Researchers are questioning whether or not the differentiations between social classes affect the academic standing of minority children in comparison to white children. We assume that the more privileged a child is, the more resources he or she is exposed to, which results in a higher learning. A low income status can unfortunately result in a shortcoming in a child’s academic standing because he or she does not have access to the same quality of learning, both at home and at school, than a child from a wealthier family. In a study of the performance of eighth-grade students in California on
the California Assessment Program Survey of Basic Skills, researchers concluded that the gap between black students whose parents were highly educated and those whose parents had little formal education was only about half as great as the gap between such groups among white students.
We suppose that if a child is raised by parent’s from a highly educated home, then that child will benefit from their knowledge and will have a greater chance to succeed in his or her studies. The student will want to live up to his parent’s expectations and become an accomplished adult. On the other hand, if a child is raised in poverty by minority parents with little to no education, he or she suffers from a disadvantage. Of course, this is not the case for all poverty-stricken homes and in no way am I saying that a child will not succeed if he or she happens to be raised in such homes, but studies show a clear gap between the achievement of white students and minority students….and the social status of these children could be a main factor. Research has suggested that growing up in poverty can negatively impact children's mental and behavioral development as well as their overall health, making it more difficult for them to learn.
To clearly see the gap between the academic success of minority students and white students, consider the following results from a test on various educational assessments and studies. In a writing achievement test conducted by the National Assessment Governing Board, the average writing scores for whites in the eighth grade was higher than those for blacks and hispanics in the 12th grade. The test also acknowledged the fact that as a whole, our generation is spending very little time reading and writing at home and at school. Shockingly, the average writing
achievement for 11th grade minority students did not equal the achievement
demonstrated by eighth-grade white students. In fact, the test also showed that the average reading
ability of minority 17 year olds are only slightly higher
than that of white 13 year olds. Whether it is the family involvement in a child’s education or their social status background, minority children are suffering from an unmistakable disadvantage.
It was very interesting to read your blog. This has always been a major issue in education but I've never really given much thought to it before. Having come from a high school in which there about as many white students as there were minority students, I must admit that I have actually seen a pattern. Most of the time there were about 5 minority students in my honors/AP classes. about 3 being black, 1 Indian (about the only one in the whole school, and who now goes to Duke), and 1 Latino. I always noticed this but never gave it much notice. I do not believe that minorities have the tendency to have "uneducated" families, but rather, I think it is who they chose to hang out with the ultimately decides how they are going to do in school. When you were little, if your friend got something you wanted, you tried your hardest to get the same thing or better. Grades work the same way. I know I have always been a competitive person when it comes to grades and look, I made it to UNC. I think if a student wants to learn, they will and I don't think we can fully blame it on the student being a minority or the household that they come from.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response! I, too, attended a high school that was diverse and noticed every year the small amount of minorities in the AP classes. In fact, I distinctively remember sitting in my AP Statistics class as a sophomore student and looking around the classroom and realizing I was the only minority in the whole class. I was shocked, wondering why this was so...only to see the trend continue throughout most of my years, with the addition of three or four other minorities in various classes (one of which now attends Duke University and the other UNC). It seemed as if my minority friends were mainly enrolled in CP classes, and some honors. When I would try to persuade them to take an AP Course, many would say that it was too hard, or "they weren't smart enough", which hurt me because I felt as if they had the potential but didn't know it. I agree with your opinion that it depends on the willpower of the student, but I feel as if the way the child is raised at home should be considered as well. If a child did/does not have parents who are able to help them and show them the correct way to study and be successful academically, it is harder for the minority to establish these qualities on his or her own. Even so, studies have shown that higher grades result from students being involved in minority groups, so maybe it is best that schools start to implement this way of learning into it's school system. If minority students do not have adequate support in their households, at least they can find assistance through friends who will have the ability to push them to do better and achieve more.
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