Education is one of the most important things for any nation. All countries require their people to have access to education, as future generations take over from those that pass on, it is important that all relevant knowledge is handed down so that the future is in the hands of intelligent, informed masses.
In today’s technological age, people can undertake many forms of education. People can study mbbs in Australia. However, despite living in a world of amazing educational opportunities, it is impossible to say that every city in every state has the socio-economic ability to offer these opportunities to its citizens.
New York is the most populous city in America, comprising five massive boroughs: Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Today, we are going to look at the state of education in the Bronx and what is being done to improve the borough’s educational standards.
State of Education in the Bronx
The Bronx has a quite rough reputation. Hailed as something of a criminal hotbed, with gangs running unchecked through the streets and daily violence and crime, the Bronx is seen (quite unjustifiably) as little more than a criminal town.
However, the truth is far more nuanced. While the Bronx’s history does equate it with elevated rates of violence, currently, the borough is just like any other neighbourhood. There are dangerous areas within the Bronx, but this is true of most New York boroughs, and the increased gentrification rates there have caused a marked drop in consistent and violent crime.
The Bronx’s history would be difficult for anyone to come away from, but lately, New York City test scores have increased overall on standardised tests. However, this does not subtract from the fact that 40% of NYC kids failed literacy and numeracy.
Some of the most significant growth, however, was shown in the Bronx. Charter schools (schools formed by teachers, parents, and community groups under a unifying charter with a local authority) in the Bronx excelled typical NYC public scores in literacy and numeracy by 25%!
This shows that kids in Charter schools (at least, those in the Bronx) are receiving better quality education than those in average public schools. Particularly, it points to the failing of a country to provide for its poorer and more disenfranchised communities. As most charter school’s students are either people of colour or come from a background of poverty. If these students are succeeding in charter schools but failing elsewhere, it points to some big problems with the state of education in America today.
Position on Education
Education is something everyone has an opinion on, and while some of those opinions are helpful to the situation, many are not. Sadly, the current presidential administration has elected to, rather than spend money to improve education, withhold funds in order to, well, we’re not sure. In the announcement of his goals for education, President Trump failed to outline any actual plan. Instead, he talks of saving money that was otherwise being used by the Department of Education on apparently ineffective practices. Though again, he fails to say specifically what those practices are, and how they failed.
However, we can say that in July, President Trump illegally withheld $6 billion in federal education grants, which were to be used to improve resources for teachers. Some of this money was also going to be allocated to improvements for the education of migrant students, as well as before and after-school programs in English for students from different cultural backgrounds.
Needless to say, these ideas that the president has around education are backwards. Not only does the idea of dissolving the Department of Education mean that education will no longer be held to a national standard, but it will also change state by state; it also means that education for students in migrant communities or low socio-economic communities will fail.
Which is perhaps why charter schools are being met with such success. As a charter school, the institution is publicly funded, but privately run. The body that started the school can run the program as needed, while public schools that live on government funding are subject to the government’s whims. Sadly, for the USA, this means that most of our nation’s public schools are under the thumb of a man who thinks that windmills cause cancer.
What Does This Mean for the Bronx?
It is difficult to say exactly what President Trump’s ideas of a good education standard will mean specifically for the borough of the Bronx, but it likely will not mean anything amazing. If the president continues to cut funds from schools and goes through with his plan to dissolve the unifying force of the Department of Education, it spells bad news for our public schools and disenfranchised youth.
The Charter schools of the nation represent a hope, where kids from lower socio-economic families can still get a good education, and even surpass our nation’s public schools. But it seems that the president is launching a somewhat misguided attack on the Department of Justice, which spells bad news for anyone in the education system right now, whether teacher or student.
So what can we do? How can we ensure that while things are getting better in the Bronx, they stay better?
Well, a lot of it starts at home. Be active in your kids’ education. If they like a lot of screen time, get them to watch documentaries or other educational content. Read to or with them. Reward your kids when they participate in educational activities or games.
Other than that, all we can do is educate ourselves on our policy makers and politicians, and vote for the ones that are aiming to further the education of future generations. Hopefully, we can get through this time of educational budget cuts and rhetoric and end up in a time of educational prosperity, diverse education initiatives, and a well-educated youth ready to inherit the country.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
