Poverty

Last year, when I applied to Teach for America, I learned that schools In the United States are primarily funded by property taxes. Therefore, a school that is in a neighborhood with a lot of public housing receives less property taxes, ergo less funding. Less funding, means less of everything. Less salary for teachers, less supplies, after school programs, honors programs, music programs, theater programs etc. Lack of funds is seen as a major player in the under education of millions of children. The solution that was presented to me through Teach for America is that more money and a few hyper-motivated teachers would render better schools and better students.

In France I teach in an Education Priority School. This means that the students in my school underperform on national exams and they are largely economically underprivileged. At my school over 50% of the students failed the national exam. In addition to poverty my school has a high percentage of students who are immigrants or come from immigrant families. The students at my school have a reputation for being difficult.

There are numerous schools in the United States that fit the above description. However in France, all schools have the same amount of money per pupil. Despite the socioeconomic status of my students, my school is in a new building, and has plenty of supplies. Teachers are paid extra to compensate for teaching in a challenging school. My experiences here in France have presented a challenge to my cultural assumptions about how to deal with educational disparity and cyclical poverty.

I think all students regardless of social status should have equal access to high quality education. Their is no doubt that education has an important equalizing force on society. However it is clear to me that education isn’t the only thing needed to stop cyclical poverty. In analyzing culture there is far more than one variable. France, for example, doesn’t have the same tradition of afterschool programs, music programs, and honors programs. It’s hard to measure the extent that supplemental programming contributes to the development of students. Nevertheless, it seems clear, that money and teachers are not the only things necessary to solving poverty. How do we bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

Next year I’ll be a tutor for AmeriCorps at an underprivileged school in St. Louis. I’m excited for the opportunity to compare next years experience with my experiences in France. Hopefully I’ll have a better understanding of culture, education, and poverty.