...Some people would say that Brandon and Amanda are from two completely different worlds. But they really live in the same world: a place called Chicagoland, a single metropolitan area divided by race, class and income.
She lives in Winnetka, a mostly-white suburb of Chicago. He lives a short train ride away, on Chicago's mostly-black South Side. Brandon's school spends about $11,000 per student per year, while Amanda's school spends more than ...
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The article details a day of "intrusion" by poor blacks into a wealthy Chicago suburb, whose students "were oblivious" to their privileged state. More details of students' reactions would add much, but the irony is that they were kept apart throughout the school day. School boards and legislators should read this and discuss how their situations embody similar inequities. The funding inequality is not only from inner city to suburb, but from North to South, always wealthy enclaves and varying degrees of poverty all over.
Inequality of education imposed upon urban minority and rural students needs to be regarded as wasteful of future resources, our children, who must be treasured enough to develop into fully functioning citizens, first, and as dynamic contributors to the economy, second.
“Education is the motor to the car,” Brandon said. “We need to make people understand that if we’re not giving everybody a chance, we’re ... More »
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