POOR EDUCATION IS A SOCIAL PROBLEM
James Adams first mentioned “The American Dream” in 1931, he wrote
“That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
From a functionalist sociological perspective we see that society is one interconnected “entity.” In that interconnectedness each branch affects all other branches. One key to ensuring the American Dream for all, is education. I propose this means that lack of education is a social problem.
Kornblum and Julian (2007) argue that social problems are issues related to society that impact upon our quality of life. If enough people agree then an issue is a social problem. They also argue that social problems seldom exist in isolation. Lack of education arguably can lead to many social problems. Poor education can lead to crime, poverty, drug use and sexual risk taking. America as a whole is failing their citizens when it comes to education. Andrew Coulson (2005) writes “The notion that America’s public school problems are confined to inner cities, and that our wealthy suburbs produce world-beating high school graduates is a myth. It’s time we resolve to do better.”
Sexual risk taking is prevalent amongst the poorly educated. John Stoltenberg in his study “Of Microbes and Manhood” mentions how poor education has led to a culture of misinformation. Non vaginal sexual interaction becomes “safe” and disease free. Contraceptives also are deemed less masculine. In a culture where education is frowned upon, and stupidity is embraced, sexual interaction has become one of fear and kept in hushed silence. The sheer outrage produced by Janet Jackson’s nipple on live television only serves to demonstrate the sheer cultural fear of sex, sexuality and actually educating people. The government currently pays schools to promote abstinence based programs. “Friedrichs is aghast that New York City schools only require 10 hours of HIV/AIDS prevention education.” (Bussel, 2005). Tax dollars are given to places that do not provide adequate sexual education. “Mentioning teens and sex in the same sentence, if you’re not condemning them, often has negative consequences. Judith Levine, whose book Harmful to Minors (University of Minnesota Press, 2002) argued that children and teens can enjoy sexual pleasure safely, received death threats, and Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was let go in 1994 after she advocated that masturbation be taught in schools.” (Bussel, 2005).
One great problem when it comes to education in America is the roles that minorities play. There exists a culture of suspicion and deliberate failure when it comes to education. Amongst young Hispanics and “black” people there is a tendency to see education as not worthwhile. Susan Headden (1997) argues that there are several factors why young Hispanics (especially males) drop out. Headden argues that language can often be a barrier. To second or third generation Hispanics language is not so much of a barrier; however often a child’s parents have little or no knowledge of the English language. Not being able to communicate with their children Headden argues could be seen as a real barrier for overall educational achievement. A larger factor is of course social and economic standing. Headden argues Hispanics drop out because due to their social and economic status in American society they often see employment instead of education as a viable (and sometimes the only) option. Sadly of course a non educated person in America has a far bleaker economic outlook in their working lives. It is a simple fact that high school drop out will simply earn far less than those who complete their education.
This social economic standing is seen also with young “African American” people. Within their community as with the Hispanic community, education is seen as foreign. Where as the Hispanics view education as unnecessary to a large extent, within the “black” community we find education can be seen as “white.” Claude Steele (1992) argues “But you must first master the culture and ways of the American Mainstream, and since that mainstream, (as it is represented) is essentially white, this means you must give many particulars of being black.” This perceived racism that is found in many minorities within America impedes the process of educating America as a whole. Another factor is that minority groups often see education as not being “manly” and essentially something that makes a boy less of a man. Ideas of questioning manhood are highlighted by Stoltenberg (2000) who argues that uneducated young men take greater sexual risks and adhere to old fashioned gender roles. These gender roles help promote ignorance and the idea that a real man does not seek education.
Economic standing in America is a large contributing factor to how well educated you may become. Kozol (1991) outlines a study of a poor neighborhood compared to an affluent New York City school. The poor school is shown to have terrible conditions. One student comments “I don’t go to physics class as my lab has no equipment.” Not only are the children forced to use out dated text books they are also forced to use outmoded facilities. In the urban New York school children had good facilities that by and large were funded by parents. Attitudes of the urban children also proclaimed ideas that children from less fortunate economic backgrounds were simply beyond hope. One student called Jennifer when asked if there is any obligation to help poor children comments “Taxing the rich to help the poor –we’d be getting nothing out of it. I don’t understand how it would make a better educational experience for me.” The economic and social stratification that exists within American society promotes a great disparity between groups dependant on social and economic standing.
Steven Manning (1999) outlines how corporations are buying their way into American classrooms. Corporate sponsorship arguably is one way that America is helping itself to educate itself. By using corporate sponsorship schools gain resources such as text books, classrooms and uniforms. Sadly this has a negative side where education becomes just another product or commodity. Also corporate sponsorship often promotes unhealthy products such as unhealthy beverages or fast food products. Sometimes though local communities sponsor schools and help in the overall education of the children in the community as a whole.
This theme of responsibility within a community is echoed by many. In 1996 current presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton wrote her book “It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.” Clinton writes
“CHILDREN are not rugged individualists. They depend on adults they know and on thousands more who make decisions every day that affect their well-being. All of us, whether we acknowledge it or not, are responsible for deciding whether our children are raised in a nation that doesn’t just espouse family values but values families and children.”
President Bush coined the term “No child left behind.” The U.S. department of education website states “The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) — the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. Proposed by President Bush shortly after his inauguration, NCLB was signed into law on January 8th, 2002. NCLB is built on four principles: accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility, and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research. The “No Child Left Behind” policy aims to improve primary and secondary education for all Americans. The main focus has been on standardization of achievements, done so through testing. Schools become rated on how well they are doing and improving the overall education of children. Parents then have information to help them place their child in “better” schools (if they are able).
Crime is a huge problem in America. Education of course plays a huge role in the lives of criminals and the whole structure built around dealing with criminals. Bell (1993) argues that “The average inmate in the nation’s correctional facilities is functionally illiterate.” Bell goes on to highlight how America’s prisons are full of poorly educated individuals often with lower than average IQ. By educating these groups, who again are by and large minority groups, we can help lower crime. Again we see in Bell’s article that a culture of mistrust exists when it comes to education. This differs from racial or social factors (where minorities view education as outside their social group, or simply not manly enough) by the actual mechanics of how prisons work. Prisons it is shown actually encourage inmates to not learn. Bell states “Attendance at school is not held in high esteem in the peer group. Classroom time may mean sacrificing income from a prison job, losing a recreational opportunity, or missing a family or lawyer visit.”
As we have seen there are many factors to how education plays a role in America as a whole. The functionalist perspective sees all these aspects as a contribution to the overall social problem. Poor education is arguably at the heart of many great American social problems. A culture that “embraces stupidity” and frowns upon intelligence helps this social problem grow. Corporate sponsorship, seen as a way to help schools is often just a quick fix. Corporate sponsorship often does not work long term. If we balance the figures we can often find that schools are accepting small amounts of money over a long period which gives the illusion of a good economic deal. Arguably the government itself should be elevating schools and education as a whole.
Other problem factors include how society views teachers. Instead of being elevated to a position of social greatness, teachers are devalued and underpaid. Teaching is seen as something you are called to do, much like a priest, not as a viable career path. Education and lack of it, can lead to so many social problems. Crime, poverty, sexual attitudes and practices all of these things are effected by education. Without education the poor remain poor; criminal are unable to read and write and sexual misinformation leads to unwanted pregnancy and disease. If America and Americans really are to live the American dream the cycle of poor education must stop. For the sake of America “No Child Left Behind” must no longer remain as empty words. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama recently said “Every child in America is our responsibility.” Maybe with this sentiment awakening in America as a whole education will be elevated to the position it should be. Although education may not solve all of America’s great social problems, by investing in education we can change that societal web that functionalist sociologists view society as.
References
Bell, Raymond (1993), We must educate prisoners, Retrieved March 31 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2572_v121/ai_13388891/pg_1
Bussel, Rachel retrieved February 10 2008 from http://villagevoice.com
Clinton, Hillary (1996), It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us
Coulson, Andrew (2005), A fair comparison: U.S. students lag in math and science, retrieved February 19 2008 from http://www.mackinac.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?ID=7036
Headden, Susan (1997), The Hispanic Dropout Mystery.
Kornblum, William and Julian, Joseph (2007), Research on Social Problems
Kozol, Johnathan (2001), Savage inequalities: Children in America’s Schools.
Manning, Steven (1999), How Corporations are Buying their way into America’s Classroom’s
Steele, Claude (1992), The Atlantic Monthly
Stoltenberg, John (2000), Of Microbes and Manhood
The U.S. department of education (2008), retrieved February 19 2008 from http://answers.ed.gov/cgi-bin/education.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4
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