Anidya Kundu Gave a Talk on Public Education That's Eye-Opening
Grace Mahas — January 9, 2020 — Keynote Trends
Anindya Kundu, a senior fellow at the City University of New York, Graduate Center and author of the book The Power of Student Agency, recently gave a talk on public education and the existing "opportunity gap" in its structure.
He discusses his time with youth at the largest juvenile detention center on the West Side of Chicago, where he talked with individuals from 10 to 16 years old -- most of whom were black or brown -- awaiting to be on trial for various crimes. The time these youth spent there was time they were not in school, and subsequently falling behind their peers. This leads to a huge opportunity gap that's fuelled by a self-fulling prophecy.
Moreover, Kundu references the difference in school funding -- he states that the "majority-white districts receive about 23 billion dollars more in annual funding than nonwhite districts, even though they serve about the same number of students." This means that the resources are lacking including technology and supplies and that teachers are being paid poorly, some of which have turned to food banks to eat.
The speaker also cites a study that states that had this gap bene fixed in 1998, America's GDP in 2008 could have gone up by more than 500 billion dollars. Kundo asks viewers to solve the opportunity gap problem, for the sake of our economy and the principle of democracy -- that no human should have their future worth pre-determined by the circumstances of their birth and that "a public education system should not create a wider bottom and more narrow top." Kundu closes by urging the audience to support the public education system with their voices and votes.
He discusses his time with youth at the largest juvenile detention center on the West Side of Chicago, where he talked with individuals from 10 to 16 years old -- most of whom were black or brown -- awaiting to be on trial for various crimes. The time these youth spent there was time they were not in school, and subsequently falling behind their peers. This leads to a huge opportunity gap that's fuelled by a self-fulling prophecy.
Moreover, Kundu references the difference in school funding -- he states that the "majority-white districts receive about 23 billion dollars more in annual funding than nonwhite districts, even though they serve about the same number of students." This means that the resources are lacking including technology and supplies and that teachers are being paid poorly, some of which have turned to food banks to eat.
The speaker also cites a study that states that had this gap bene fixed in 1998, America's GDP in 2008 could have gone up by more than 500 billion dollars. Kundo asks viewers to solve the opportunity gap problem, for the sake of our economy and the principle of democracy -- that no human should have their future worth pre-determined by the circumstances of their birth and that "a public education system should not create a wider bottom and more narrow top." Kundu closes by urging the audience to support the public education system with their voices and votes.
Trend Themes
1. Educational Disparity - Addressing the educational opportunity gap to promote equal learning opportunities
2. Racial Bias in Education - Fighting the discrepancies in public education funding based on the demographics of the schools
3. Inequitable Schooling - Bridging the gap of educational resources and teacher support in low-income and nonwhite districts
Industry Implications
1. Education Industry - Reforming policies to create an equal educational system for all students
2. Government Industry - Allocating more funding and resources to underprivileged and minority schools
3. Technology Industry - Developing tools to create innovative solutions for reducing the opportunity gap and providing equitable education for all students
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