Affirming Diversity: Chapters Four Reaction

A major claim in chapter four is that schools are not reflective of our society's democratic principles.  I feel this is not only true, but that inequality in schools is even greater than it is in general society.  For example, the social stigma poor kids face in schools by richer children and even teacher bias is horrendously great.  Furthermore, if you add in racial differences, there is a clear pecking order whereby the rich kids are at the top and get many more opportunities than those at the bottom.  This was shown in my experiences, as when I was in high school all the richest kids were all white, the most popular, and could afford things such as studying abroad and to play on all the sports teams, something that all students could not do due to the hefty fees involved in playing.  I feel that it is fine as a society to let those who fail fail and those who work hard and are intelligent succeed.  However, I feel that as a democracy it is important to give EVERYONE a LEVEL playing field with equal opportunity in the school system so that everyone is prepared with equal tools to succeed.  It amazes me how in a free country there are such stark differences in treatment and opportunity not only within a single school or school district, but even between different school districts that are geographically very close to one another.  It is just that one school is deemed failing and bad while another is suburban and good.  We cannot stand to have these disparities in our schools any longer and change needs to be made at the macro level.  For example, funding needs to be equal across the spectrum of schools and schools need to stop charging for extra curricular activities because it ends up having the effect of a poll tax, banning minorities and poorer children from having character building experiences and opportunities from a young age.
The reading mentions problems of tracking and standardized testing in particular.  Though I agree there are many problems with both, they are necessary evils.  Tracking allows students to be grouped in a sensible manner.  However, the reform that does need to take place is that instead of changing the entire system, schools need to provide opportunities, tutoring, and the necessary help for students at a lower level track to be able to rise out of their situation and status to join high achieving peers.  The same theory goes for standardized testing.  Though many students are discriminated against unjustly in our school system, the solution is not to hold students to no standards and drop testing altogether.  Instead, it is the job of the teacher to bring under performing, discriminated students up to the point where they can pass these tests and do well like their higher achieving peers.  I am saying that rather than abandoning the notion of holding students to high standards, teachers need to wake up, stop being lazy, and help EVERY student get to the standard.  We know that students are products of their environment, which means that if they go to an old dirty school with few resources, they are at a disadvantage.  However, with quality teachers who practice a philosophy of caring, they can counter poverty and give these students a real chance to get out of their oppressive places in society.