History of Urban Setting Schools in the United States Essay

History of Urban Setting Schools in the United States - Essay Example This essay discusses that quality education is important to students and a nation as well. When students excel in their academics, they have a chance of excelling in the job market as well. In the United States, the education sector has been a major priority, with numerous of reforms being implemented to improve students’ performance. Urban schools in the United States are located in the urban areas, with relatively high rates of poverty and mostly comprising students with limited English proficiency, therefore regarded as high need. The urban schools were formed with an aim of accommodating children from low income families. The ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ was implemented with an aim of improving performance of students especially in urban schools. In addition, the Act was implemented by former president Bush in 2002 with an aim of improving students’ performance, hence assisting them to succeed in the future. This paper discusses the history of urban schoo l setting in the United States, its crisis and the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† and its repercussions in depth. According to Gaskell, in the early years, wealth was accumulated by a limited number of individuals, and as a result, poverty levels in the urban areas increased significantly. The urban population in the United States increased as well, resulting into many differences, such as racism and inequality. The funding of schools between the wealthy and the poor districts faced inequality. The urban schools in the United States have over the years faced a declining level of test scores and high rates of violence. According to Stark (2011), urban schools in the 1800s were started with an aim of providing immigrant parents with affordable places for their children to stay during the day as they worked in mills, factories, or shops. By 1920, the urban schools served the middle-class clients who aimed for white-collar jobs; however, by the late 1920s, the working class†™s children had flooded the urban schools, hence changing their status due to financial constraints. Today, there is a sense of hopelessness in the urban schools, contributing to high levels of dropouts. According to Kincheloe (2006, p.95), teaching and learning practices in such schools do not value or encourage students’ performance. DSA (2012) adds that, quality education is a human right for all American students, and therefore, fairness and equality should be observed in the urban schools. Urban schools compromise of children from poor backgrounds; they amount to 11.5 million who live below the average poverty line, attending poverty-stricken schools, and lack computers and decent learning facilities. The urban schools force children to learn in unfriendly environment, which lack air conditioning. Moreover, urban schools record a high level of dropouts, especially among African American students. The performance of these schools in alarming, and this is an issue that n eeds to be addressed. No Child Left Behind Act A report of 1983 indicated that, there was a risk in the education sector, as 13% of 17-year olds on the country were considered illiterate, with scores in mathematics, physics, and English deteriorating (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.2). The rate of remedial classes in mathematics had increased by 72%; in addition, the school curriculum was of low quality, therefore of less benefit. The declining level of homework was also noted in the report, with less mathematics and science courses enrollment. The time students spent on schoolwork was much less; the schools’ administration did not encourage students to develop the required study skills such as time management, and emphasis on schoolwork (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.3). The 1983 report also indicated that, the teaching programs needed improvement; there was also shortage in the number of