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 Why are the privileged treated better? 
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This is a general question to those of you who teach. Why is it that the "better off" children are given better opportunities in a public school system?

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Graham Ponder


Tue Jul 13, 2004 6:17 pm
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I have not taught full time but do the "better off" children of public schools actually get better opportunities in public school compared to others? Having been in classrooms myself, I did not notice any difference in what was given to the students occording to socioeconomical status. Or am I not understanding what you mean by "better off?"

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Chuck Rananto


Wed Jul 14, 2004 11:06 am
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Yes, socioeconomic status is what was meant. My experience as a student in high school was that it was very subtle. I feel I got a good education in high school, but because of who their parents were, I suspect some students got preferential treatment.

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Graham Ponder


Wed Jul 14, 2004 11:17 am
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I haven't taught yet, but my mom taught for 30 years, and just from personal experience I think it depends on the school. I didn't see that happen very much in the school I attended. I went to school in the suburbs where everyone was pretty much middle class, though. I don't remember a big deal being made about "rich" kids at all. There may be more of a difference inside the city. I think it depends more on how much parents complain, then it does on how wealthy the parents are.

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Kellie Coffey


Wed Jul 14, 2004 12:29 pm
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The squeaky wheel will get oiled first. If parents are active in their child's schooling, it makes a difference. I think the "better off" students are those that have parents that were/are involved in their education and the school in general. If that means the parents of children of higher socioeconomic status were more involved with their child's education, then they of course received more opportunities than the others because of the involvement of the parent(s), student(s) and the teacher as a group. To think that students that were not "better off" received less opportunities may not reflect the school but may reflect the support that the student receives at home and in the community.

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Chuck Rananto


Wed Jul 14, 2004 12:47 pm
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The "better off" students, were the ones who had help at home. When I was in school, the better off students lived in families where at least one parent worked. These students lived quite well with only one parent working. The other member of the family who was not working could be active with his or her student's schooling. I was always envious of those students. Both of my parents worked, and I never had much help from them after the Elementary School years. I do not feel that these students got more attention in the classroom, but more attention at home. The attention at home, made a big difference.

Michelle Rogers


Wed Jul 14, 2004 2:46 pm
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As a teacher who enjoys helping students placed in the basic-level or career track, it appears that most educators are trying to use the school system as a means of placing students in various pathways in order to produce career-specific adults. In other words, if a student appears to be low-achieving and is interested more in shop or mechanics or cooking, most teachers won't spend as much time with them honing their higher-level thinking skills or any other area in which they seem to be lacking.

In my school there are several pathways: career, college-tech prep, college/university prep, honors, and humanities. Of those levels, honors and humanities students are catered to the most, and those students seem to be the ones who are upper-middle class with aspirations of ruling the world one day while the college/university prep and lower will serve them in some menial capacity or another. While I may sound a little flippant here, I really am serious about the way in which these upper-level pathway students are catered to in my high school. Society itself is divided up in different levels--those who have and those who have not. Why not get the school systems to begin the process of setting up a status quo caste system that's been around for generations? No one likes to shake the status quo!

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Charlanda Ollis


Sat Jul 17, 2004 5:04 pm
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I don't not feel that the "privilaged" are treated any better in school than any one else. In my high school most of our AG students weren't from the "privileged" families. I do feel that since the kids from the "privileged" families have parents or a parent that normally has free time that they may be better informed on opportunities but I just don't believe that kids in the same school are treated differently based on money.

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Tracy Benfield


Sat Jul 17, 2004 8:03 pm
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At the school I work at, the students are treated the same ( or I feel as if they are). It is true that students with parents that are involved seem to know and will know what is going on with their child at school. Some parents are not able to get off from work and come to the school for school functions but that doesn't mean they don't care. Then in another sense you will have some parents that won't come to their child's school functions even if they could get off from work. We try to send home weekly newsletters and monthly newsletters from the school to keep parents aware of what is happening not only in their classroom but the whole school. No matter where it may be sometimes it may just happen that if a parent or child looks better, cleaner or what ever the case might be treated slightly diffent from the other students and this does happen at some schools and other places not just schools.

Susan Pope

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Susan


Mon Jul 19, 2004 10:00 am
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I am just beginning my second year of teaching at a high school and I find your question interesting. I truly don't believe that socioeconomics have anything to do with the meat and bones of the available education for any child vs. another in any given school system. Yes, one could splt hairs, but the true availability of education is relatively the same. I think you begin to get into other more complex factors when you compare "priviledged" to "underpriviledged". The education is relatively the same.

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Denise Marlow


Mon Jul 19, 2004 10:18 am
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I do agree with most of you. I don't feel that the actual education being given to students depends on their parental income, but I do think they are more likely to benefit from having more money. Those kids have parents who can afford tutors or pay their way into AIG programs. They also have some pull over higher-ups who may be able to help them if a situation or problem occurs that they want "dealt" with in a certain manner. These privileges help benefit them in ways that a student from a poorer background can never experience.

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Christy J. Hall


Sat Jul 24, 2004 10:32 pm
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I agree with Kellie I think it depends on the school. If students want to cheer or play sports or do any extra activities, the students that have parents that are very involved and can donate time and money to the school the school staff usually recognize them as the student whose parent is involved, but I wouldn't necessarily say that they are treated special as far as in academics from my experience. I do think some teachers love parent involvement and the student will reach achievement since both teacher and parent are concerned in the student.
Wendy Smith


Wed Jul 28, 2004 3:12 pm
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Money


Sat Jul 31, 2004 5:55 pm
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