Reading the article "Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success" by David C Berliner (http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential), made me consider more closely the many factors that cause children to do poorly in school, as well as the implications as to the lack of validity of No Child Left Behind when we consider these factors. The National Education Association promotes the ideas of Berliner on their website as well (http://www.nea.org/home/ns/31005.htm).
What Berliner contends in this article is that there are many factors in children's lives that impact their ability to perform well in schools, and many of these factors are beyond the control of the schools. Additionally, many of these factors are government controlled, and are aimed directly at low income families - furthering the achievement gap between low and high income students.
One of these is toxic waste. The five largest landfills in the country are all situated around low-income neighborhoods - raising the exposure of these children to toxins in the environment. This in turn, increases the rate of sickness among these children, which causes them to miss more days of school. Children from middle and upper class communities do not need to contend with this factor in their lives. Why is it that families without money or political power are forced to live in an unhealthy environment, while the haves are kept safe from pollutants?
The same is true of mercury and lead in the environment, as well as pesticides and smog. Children from low income families are not protected from environmental waste that the money making industries create - forcing poorer performance in school. It is not industry or government that get blamed for these unthinkable conditions for children, but the schools for their supposed lack of abiity to teach and raise test scores.
the government is holding schools accountable for conditions that the government themselves created.
The problem becomes compounded due to a lack of quality health insurance and health care for low income families. Not only are the children more prone to sickness due to their environment, they receive mediocre health care - if any health care - so they stay sick longer and are increasingly affected by illness. Still, besides talking about universal healthcare in The United States, nothing is done. Families that cannot afford to move away from landfills cannot likely afford co-pays or doctor's fees every time their children get sick.
A government that claims to be doing what is necessary to improve education needs to address all of the factors that affect student performance, not simply looking at the scores of some test.
We seem to have very similar views about this topic. The government is requiring schools to raise test scores and close the achievement gaps between students, but they are not supporting the schools to make the changes. That support could come in the form of money or addressing out of school factors that address school success. The government is so worried about what is happening around the world- they need to start focusing on our own country. And improving the lives of children in the US.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the five largest landfills in the country are situated near low income areas. All of the out of school factors that Berliner wrote about were nothing new but I did find that pollutants is one that is often overlooked. I agree that the government expects us to raise scores and, in essence, be miracle workers, when the government is a major part of the problem.
ReplyDeletedid "the government" cause the problems with toxic waste sites in low income areas? i think we should be careful about talking about "the government" as if it were a single entity, or that it is other than the collective force of our own decisions.
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