Economic & racial inequality & education

Instruction and relevant material have been uploaded in file.

Historically, Americans have looked to the education system as the “great equalizer,” the institution that would provide all citizens with equal opportunities for social mobility, and access to economic and political power. That belief (or myth) has been under intense scrutiny recently given that economic inequality in the U.S. has been rising since the late 1970s/early 1980s. We now have a wealth gap as large (or larger than) we did during the Gilded Age. It’s also been challenged because of the continued racial segregation in our schools 60+ years post-Brown, and the huge wealth gap between whites and people of color, and the opportunity gap in our schools between white students and students of color. Refer to relevant points from the assigned materials you engaged with in this module to weigh in on one of the key questions confronting educators, education researchers, social policy makers, and citizens from all walks of life: In what ways does our education system (K12 and/or higher ed.) ameliorate social inequalities (reduce gaps between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’), and in what ways does it reproduce social inequalities (add to the gaps between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’)? Consider racial inequality as well as economic inequality.