Julie Norris (Susquehanna University) on Educational Opportunity
April 2, 2012
Does Educational Opportunity Remain the Key to Success in the United States?
Educational opportunity remains the key to success in the United States. From the time of our birth we are bred to believe that with our educational success comes the American Dream. If we fail to accomplish the highest level of education then we have failed our pledge toward the American Dream.
After completing my first semester as a senior in college, I know some wonder, what’s next? But I instead wonder why my sister get left behind. Ever since I was about 4 years old I have attended a private school. Each school I attended would contribute towards exposing me to different cultures outside of my own neighborhood, a neighborhood with poor educational choices. The two-hour one-way commute was difficult, but the sacrifice was worth the strong education I received.
Unfortunately my sister ended up attending the neighborhood school, which had one of the worst reputations of all of the high schools in the county. My mother tried to transfer her but that was not a viable option. As we got older I became more aware of the difference in our education because I was always the sibling with the homework, while my sister rarely had any. Most of her work was never checked for understanding and classroom distractions amongst the students prevented learning progress. By the time I was a senior in high school, my sister was a junior and still struggled with basic math. Family frustrations only mounted because while I was writing 10-25 page essays my sister had never been taught to write an essay at all. My sister stated on more than one occasion that all she had to do to get an “A” was to be “good”. My mother complained, but not much changed in the long run.
Eventually both of us went off to college and I will admit I felt bad for her because she had never been really taught the fundamentals. During her sophomore year she began to struggle with skills she should have learned during her high school career. She now understands the difference in our depths of learning and she may have to drop out of school.
Educational opportunity remains the key to success in United States. It is imperative that we provide equal education opportunities for everyone. Education reform is not just a teacher crisis - it is a community crisis.
Unfortunately my sister ended up attending the neighborhood school, which had one of the worst reputations of all of the high schools in the county. My mother tried to transfer her but that was not a viable option. As we got older I became more aware of the difference in our education because I was always the sibling with the homework, while my sister rarely had any. Most of her work was never checked for understanding and classroom distractions amongst the students prevented learning progress. By the time I was a senior in high school, my sister was a junior and still struggled with basic math. Family frustrations only mounted because while I was writing 10-25 page essays my sister had never been taught to write an essay at all. My sister stated on more than one occasion that all she had to do to get an “A” was to be “good”. My mother complained, but not much changed in the long run.
Eventually both of us went off to college and I will admit I felt bad for her because she had never been really taught the fundamentals. During her sophomore year she began to struggle with skills she should have learned during her high school career. She now understands the difference in our depths of learning and she may have to drop out of school.
Educational opportunity remains the key to success in United States. It is imperative that we provide equal education opportunities for everyone. Education reform is not just a teacher crisis - it is a community crisis.
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