Educational Inequality as a Social Issue

There should be no exaggeration of the indispensability of education in culture. Education programs are still subject to disparity and inequality. In their earlier life stages, while people are able to access quality education, others have to contend with constraints caused by money. By age 3, injustice has become clear: rich children go to kindergarten. Poor children live with their grandparents and focus succinctly on the inequalities faced in financial literacy. Essentially, the article is committed to the analysis of the differences between the preschool education received by children from rich and poor backgrounds and the influences of the disparities on their future productive endeavors.

Principally, while most children from rich families who are between the ages of 3 and 4 are able to access exclusive preschools which charge exorbitant prices, poor families are forced to commit their children with their relatives. Subsequently, children in the formal educational settings are able to access quality educational activities while children from the poor communities have to contend without the relevant educational activities. According to Long, the children who are exposed to learning initiatives earlier on in life are more likely to perform better in their future career and education initiatives.

To mitigate the situation the article contends that there is need for an increase in pre-K funding within America. The funding that is committed to the pre- K learning initiatives in other countries transcends the amounts that are extended towards similar learning processes in America. If the situation is not rectified, the future of the young children from the poor families will be impeded and hence increased social and economic ills in the society.

Sociological Theory

The social conflict theory provides the most appropriate theory to be used in the analysis of the article. The conflict theory is predicated on the belief that there are inequalities in the macro society. Essentially, it is a theory that argues that the members of different social classes in the society communicate through conflict rather than consensus (Collins 48). Under the conflict theory, the rich are shown to be exploiting the poor. They institute policies that guide their own interests while negating the possibilities of the growth of the poor in the subject societies. Conflict theory infers that there is a constant competition for scarce resources and the wealthy in the society make it a priority to acquire the subject resources in order to control the functions of the poor and their potential. As a sociological theory, the conflict theory is predicated on the belief that the only feasible form of interaction between the poor and the rich is through conflict (Collins 54). Through conflict the rich are able to impose their will on the poor while conflict facilitates the method through which the poor protect their interest against the imposition of the rich in the society. The conflict defines the economic circumstances that each group resides in. Essentially, while the rich reinforce conflict to enable them the freedom to retain their wealth, the poor engage conflict to ensure that they are allowed more resources and empowerment in the society. The conflict between the two groups defines the decisions that are applied in the state administrative processes.

Connection between the Conflict Theory and the Article

The theme in the article provides an extension of the social conflict theory. Essentially, while the rich are able to afford quality education, the poor’s initiatives are curtailed by financial constraints (Ritzer 427). Lack of support by the government further acts as proof that the rich don not seek to empower the poor in the society. When children of ages 3 and 4 from the rich families are allowed the freedom to access learning facilities in the young ages, they are more likely to become increasingly productive in the future. They become the rulers and thus perpetuate the circle of impunity among the poor and the community in general. The early years in human life comprise the most promising for years for the development of the brain (Long). Thus, if the children from the poor communities are not allowed an opportunity to acquire the quality of education that individuals from the rich communities are allowed, they are more likely to become the prisoners of circumstances. The social conflict theory provides the metric that could be used to define the state’s unwillingness to rectify the situation through increased budget for the pre-K learning initiatives. As the poor contend with poor quality, children from the rich families are exposed to several curricular and co-curricular activities which augments their skills, confidence and productivity in the future. The absence of a succinct collective guiding policy with regards to the matter provides the next element which provides a reflection of the government’s unwillingness to level the field in the learning initiatives (Ritzer 430). Therefore, the rich will continue to enjoy the benefits afforded to them by their economic settings while the poor will continue to grapple with poor education.

Works Cited

Collins, R. Four Sociological Tradition . Oxford, 1994.

Long, Heather. “By age 3, inequality is clear: Rich kids attend school. Poor kids stay with a grandparent”. The Washington Post, Sept. 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/26/by-age-3-inequality-is-clear-rich-kids-attend-school-poor-kids-stay-with-a-grandparent/?utm_term=.d3196af0a9d8. Accessed Oct. 2017.

Ritzer, George. Sociological Theory. McGraw-Hill, 2010.