sociology paper

My name is Jessica, and I am 11 years old. I belong to a Black African American family; my family consists of four members including me. My mom works part-time and my dad is full-time worker .I have a little sister who is only 3. We live in one of the poorest neighborhoods of New York City where poverty rate is at its peak. Our lives are dull and miserable. We are not like other upper middle class and rich New Yorkers who live their life to the fullest.

I go to a New York City‘s Public High School number 69 which is not far from my house. That’s the only thing I like because some of my classmates live far from school, and they have to take train. I usually wake up at 6:45 in the morning, take shower, and get ready for school .I leave my home around 7:30 and walk to school. The bell rings at 8 o’clock. Our school is a single story with no proper ventilation, and it is overcrowded. My first class is English, and we have no proper desks. In my class there are only two white Americans. From this, we can clearly see racial inequality. There are Hispanics, blacks, and a few Asians. This is not the only class in fact in my whole school there are few white Americans. My next class is Mathematics and not many students are good at math .I think the main problem is not students ignorance, but the teacher’s way of teaching..This is where I am not satisfied or happy with my education. It develops a factor of inferiority in me; it makes me think that my same rich age fellows who go to private or good academic standing schools are more knowledgeable, and also they are ahead of me academically. Third period is social sciences .This class is so small and suffocated. Fourth is lunch and with no offense when you enter cafeteria it looks like a fish market. Fifth is gym but mostly we don’t play any sports due to lack of supplies, and it also needs renovation. Sixth is science, my favorite subject but not favorite class .I love science but we have no encyclopedia for research and only a few apparatus for experiments Sometimes teachers don’t know that you are in their class because classes are overpopulated .I am certain that the conditions are way better in other public schools. Last is art and we have to share our art books .Sometimes it’s so annoying and hard to share art book with my class fellows. Not everyone get color pencils and other art supplies. There is only limited supply of color pencils, pastels, and paint. Schools should be same for everyone no matter what you’re caste, creed, or color is. I understand that after 8th grade we can go to a better school if we have good academic skills. But how can I or my friends supposed to go in those big schools? There will be a few students or may be one or two in a class of 200. Most of us can only dream about going to big schools where children of rich people go. Our school lies below good academic standing. We are not getting quality education that will change our conditions .This is not helping in building our character or making our identity. That’s why some students just quit. I am not saying that all teachers are bad, but it’s also not true that all are really good at what they are supposed to do. There are few teachers who do care about students, but due to limited resources their hands are also tight. It’s hard for teachers to give each one of us their full attention because almost every class is overcrowded. I think in my school there are children who have psychological problems due to all these circumstances. We are neither getting a healthy environment in school nor at home. I used to believe that education will change our conditions one day, but now I doubt. I am not saying that being educated is useless; it all depends on quality and standard of it.My school ends at 2:30 ,after that I go home, wash my face, and eat food.My dad comes home around 8:30 .I am always excited about going out with him, but unfortunately I cannot go outside after 8 because of bad neighborhood and drug addicts. So, basically my life is full of despair and hardships .I dream that one day, there will be no segregation and racial inequality, and everyone will be treated equally.

Social Structures:

1. ECONOMIC:

I have noticed that people who live in New York’s poor neighborhoods are very weak economically. The economic segregation is irrefutable. Children who go to public schools of those neighborhoods have limited resources and funding because of un equal distribution. Poor children will always have a self-inferiority complex that will not help in building their character. For example, there is a scaling of expenditures from poorest of the poor to the richest of rich with in New York City.

1. Political:

Almost everything is controlled by government, and I think government plays an important role in the distribution of funds among public schools especially poor public schools. It’s ironic that government talks about “equality”, but fails to apply that term in our daily lives. If there is no racial inequity or discrimination then all those poor children in poor public schools will be getting same education as those who are rich (mostly white) in rich schools. Government should set same and equal standards of education for all schools. In future, there will be drop outs from those poor schools because they get tired of trying and struggling in those schools. Incarceration of each inmate ,the department notes ,costs the city nearly $60,000 every year “( Savage Inequalities ,144).

3-Religion: It’s an important social structure, but has not discussed much. We can guess or estimate that majority of children and their families would be Christians .Also it’s obvious that churches are also not in good shape in those poor neighborhoods.

4-Education:

I think education is directly responsible for children problems. Education is not the same; the standards vary. Their (poor children) public schools are below average academic standing and dropout rate is high as compared to other public schools. There are no academic workshops and in most schools there are no AP courses. The classrooms are overcrowded with no proper ventilation. So,it doesn’t help them in making their identity. They have no opportunities as other rich kids who go to big schools.

Example:

According to a study issued by the State Commissioner of Education, “as many as three out of four blacks”, in New York City “and four out of five Latinos fail to complete high school within the traditional four-year period” (136).Schools make a great difference in child’s personality and identity .For instance, in the book ,it is stated that: “Schools on the other hand ,could make dramatic changes almost overnight if fiscal equity was a reality”(150).Board of Education should set equal standards for all schools, and government should rebuild or renovate those poor schools .Children want a healthy environment in which they feel equal and comfortable to learn and participate.

5. Family

Family is one of the most important social structures. The families of these children are often poor and drug addicts. On the other hand, rich children who go to rich schools definitely have rich and educated families. Family plays an important role in building child’s identity. It helps them to know who they are, what they have to practice, what are their moral values and beliefs and to which culture they belong. Most people living in poor neighborhood are uneducated and are financially unstable. For instance, it is stated in the book that, “To the degree, moreover, the destructive family situations may be bettered by the future acts of government, no one expects that this could happen in years immediately ahead” (Savage Inequalities :149-150).

So, families play a major in lives of children. If one’s family is drug addict or uneducated, then it is more likely that person is going to end up in the same way.