AMERICAN EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND STRUGGLES

1. America's public schools are founded on the assumption that a quality education ought to be available to anyone who wants one regardless of cost. To this end, the community college system of California has provided an effective alternative to the more academically rigorous and more costly University of California and California State University systems. Community colleges serve California's students by offering undergraduate coursework at a substantially lower tuition, while offering numerous courses in preparatory math and English. These two services give students an opportunity to experiment freely in the process of discovering a major while at the same time giving them an opportunity to strengthen their basic academic skills before progressing to more advanced work.

The desire for all to have the opportunity to be educated is deeply rooted in America's history. Horace Mann perceived that education is "the great equalizer of the conditions of men" (Colombo 17) and that anyone could prosper in a public school. Scholar and author Richard Rodriguez viewed his education as a process that separated him from a disadvantaged background (Rodriguez 3), and groups that have suffered from civil inequalities, such as women, need a system that supports and encourages independent thinking (Clinchy 119).

However, as with all public endeavors, the goals and ideals of education are limited by the amount of money to support them. Califo

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The Los Angeles School District's budget had been cut so much by 1992 that basic materials--pens, paper, textbooks--were curtailed (Banks 3). Yet schools manage to educate despite these drawbacks. Parental involvement and imaginative techniques such as open classrooms, in which coursework is taught by teams to large groups of students who cluster with one another, have overcome the forces that act against a stable educative environment (Kirp 3). In my own academic environment, I see students who must overcome the fear of gang violence, the temptations of drugs and alcohol and cultural barriers (such as language skills) in order to educate themselves. These students are frequently motivated and hard-working despite the conditions acting against them. For schools in which funding problems and violence are not considerations, education is easier, granted. But it is also possible in schools not so fortunate. Any student can rise to his or her own greatest potential, given that the student wants to. 3. Thomas Jefferson's vision for public school was that it would be a training ground for democratic citizenship (Colombo 17). As well, education ought to provide students with the intellectual skills needed to survive in the workpl

Category: Psychology - A