper funds for our schools, we will continue to see this inequity in our education system
Thanks for your post! I totally agree that money has almost everything to do with it, and that money is unfortunately tied to the property taxes their parents pay, and to the whims of legislators simply placing a number on paper. I think most people would agree that the current system is flawed as best, do you have any thoughts for funding public schools in Texas? One way that is currently used is the controversial 'Robin Hood' system, where money is redistributed from higher-income schools with surplus funding to schools that need the funds. Many legislatures find this system to be unfair to wealthier school districts, do you think the system needs an overhaul? Or do you think that it simply needs a few tweaks in order to better serve students? Like you said money is unfortunately everything, and students deserve better than the current system. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these matters!
ReplyDeleteHey Mallory! I think that the whole system could use a few tweaks, and I had no idea about the 'Robin Hood' system! That sounds really beneficial for low income schools, but I also think that education funding should be coming directly from the government, not just from our property taxes. That is just my opinion but I am obviously still learning! Thank you for responding!
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DeleteHi Priya! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! It's very sad that a students education resources is based off of taxes. Lower income schools aren't able to provide the same resources as higher income schools. Is this fair? Absolutely not, because all students deserve the same opportunities, especially in public schools. It's sad that many people believe that lower income students have little to no work ethic. I've known many people who came from poverty and are millionaires right now. Money doesn't prove any students work ethic, so to put lower income schools in that category, is disgusting. I believe that all schools should be provided with the same funds, for the students, educators, and staff. Great post!!
DeleteHey Raegan, I am glad to see that we have some similar viewpoints. I totally agree that money doesn't prove someone's work ethic, there are people who are in harder positions who don't have access to the same resources or jobs that people with money have access to. Thank you for your response.
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