SC "Corridor of Shame" schools get 3.5 Million

  

What could be more fitting for our Education blog of the "Corridor of Shame" than an actual article about the Corridor of Shame? As of yesterday it has just been announced that the U.S. Department of Education awarded several middle schools in the South Carolina area $3.5 million for the GEAR UP program! The GEAR UP program stands "Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs". This money is aspired to provide partnerships and services at high-poverty middle schools mostly along the I-95 corridor. The described demographics for the participating schools in the GEAR UP programs are 70% of minority population, above the state average of a typical 36% in schools .Eighty-one percent of the students are on free or reduced lunch when the state average is 60 percent. Only half, 50 percent, of students in the target schools transition from high school to college versus 66 percent statewide. The main goal for the money use is for it to increase the number of low-income students in schooling and make them more prepared to enter and succeed in post secondary education. Will this money be beneficial? Only time will tell!

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=669127

South Carolina budget cuts target education and health care

Although the budget cuts were passed in June of last year, the new budget proposed by the South Carolina legislature has an lasting impact on education in school systems in South Carolina for the 2011 school year. The budget cut agreed amount is 4.9 billion dollars. Over the past two years, South Carolina has already received more than $800 million in cuts. On April 14, hundreds of people rallied in the capital to oppose further cuts. This seems to of had an impact on the further cutback in spending/budget limit currently. The budgetary cuts are part of a nationwide austerity policy being implemented in states across the country, in hopes of preserving the profits of the wealthy corporations. It was mentioned interestingly that The school board still is deciding how to implement the cuts, which will definitely fall harder on district students who don't posses the same opportunities as other students outside of it. The budget cuts will have an impact on the resources available, which will certainly impact some students in less wealthier areas than others. For more information or to read this article go to www.wsws.org, and click on South Carolina budget cuts target education and health care.

The "Color Line"

As I was researching, I came upon this article http://news.change.org/stories/the-problem-of-the-color-line-in-americas-schools entitled “The Problem of the Color Line in America’s Schools”. It was a criticism of the poor job that the government and the educational systems have done to create an equal learning environment for children of color since Brown v. Board. They made an interesting point, 50 years since the Brown v. Board decision was made, a case eerily similar to the pre-Brown era was brought to the same court in South Carolina. It was stressing the problems that majority low income African American schools are facing, as shown in detail in the documentary The Corridor of Shame. Problems with not only the structural integrity of the school buildings but with the safety of the learning environment, poor resources, under-qualified teaching staff and a plethora of other problems. The compliant brought to court in 1949 was that "facilities, physical condition and sanitation ... the only three schools which Negro pupils are permitted to attend, are inadequate and unhealthy, the buildings and schools are old, over-crowded, and in a dilapidated condition ... [with] an insufficient number of teachers and insufficient classroom space." Sound familiar? It seems that nothing has been done to improve the plight of these children, living in an economic situation that does not easily merit a simple move to switch districts, and continuing to receive a sub-par education while other schools in the state flourish. However, I do believe that this so called “Color Line” may be merging away from just being based solely on race towards being based more on economic status. The people in these regions of the state receiving a poor quality education are not only African American, there are a good number of white Americans living in those areas and recently there have been an increasing rate of Hispanic immigrants moving to those areas as well. The segregation of America is no longer as simple as looking at a color but now it is tied into economics and into the very foundation of communities.

While I was looking at that article I found a photo project done by students as sort of a follow up on The Corridor of Shame, it was really interesting to see in real life the pictures and thoughts of the students in these situations and just how bad it really is. The link is http://www.metafilter.com/51520/But-What-About-Us-Student-Photographs-from-the-Corridor-of-Shame .

Banned Books in Schools: Unnecessary Censorship?

This week marks Banned Books Week, which highlights books that those in authority deem "inappropriate" for school aged children to read. This poses the question, is this censorship necessary? What about freedom of speech? Who is to say what is and isn't right for our youth to read.

In the age of social media, one might question if banning books is even worth it now, as there is unlimited access to basically everything, as long as one knows how to work a search engine. Banning books in a school could pose a reverse psychology effect on the children, and lead them to search other places for the literature.

With readership in America already in decline, is censoring books still the way to go? With books like Harry Potter on the banned books list, one has to wonder if it's even worth it. The series has amassed an immense following in over the past ten years, even though they are banned for "witchcraft". A more recent series that has found itself on the banned books list yet still growing in popularity are The Hunger Games which have been banned for the plot line of children killing children, yet they are making a movie based on the trilogy, which, though it will be PG13, will have the ability to be accessed by millions of people, whether the books are banned or not.

With new books being added to the banned books list yearly this is likely something that will not go away anytime soon, but with Banned Book Week every year there is a way to shed light on the issue and perhaps get youth's interest piqued into discovering these books and analyzing why they are censoring the literature that they themselves should have access to.

Traditional Family Structure Is Number 1 When It Comes to Educational Attainment -Brianna Wood

Traditional family structures (two-parent plus the children) are better for educational attainment that all others. This is the idea that Steven Garasky explores in “The effects of family structure on educational attainment: do the effects vary by the age of the child?” This article relates to both the issue of family, as well as this group’s social problem, education, by illuminating that educational success depends on the stability, motivation, and parental involvement that supposedly only a two parent family can provide. Based on this article, the nuclear family (“a couple or a single parent and children” Coleman and Kerbo, 27) appears to be the most acceptable type for educational attainment, but what hope does that give when that particular family structure is in decline in today’s society?
Garasky cites several studies in emphasizing the idea that children with two-parents have a better chance at success as a result of greater social attainment than children who don’t have two parents. In the following excerpt from Garasky’s article, he cites other studies that demonstrate the impact on educational attainment that living in a non traditional family structure has: “Socialization theory perceives educational attainment as a consequence of parental ability to provide children with the motivation and skills necessary for school achievement. Family disruption or nonmarriage weakens the parent-child relationship and reduces the internalization of parental values and role models (Hess & Camera, 1979). Children living with only one parent are also subject to a different hierarchy than children in two parent households. This may reduce direct supervision, undermine parental control, and handicap the ability to function in institutions that are fundamentally hierarchical, such as education (Coleman, 1988; Hechter, 1988; Nock, 1988; Weiss, 1979).”
The quality of education that a child from a single parent family receives at a school would most likely be the same as that of a child from a two-parent family at the same school. According to Garasky, the child with one parent will not fair as well. This research conveys to me that some children are just simply S.O.L. when it comes to their ability to succeed. Without a good education, there’s little one can accomplish in today’s society.
According to our textbook (Social Problems, 10th ed. - Coleman & Kerbo), a family may be defined as “a group of people related by marriage, ancestry, or adoption who live together in a common household.” This definition however, does not imply that a family’s structure must include a husband and a wife, but I’m beginning to wonder if it should. I’m curious as to whether or not the type of two parent family has an effect on educational attainment as well. What if there are two mothers, two fathers, or two grandparents raising the child? Does that child still have a better chance at being successful in school? This is a question that I think Garasky should have addressed. However, this article was written before the emergence of shows like “Modern Family” that show different types of two-parent households. In today’s society there are gay and lesbian couples who have children that may be defined as non traditional, but because there are still two parents is educational attainment still an issue?

Follow the link to read this story for yourself and decide how you feel about it!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_n1_v54/ai_16617446/