Blog Post 2: Education in Low-Income Communities

Blog Post 2: Education in Low-Income Communities

One of the largest problems contributing to crime within low-income communities is the lack of quality education. The Alliance for Excellent Education estimated that the graduating class of 2008 had 600,000 students’ dropout (AEE, 2010). A majority of these dropouts came from one of the 16,122 schools considered to be high-poverty in 2008 based on a majority of the student body qualifying for discounted lunch programs (IES, 2010).  There are a number of personal reasons that cause students to dropout such as family responsibilities and peer pressure. However Catherine Cornbleth, a professor specializing in education states, low-income schools are a major contributor to this problem because they lack needed educational resources and have lower expectations for students (Dougherty, 2010). 

 The most important educational resource that low-income schools lack is quality and experienced teachers. School administrators state that teachers are the second most important factor in determining how successful students are, accounting for 25 percent of a student’s achievement (AEE, 2010). Exposing a student to effective teaching for three consecutive years increases the student’s academic performance by at least 50 percent (AEE, 2010). However, this is unlikely to occur in low-income communities where students only have a 15 percent chance of having an effective and motivating teacher for one year (AEE, 2010).

A reason for the lack of quality educators in low-income communities is that more experienced teachers choose to work at nicer suburban schools forcing new teachers to work in low-income schools. According to Martin Haberman, developer of the National Teacher Corps, many new teachers are shocked by the environment these students live in and are not prepared to handle the challenges associated with teaching low-income children which cause the teachers to believe these children are not teachable (Downey, 2010). This leads to high teacher turnover rates within low-income school and does not provide a stable learning environment for students. The turnover rate for teachers in low-income schools in 2004 was 21percent, which is much higher than the national average of 14 percent (IES, 2010).

To reduce this high turnover rate in low-income school districts need to place more emphasis on screening potential teachers to determine if they will be able to handle the challenges associated with teaching impoverished youth. According to Haberman, the most important tool to determine if a teacher will be effective is “an interview process that drills deep into whether teacher candidates believe that students can learn despite lives marred by poverty, violence, gangs, drugs, or fractured families (Downey, 2010).” There is also an importance on recruiting new teachers that have grew up in similar communities because they understand the difficulties the children face and they are able to build stronger relationships with the children (Downey, 2010).

Another problem that results in high dropout rates within low-income schools is  a poor learning environment. Many low-income schools are in a state of disrepair with broken windows, broken desks, and outdated teaching materials. Students also have to worry about crime while in school because over 38 percent of low-income schools reported violent incidences such as a rape, physical attack, or robbery in 2008 (IES, 2010). This unwelcoming environment  does not provide any incentives for students to stay in school and cannot contend with the temptations of the streets and a life of crime and drugs, which  tempt kids with the illusion of money and prosperity.

            Improving the quality of education within low-income communities and reducing the dropout rates by hiring quality teachers and improving the learning environment is critical in reducing the high crime problems in these communities. Jeremiah Byrd, a high school dropout states, “A person who drops out of school locks themselves out of a lot of opportunities (Miller, 2010).” This lack of opportunities for dropouts is a precursor to a life of crime because dropouts feel crime is the only way to survive (Miller, 2010). According to President Obama, “Not long ago you could drop out of high school and reasonably expect to find a blue-collar job that would pay the bills and help support your family.  That's not the case anymore (Miller, S., 2010).”

References

Alliance for Excellent Education (2010). Policy Brief: Call for Action: Transforming Teaching and Learning to Prepare High School Students for College and Careers. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from http://www.all4ed.org/files/TransformingTeachingAndLearning.pdf

Dougherty, N. (2010). Poverty Key in Debate on Schools. Rochester Business Journal,26(2), 1. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from ProQuest database (2019499061).

Downey, M. (2010). Are They Unteachable?. The Atlanta Journal – Constitution. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from ProQuest database (1747155771).

Miller, L. (2010). Quitting School has Consequences on Crime. Philadelphia Tribune,126(33), 1A. September 22, 2010, from ProQuest database (2006638701).

Miller, S. (2010). Obama Tackles Dropout Rates, Targets ‘Chronically Troubled’ Schools. ABC News. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/obama-tackles-high-dropout-rates-targets-chronically-troubled-schools-.html

National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Special Analysis 2010 High-Poverty Public Schools. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/analysis/section3a.asp