4.2 Education

Today, the education system for grades kindergarten through eighth grade (K–8) and high school (9–12) encounters various challenges and concerns. These aren’t only relevant to teachers and families but also attract attention from sociologists and other social scientists. While we can’t cover all these matters in detail here, we’ll focus on some of the most intriguing and significant ones.

Schools & Inequality

As we mentioned before, schools vary widely in their funding, conditions, and other factors. Renowned author and education critic Jonathan Kozol describes these differences as “savage inequalities,” which is the title of one of his books (Kozol 1991). Kozol became concerned about the unequal treatment of schools based on his experience as a young teacher in a public elementary school in a Boston inner-city neighborhood during the 1960s. He was shocked to find that his school was in terrible condition. The building itself was falling apart, with crumbling plaster and inadequate facilities. Class sizes were large, and the school was so overcrowded that Kozol’s fourth-grade class had to meet in an auditorium shared with another class, the school choir, and, at times, students practicing for the Christmas play. Kozol’s observations inspired him to write his first acclaimed book, Death at an Early Age (Kozol 1967).

In 1991, Kozol conducted a nationwide study comparing public schools in inner-city neighborhoods to those in suburbs. He found significant differences in school funding and quality of education. For example, in Camden, New Jersey, schools spent less than half per student compared to wealthier towns like Princeton. Similar disparities were seen in Chicago and New York City, where urban schools spent only about half as much as nearby suburban schools.

Kozol’s visits to the city and suburban schools revealed further contrasts. In East St. Louis, Illinois, where most residents are poor and African American, schools faced serious issues such as sewage backups and outdated science labs. One high school had inadequate resources, including a shortage of textbooks and missing window glass. Conversely, suburban schools boasted impressive facilities and resources. For instance, a Chicago suburb high school had multiple gyms and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, while a New Jersey suburban high school offered a wide range of AP courses, sports, and a robust music program.

Based on his observations, Kozol concluded that children in poor rural and urban areas are not receiving adequate support from the United States. He argued that starting life in poverty already puts these children at a disadvantage, and the quality of education they receive exacerbates these challenges, hindering the realization of equal opportunities for all Americans. Kozol emphasized that regardless of background, all children should have access to the opportunities America offers. Kozol (1991) observed, “All our children ought to be allowed a stake in the enormous richness of America. Whether they were born to poor white Appalachians or to wealthy Texans, to poor black people in the Bronx or to rich people in Manhasset or Winnetka, they are all quite wonderful and innocent when they are small. We soil them needlessly.”

Despite being published over thirty years ago, the conditions described by Kozol persist today, as evident from recent reports. In Washington, DC, many public schools faced various issues, including leaking roofs, electrical problems, and health violations in cafeterias. Building repairs were delayed and thousands of urgent requests were pending for over a year. Mouse infestations were common; students were even naming and drawing the mice in one elementary school.

Disparities in funding between urban and suburban schools continue to be substantial. For instance, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, per-pupil expenditure was significantly lower than in nearby suburban areas like Lower Merion Township. Consequently, teacher salaries in low-income schools are notably lower, leading to a higher prevalence of inexperienced teachers compared to wealthier schools, which impacts teaching effectiveness.

School segregation

An important aspect of educational inequality is racial segregation in schools. Prior to 1954, Southern schools were legally segregated based on race (known as de jure segregation). Laws dictated which schools children attended, with White schools receiving better funding. The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 outlawed de jure segregation, but Southern districts resisted change, and segregation persisted until the civil rights movement achieved significant victories a decade later.

 In the North, schools were also segregated, and despite the Brown decision, segregation intensified over time. Northern segregation wasn’t enforced by law but arose from residential patterns. When neighborhoods were racially homogenous, so were the schools serving them. This informal segregation is termed de facto segregation.

Today, many children still attend segregated schools due to residential patterns, a situation termed “apartheid schooling” by Kozol (2005). Approximately 40 percent of African American and Latinx/e American students attend highly segregated schools, where at least 90 percent of students are of color—a higher level of segregation compared to four decades ago. Despite its legality, this segregation leads to schools primarily composed of African American and/or Latinx/e American students, which suffer from insufficient funding, inadequate facilities, and underpaid teachers (Orfield et al. 2011).

During the 1960s and 1970s, attempts were made to combat de facto segregation through busing. Urban African American children were bused to suburban white schools and vice versa, although less frequently (Lukas 1985). However, busing sparked intense controversy, particularly among white parents who opposed it out of concerns for their children’s safety and education quality in urban schools. Racial prejudice further fueled their opposition. African American parents, while more supportive of busing, also questioned its effectiveness, especially considering their children’s frequent busing and encounters with racial hostility in formerly all-white schools.

In the 1960s and 1970s, attempts were made by states, municipalities, and federal courts to reduce de facto segregation through busing. This involved transporting urban African American children to suburban White schools and, less frequently, vice versa. Busing sparked intense controversy, with white parents opposing it due to concerns about safety and the quality of education in urban schools, fueled by racial prejudice. African American parents, while more supportive of busing, also questioned its effectiveness, particularly as their children often faced hostility when integrating formerly all-White schools.