Back to the Basics:A Proper Education

Why is there a huge gap between the rich and the poor?  Why is that gap continuously growing larger despite various initiatives to lessen it? Why does 22% of US children live in poverty?  There is one common answer to all of these questions:  lack of education.  

            The problem with the educational system throughout the US is astounding. Not only is our system not nationally uniform, intrastate educational systems are drastically different between cities.  I am firm believer that without proper education, it becomes increasing difficult for an individual to survive in the present day economy.

            In order to even begin eliminating poverty, we have to start with educating the public.  If there are parents who haven’t passed middle school or are on a  3^rd grade reading level, how can we expect them to be able to  find decent paying jobs to support their families or to understand different health issues that might arise?  How are they supposed to educate their own children if they have not been educated themselves?  Education is not something that just happens inside of a classroom, but every experience that one has counts. 

            It goes without saying that learning how to read and write is essential to living a successful life. However, everyday low-income and minority children are discriminated against by an education system set in place for them to fail.  Everyday these students face isolation and segregation when they attend schools that don’t have enough books for everyone or lack funding for good teachers. These same children usually have single parents that didn’t finish school and have low paying jobs.  Because of lack of funding, parents don’t have enough money to buy healthy food and result to buying unhealthy and sodium filled foods. Most times these children live in impoverished neighborhoods and wind up becoming adults who end up in the same predicaments as their parents.  This type of lifestyle becomes a cycle that is hard to break and transcends generations. 

            However, let’s rewind this scenario.  Let’s imagine that the school system if good and students all have books and good teachers. These children are proficient in reading and math and have extracurricular activities in the school that lets the students explore various arts and fitness activities.  Although they still live in a impoverished neighborhood,  they are at least eating healthy breakfasts and lunches at school and are aware of  healthier food options. These children graduate high school and are able to go on to college. They receive degrees and are able to give back to their communities. The cycle of poverty is broken for those families. 

            Of course every story is not that easy and every situation is different. However the foundation is the same: proper education.