According to the United States Census, “In 2016 there were 40.6 million people in poverty” This is a lot of impoverished people living in a country that most people may consider the wealthiest nation on Earth. This is due to the issue of income inequality, and is well illustrated in the book “Dream Hoarders” by Richard V. Reeves. The book discusses income inequality in America, mainly between the upper and lower middle class. It discusses that the Middle class itself is divided on income issues. The upper middle class receives more opportunities than the lower classes because upper middle class. Income Inequality is an issue that affects most Americans, especially low-income Americans, and actions need to be taken to address this issue such as making sure all individuals have access to quality funded education, qualified teachers, affordable college, and equal access to internships. Education is one key way to reduce income inequality, and help end poverty. However not all individuals in the United States receive a quality education.
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For children that live in poor neighborhoods, especially in predominantly African American and Latino neighborhoods, many children do not receive a quality education. According to an article written by Linda Hammond-Darling, “Many schools serving the most vulnerable students have been staffed by a steady parade of untrained, inexperienced, and temporary teachers, and studies show that these teachers' lack of training and experience significantly accounts for students' higher failure rates on high-stakes tests.” Furthermore according to Richard V. Reeves, “Nationwide states and localities spend 15 percent less per pupil,on average, in the poorest school districts, a difference of about $1,500 per year.” (Reeves 131) Equality of opportunity does not exist in this instance because children in poor minority neighborhoods do not receive a quality education. This is due to the fact that many qualified teachers do not teach in these communities and that they receive less funding than many better school districts that are better off. This makes no sense and is especially discriminatory toward minority groups. However there are many solutions to this problem. One solution is to provide more training for the teachers. According to research conducted by International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation,, “administrators did not feel teachers were prepared for the urban schools for a number of the same reasons: they lacked classroom management skills and strategies; they did not spend enough time in urban schools; and many had limited or no experience with urban, at risk students.(International)” The teachers in Urban areas are not effectively bad teachers, they just lack the training needed to thrive in a difficult urban classroom. Training programs and more experience could be solutions to these problems. Another solution is to pay the teachers more. However the best solution as proposed by Richard Reeves is to create a new salary scale for teachers. Reeves states, “At the top of the salary scale would be excellent teachers teaching in the poorest schools. At the other end of the other of the sliding scale, earning the least would be the weak teachers at the most affluent schools.” (Reeves 132-133) Paying teachers better to teach in poor schools compared to paying teachers less to teach in better schools is the best solution. This solution does more than just fire untrained teachers or throw money at a problem. It encourages our nation’s best and brightest teachers to teach and serve in the communities where they are needed most. This will help ensure that children in poor communities and municipalities receive a quality education by qualified instructors. Income inequality is not solved after high school, the problem still exists in America’s universities. According to Reeves, “Far from abandoning marriage, college educated Americans are busily rehabilitating the institution into for the modern age, turning it into a child rearing machine for a knowledge economy” (Reeves 28). Essentially if a child’s parents are college educated, it is very likely that the child will also be college educated. This essentially ensures that those who are educated have educated for offspring, but for the poor and minorities quite the opposite is true. Furthermore according to a study done by Joel Mcfarland and Bill Hussar, “unemployment rates for twenty to twenty-four year olds with only a high school diploma is at
For children that live in poor neighborhoods, especially in predominantly African American and Latino neighborhoods, many children do not receive a quality education. According to an article written by Linda Hammond-Darling, “Many schools serving the most vulnerable students have been staffed by a steady parade of untrained, inexperienced, and temporary teachers, and studies show that these teachers' lack of training and experience significantly accounts for students' higher failure rates on high-stakes tests.” Furthermore according to Richard V. Reeves, “Nationwide states and localities spend 15 percent less per pupil,on average, in the poorest school districts, a difference of about $1,500 per year.” (Reeves 131) Equality of opportunity does not exist in this instance because children in poor minority neighborhoods do not receive a quality education. This is due to the fact that many qualified teachers do not teach in these communities and that they receive less funding than many better school districts that are better off. This makes no sense and is especially discriminatory toward minority groups. However there are many solutions to this problem. One solution is to provide more training for the teachers. According to research conducted by International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation,, “administrators did not feel teachers were prepared for the urban schools for a number of the same reasons: they lacked classroom management skills and strategies; they did not spend enough time in urban schools; and many had limited or no experience with urban, at risk students.(International)” The teachers in Urban areas are not effectively bad teachers, they just lack the training needed to thrive in a difficult urban classroom. Training programs and more experience could be solutions to these problems. Another solution is to pay the teachers more. However the best solution as proposed by Richard Reeves is to create a new salary scale for teachers. Reeves states, “At the top of the salary scale would be excellent teachers teaching in the poorest schools. At the other end of the other of the sliding scale, earning the least would be the weak teachers at the most affluent schools.” (Reeves 132-133) Paying teachers better to teach in poor schools compared to paying teachers less to teach in better schools is the best solution. This solution does more than just fire untrained teachers or throw money at a problem. It encourages our nation’s best and brightest teachers to teach and serve in the communities where they are needed most. This will help ensure that children in poor communities and municipalities receive a quality education by qualified instructors. Income inequality is not solved after high school, the problem still exists in America’s universities. According to Reeves, “Far from abandoning marriage, college educated Americans are busily rehabilitating the institution into for the modern age, turning it into a child rearing machine for a knowledge economy” (Reeves 28). Essentially if a child’s parents are college educated, it is very likely that the child will also be college educated. This essentially ensures that those who are educated have educated for offspring, but for the poor and minorities quite the opposite is true. Furthermore according to a study done by Joel Mcfarland and Bill Hussar, “unemployment rates for twenty to twenty-four year olds with only a high school diploma is at