Hello! Welcome to my web project. In this section, I am using my space to advocate for something that is important to me.
I am advocating to have education be safer and more accessible within the United States. In modern society, we hold education very near to our hearts. Obtaining higher education is a goal that is introduced to us from a very young age and is often, though unintentionally, taken for granted. Unfortunately, in some parts of the United States, education as a whole is not always accessible, as safe, or as secure as we would hope for. There are countless threats being posed to our education system and how we approach it.
After reviewing and researching a variety of sources, I found that in order to create a safer space for education to take place, it is imperative that our school systems make sustainable efforts to change. By taking part in advocating for the mental health of students, being observant of how a student's background impacts aspects of their life, introducing more diversity within education, and how geography impacts accessibility, I strongly believe that there would be improvements we all would like to see.
Little did we know, geography actually poses a threat to some of the population's education. Within rural communities in the United States, education is more difficult to access. Among these same populations, the amount of students who finish high school and move onto college is a smaller number as well. This is due to colleges not being local to these communities and the commute to these schools is much farther than anyone is able to go.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are a multitude of factors that lead to these gaps within education including income inequality, generational gaps between education achievement, and again geographic features across the United States.
- Rural income rates remain low as a result of lower education rates
- Students who seek education in cities will choose to remain in those cities due to work opportunities, further impacting income rates in rural communities.
- Rural incomes are 20% lower than those who reside in cities and more populated regions. College is less accessible and less affordable to rural students
It is crucial that when observing calls for education, that there is a focus on those who do not just live in urban areas. To make education more accessible, there must be a movement to drive education to parts that do not have the same resources.
More than ever, there is a need to make education accessible to all. In the United States, we as a society have outgrown the traditional mold that we have been subjected to. Now is a time to rework our education system for all students, not just a privileged few. One projected thought process to support creating a new and improved school system is influenced by a group of ideas called multiculturalism.
- Multiculturalism is a more inclusive practice which supports supplying a proper education to all.
- Advocates for diversity to be embraced and encourages the sharing of culture to fuel growth and uplift marginalized student groups that have been left behind before.
- Adding multiple perspectives to an education create a broader picture of understanding.
Social goals of multiculturalism, as well as cultural goals, are deeply related to the intellectual and educational goals of multiculturalism. Stereotypes that are consistently presented in our society demonstrate unfair and problematic narratives against marginalized communities. Due to this wave of misinformation and judgment, marginalized groups are rarely allowed to have moments of success or escape the ridicule that is brought upon them by the ignorance of others. At a time when we need it most, multiculturalism has a primary goal of uniting people and allowing proper change to happen. The goal is to spread diversity and to allow for more accessibility and acceptance to take place among communities. As this practice is taken in education, everyone can learn from each other culturally, creating an equal playing field of success.
In more modern times, safety has become a topic when discussing schools and our education system. School safety is not just centered around creating a solution to gun violence in school, but protecting students' mental health, preparing for natural disasters, and considering all other events that could be labeled as an emergency, fall under the category of school safety.
To fuel safety within schools, there must be a push for educators and administrators to full grasp and understand that a students background and everything else that is carried around impacts them on multiple levels. A student's environment could potentially fuel the mistreatment one receives in school.
In school anti-violence policies, there are multiple approaches to violence in schools that are not always the most popular among students and parents. In fact, the zero-tolerance policies within schools for weapons and use of drugs/possession at school, are not seen as influential or helpful to students. According to the American Psychological Association, it is reported and confirmed that among many students, these policies are often unsatisfactory as they do not tackle the root of the problem and often cause more harm to the student body as they create more negative impacts with no outstanding results.
After conducting research on multiple websites and viewing multiple sources with suggestions from scholars, researchers, and experts it has become abundantly clear that action must be taken.
Through changing and creating school courses that will encourage inclusivity, engaging in demonstrations to support students who are being discriminated against because of their gender, ethnicity, or sexuality, to signing petitions that are in support of a cause that will benefit everyone, these are actions that can be taken.
In terms of supplying proper education, no action is too small to guarantee everyone will be seen by the education system. We are the ones who hold the power to protect future students and make sure that they are seen and acknowledged by schools and grant them the treatment and respect that they deserve. I believe that every action is needed and I believe more in the right to a fulfilling education that will boost students to achieve all that they can in modern society.
Work Cited
Rajan, Sonali. ‘School Safety and Violence: Drawing on Public Health Approach.’ International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, vol. 18, 3 Sept. 2021, https://doi.org/ EBSCOhost, https://doi-
org.ezproxy.delta.edu/10.1002/aps.1726.