Education: Leaving Out the Middle Class

From education at the preschool level to the University level we can see the struggles and shortcomings of education for the middle class. From preschool to the graduation of high school students normally attend schools in or near their communities. These communities will influence the quality of the school and the education and experience received.

Schools in affluent communities, funded usually by the community, and schools in poverty communities, usually funded by the government, grants and various programs, are able to offer more opposed to their middle-class counterpart schools whose surrounding community has little means for private funding but too much means for government funding or grants. This difference can be seen in the quality of the buildings themselves, the food offered, school supplies provided, books used and field trips/extracurriculars provided. This limits the quality and quantity of information for middle class students and limits experiences and skills that they could later draw on for decision making, career availability, scholarship opportunities, etc.

Disadvantages can also be seen for middle-class students at the university level. The lack of sports/extracurricular activities and the poorer quality equipment can hurt their acceptance chance into certain universities and their potential for scholarship opportunities often lost out on to their counterpart students. This last part is perhaps the most crippling part for a middle-class university student. Their families rarely have the means to pay for their college tuition and expenses but far too often are considered as making too much money to qualify them for any kind of meaningful financial aid. Most of these students will go to a mediocre school just for the cheaper costs. That withstanding, the majority of any middle-class student will most likely incur loan debts to pay for their educations.