Module 2: Assignment 3 - Tracking
After reading the two assigned articles listed for this assignment; Education and Socioeconomic Status and Education Next – The Detracking Movement, I must admit that based off of my education experience, I too suffered from the effects of these systems. That being said, I’d like to take this time to discuss, based off of my own educational experiences, how I believe economic inequalities impact society.
Educational Upbringing
When I think of my educational upbringing, often, I stop to consider if my parent’s financial status played a part in the things that I did or didn’t receive. My mother, though college educated, did not finish college; therefore, it didn’t allow her to obtain jobs making more than $30,000 a year. My father, who didn’t finish high school, dropped out early to seek work because of how young he and my mother were when I was born. I grew up in an apartment complex named Sable Palms. At this time, my mother, a single mother of 3, was working as a Bus Driver for the Lee County School District, and we were receiving public assistance. Growing up in the Lee County School District, we always received Free/Reduced Lunch, and never had to pay for breakfast or lunch throughout my 12-years of public education. Being older, and having a better understanding of the system, I now realize that the reason why we received such “benefits,” is because we were considered a “low-income” family. And it was because of this class, that I received waivers for the SAT, went to public schools that weren’t the best, and received second-hand and outdated textbooks. I went to schools were fights happened often, struggled with bullying, and taking the bus was the only option, or you didn’t go to school. My father was absent, and my brothers and I solely relied on our mother to provide. With our economic status, we weren’t allowed to buy yearbooks or attend class field trips, because we couldn’t afford it. There were many scientific trips that I had to miss, or take alternate assignments to receive a grade, because we simply could not afford to go. However, knowing that my mother was doing the best that she could, I never complained and I did the best with what I had been given.
Contributing Factors
Now that I’m older, and taking this class, I’ve had some time to consider the factors that may have contributed to my family’s socioeconomic status. My mother was the eldest of her 4 siblings, and growing up in the 70s, a lot of pressure was placed on my mom to help raise her younger siblings. Graduating high school was a battle in itself for my mother, as I was born when she was 17, and my middle brother came along two years after. At 19, with two children, my mother’s immediate mindset was not college, but how to use what she had already obtained to have the ability to take care of my brother and I. She graduated high school, and went right into the workforce to start making an income. We received public assistance; f...
