• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Why do the poor do badly in school?

Why do the poor do badly in school?

  • lack of ability - poor can't do the work and feel stupid

    Votes: 7 17.1%

  • lack of motivation - poor can't study way out of poverty

    Votes: 15 36.6%

  • school is racist - not taught things important to poor's race

    Votes: 1 2.4%

  • school is class-based - not taught things important to poor's class

    Votes: 4 9.8%

  • schools are underfunded - don't have special programs to help the poor

    Votes: 11 26.8%

  • urban schools don't attract talented teachers

    Votes: 14 34.1%

  • rural schools don't attract talented teachers

    Votes: 11 26.8%

  • socio-economic factors

    Votes: 23 56.1%

  • gang culture

    Votes: 19 46.3%

  • other... (please describe)

    Votes: 23 56.1%
  • Total voters
    41
1984 said:
...
Speaks to the principles and resolve of your type, doesn't it? You all talk such a big game, sound so compassionate, but your actions fall well short of your rhetoric. How tragic.

......
Click to expand...
It's easy to be compassionate.... with someone else's money. ;)

.
 
Scarecrow Akhbar said:
In a word:

Parents.

Weak parents create ignorant kids.

If the parents want their kid to learn, they don't need the school.

If the parents don't make the kid study, they're wasting time in class.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the consensus. A pity so many families are single parent these days. Makes their job even harder. It is scary to think about all the mediocre students that will be produced in coming years.
 
I was talking to another teacher the other day and she said she thinks we're getting a lot of meth babies in schools now. :(
 
reefedjib said:
That seems to be the consensus. A pity so many families are single parent these days. Makes their job even harder. It is scary to think about all the mediocre students that will be produced in coming years.
Click to expand...

ITs a sad fact that the people most qualified to be parents tend to reproduce at much lower numbers than the people least capable of raising children.
 
Mellie said:
I was talking to another teacher the other day and she said she thinks we're getting a lot of meth babies in schools now. :(
Click to expand...

This is a very sad fact of life. Very sad...:(
 
Mellie said:
I was talking to another teacher the other day and she said she thinks we're getting a lot of meth babies in schools now. :(
Click to expand...

That's not pretty. We had a huge meth epidemic in my former city. VERY distressing. What are community agencies doing about it?
 
Last edited:
Redress said:
School quality is a big thing. It's hard to get an education when schools are having gang issues and so on. Schools in poor areas tend to have fewer resources, and I suspect it's harder to attract worthwhile teachers. Poor parents are less likely to instill in their kids the value of education. When kids do not value the education, they tend to be disruptive in school, and make it harder for those who do want an education, which leads back to the first thing. And so it goes, round and round.

It's a hard problem to fix because you have to change so many things, many of them outside of the control of any one but the parents and students themselves.
Click to expand...

I agree especially with the comment about parents, that is perhaps the primary motivator for education and when that is absent, a child is unlikely to learn. Second, and also not on the list, is the culture in which the child is brought up. Far too many ghetto cultures do not value education, it is an annoyance, something that gets in the way of drugs and crime, not an important aspect of someone's future.

You're right, the problem really rests with the parents and the students themselves. While the schools can certainly contribute to the problem, if the student doesn't want to learn and the parents don't want to encourage, the best teachers on the planet won't make a bit of difference.
 
Cephus said:
I agree especially with the comment about parents, that is perhaps the primary motivator for education and when that is absent, a child is unlikely to learn. Second, and also not on the list, is the culture in which the child is brought up. Far too many ghetto cultures do not value education, it is an annoyance, something that gets in the way of drugs and crime, not an important aspect of someone's future.

You're right, the problem really rests with the parents and the students themselves. While the schools can certainly contribute to the problem, if the student doesn't want to learn and the parents don't want to encourage, the best teachers on the planet won't make a bit of difference.
Click to expand...

i think you have too narrowly defined it
in my parent's hometown in upstate south carolina, it is the rural white trash culture that seems to place little value on education
getting a part time minimum wage job to buy a ragged out truck seems to be the career path of most teens of those white trash parents - even if that means dropping out of high school to do it
achieving anything better than a GED is viewed as puttin on airs
the parents did not do well in school
they do not do well in life
and like the urban poor, they pass on to their kids that same distrust of anyone who is educated
if achieving black students are viewed as acting white because they achieve, then high academic kids from white trash homes are viewed as those who think they are too good for their peers
 
1984 said:
--
Chart%206%20median%20income%20p%20p.JPG


What were you saying about fairness? --
Click to expand...

Just pointing out that although salaries in the US (on your graph) are higher - you need another graph which shows proportion of tax taken.

To most US posters, "Europe" is a communist backwater where the state grabs as much of your salary to fund education / health / etc. To us living here, we live under a fair system where the people pay a fair proportion of their salaries as tax to support the community as a whole.

It's simply about perspective - your society (generalising) tends to support individualism and those who cannot make it are left to go to the wall. Our societies (generalising) are about trying not to leave the less fortunate behind.

US posters will nearly always call our system "communist" or "socialist" but that simply points out a failure to try and understand what our views really are about and why they exist.

OK, back to topic. :2wave:
 
reefedjib said:
That seems to be the consensus. A pity so many families are single parent these days. Makes their job even harder. It is scary to think about all the mediocre students that will be produced in coming years.
Click to expand...

They are already here....too many parents want to make lives easier for thier kids, and instead handicap them to the realities of competition in the job market.

Dropouts from any school, and even graduates from a school with very low standards, are setting themselves up for a life of less than everyone else.

If they can do that without being a burden on society, I suppose it is OK for them, individually. I know people who live low and would rather do that than try to learn the knowledge and skills required to live well.
But, it handicaps us as a nation.

Even the rugged individualist should be able to see that it is important to get everyone educated to the point that they can be trained to WORK for a living.


We really are all in this together, like it or not.
 
justabubba said:
i think you have too narrowly defined it
in my parent's hometown in upstate south carolina, it is the rural white trash culture that seems to place little value on education
getting a part time minimum wage job to buy a ragged out truck seems to be the career path of most teens of those white trash parents - even if that means dropping out of high school to do it
achieving anything better than a GED is viewed as puttin on airs
the parents did not do well in school
they do not do well in life
and like the urban poor, they pass on to their kids that same distrust of anyone who is educated
if achieving black students are viewed as acting white because they achieve, then high academic kids from white trash homes are viewed as those who think they are too good for their peers
Click to expand...

You're talking about people who actually get GEDs. I'm talking about people who don't even get that far and who have basically poisoned their entire lives before they get to 18.
 
I chose other. Home living conditions (Crowded, loud, hot) can play a role in negligence and create a poor work ethic.
 
Cephus said:
You're talking about people who actually get GEDs. I'm talking about people who don't even get that far and who have basically poisoned their entire lives before they get to 18.
Click to expand...

no, i am not
those who get their GED are the exceptional ones
the point i was trying to convey is that the poor white trash/native American culture - my own heritage - is no better than the urban black poor culture ... neither embrace education as a means to push their children towards economic success
 
justabubba said:
no, i am not
those who get their GED are the exceptional ones
the point i was trying to convey is that the poor white trash/native American culture - my own heritage - is no better than the urban black poor culture ... neither embrace education as a means to push their children towards economic success
Click to expand...

Fine, that just means there are multiple harmful sub-cultures out there. I'm sure there are more than just the two as well.
 
UtahBill said:
We really are all in this together, like it or not.
Click to expand...

Now, that's quotable.

Lost in the din about rugged individualism vs socialism, with neither one really defined, the one truth is that we really are all in this together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom