Urban Education

For instance, high school grades and SAT scores could be compared, as well as college applications and attendance. Beyond this, the actual school systems of rural and urban areas would be compared - the differences in funding, ideology, resources, etc., would grant insight into the students" experiences and goals there.
             The collection of scholarly essays, Rural Education and Training in the New Economy: the Myth of the Rural Skills Gap, was the single most useful and relevant resource I came upon. Each chapter provided statistics that allowed unbiased comparison of the two social structures, both rural and urban. For example, "Rural Teachers and Schools", by Dale Ballou and Michael Podgursky, provided statistical charts comparing ratios of students to teachers, teacher pay, characteristics of full-time teachers, and teacher assessment of school problems and organization, for rural and urban schools. Another essay provided comparisons of achievements scores for both math and reading, and grades of twelfth-graders enrolled in advanced curricula, for both urban and rural students. The third essay revealed dropout rates of urban, suburban, and rural students; the fourth essay compared college completion rates. By far, this was the single most powerful resource I came upon.
             But while the hard facts are unbiased and revealing, it helps to understand what influences these circumstances. I would want to present a more personal and human angle as evidence for my paper. West Haven: Classroom Culture and Society in a Rural Elementary School, is a firsthand account of the almost minute-by-minute activities of a rural school. Along with the description of each day, are side-notes analyzing the events and happenings, putting into context and to some extent, explaining the behavior of not only the students but also the teachers. Johnson, in his own words, said he intended to discover the values and habits of mind the children in the school were initiated and conditioned to, and the social relationships, behaviors, ideas and objects of classroom life (Johnson: 7).