Angela Ma

Ms. Difalco

June 2, 2022

The opportunity gap
Imagine sitting in a room full of people, at the front of the room, there is a bucket; everybody has a crumpled piece of paper held in hand and is required to throw the papers into the bucket without leaving their seat. Does each person have an equal chance of making it in? No, the unchangeable essence of unfairness of this issue presents itself as The Opportunity gap. In the metaphor above, the place one sits at represents the opportunities presented in the circumstance, for example being seated towards the back leads having a smaller chance of throwing the paper into the bin, this exemplifies the person having less fortunate circumstances than the people seated at the front, whether it be racial, gender, religion, or simply domestic environment that results in people sitting “at the back of the room”, the distance between the people towards the front and people at the back is the differences that differ one another’s opportunities. The opportunity gap is still a big issue as of today and is only growing bigger and bigger. The opportunity gap is based on opportunities and resources in a person’s lifetime, whereas the achievement gap is the unequal distribution of results or benefits.

Equal Education 1

“The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer” is a very common, popular saying, unfortunately this saying could not be truer. In the US, the number of resources a student gets depends on the state, and the income supplying schools comes from taxes. Therefore, poorer states will result in less yearly tax which results in less educational benefit. In 2016, the school tuition for Fairfax County Virginia cost $13,700, compared to Scott County Mississippi, whereases the school tuition only cost $7,900. On average 83% of students from high income families get into college after high school, however only 63% of low-income students attend (Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course) More sophisticated education equals a higher chance of success later in life. A study done in 2018 proves this point further; “by increasing the school’s financial income by 10%, students learnt 7% more as a result.” (Crash Course) This is proof that the financial state of students does greatly impact the course of students in the future, limited resources result in less effective learning.

Protest for Equal Education 1

However, will giving all schools equal finances be enough to close the gap? While doing so may certainly make the gap smaller, it won’t necessarily be enough to close it completely. In a child’s preliminary stages of life, it is quite dependent on the household environment, and the behavior of important adult figures can heavily affect a developing child, “Parents educational attainment has an important influence on the environments they create for their children, and it is a predictor of cognitive and behavioral outcomes,” states The Urban Child Institute, unhealthy domestic lifestyle can include domestic violence, child neglect, and parental narcissistic tendencies.  An unhealthy domestic lifestyle can result in the child falling into a seemingly endless, unforgiving vicious cycle. For example, domestic abuse and neglect can lead to healthcare issues, which leads to poor attendance and the lingering traumatic effects, which often leads to ineffective learning, low-income households may lead to poor nutrition which may lead to trouble focusing throughout school hours.

Children in Vietnam  1

Race and gender, as mentioned before, are too uncontrollable factors that can heavily tilt the scales of lives of people of all ages. Unfortunately, gender and racial oppression is still very common even today, people usually sitting “at the back of the room” are people of color, and women. Systemic oppression is still a big issue as of today, deeply rooted in the government system, and over time it becomes normalized. “Systemic oppression is systematic and has historical antecedents; it is the intentional disadvantaging of groups of people based on their identity while advantaging members of the dominant group (gender, race, class, sexual orientation, language, etc.).” (National Equity Project). Regrettably, people of color face oppression not only in a school environment, but in other aspects of life, “Passive oppression in our schools is a form of racism and privilege that must be overcome,” states Rosa Perez-Isiah, educational leaders must embrace the reality and become accountable for the learning and success of all learners. This begins by acknowledging the privilege, power, and racism that exist in the educational system.

Imagine, throwing the crumpled piece of paper and it misses the bucket; suddenly, a hand grabs the piece of paper littered on the floor and places it in the bucket. This helping hand represents the importance of school counselors and supporting figures in a person’s life. Simply having a supportive figure in one’s life can greatly change its trajectory for the better and school supplying good counselors can support a growing child’s education and lifestyle. Gender, wage, and race are uncontrollable factors, and trying to change them are impossible. However, making the best out of the circumstances given, and working towards a better future is something that is within power.

Works Cited

“The Education Crisis: Being in School Is Not the Same as Learning.” The World Bank, 22 Jan. 2019, www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2019/01/22/pass-or-fail-how-can-the-world-do-its-homework. Accessed 13 May 2022.

 

Isiah, Rosa Perez. “Passive Oppression in Education: Fueling the Achievement Gap.” Medium, 23 Jan. 2018, medium.com/identity-education-and-power/passive-oppression-in-education-fueling-the-achievement-gap-af637f8c3718. Accessed 16 May 2022.

 

“Passive Oppression in Education: Fueling the Achievement Gap.” Medium, 15 May 2022, medium.com/identity-education-and-power/passive-oppression-in-education-fueling-the-achievement-gap-af637f8c3718. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

 

“The Lens of Systemic Oppression.” National Equity Project, www.nationalequityproject.org/frameworks/lens-of-systemic-oppression#:~:text=Systemic%20oppression%20is%20systematic%20and,%2C%20language%2C%20etc.). Accessed 16 May 2022.

 

Schools and Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41. Directed by Crash Course, 2019. YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYMk3Bk08NA. Accessed 13 May 2022.

 

The Urban Child Institute. www.urbanchildinstitute.org/resources/publications/data-book-2013/family-home. Accessed 19 May 2022.

 

“World Inequality Database on Education.” UNESCO, www.education-inequalities.org/. Accessed 12 May 2022.