Laura Hampton

3/17/14
Ed 100/Hybrid class
Assignment 10-A
From colonial to current times, schools have worked toward giving
children a quality education. It has taken much time and some court battles
to achieve this. It is a work in progress, one that is still being improved upon
today.
In order for some people to get a free and equal education, the courts
had to be involved. Brown vs the Board of Education is an example of this. In
Topeka Kansas, the NAACP encouraged a group of African American parents
to try to enroll their students in white schools. None were allowed in. A
lawsuit was brought to court, Brown Vs the Board of Education of Topeka. It
went all the way to the Supreme Court. The verdict was unanimous in favor
of Brown, segregation in schools was considered unconstitutional.
A free and equal education in school for immigrants has been a
struggle also. To have an equal education isnt always to treat all children the
same. The Supreme Court also had to be involved again in the case of Lau
vs. Nichols in 1974. The school in San Francisco was found to be
discriminatory when they claimed to be treating all students the same
because they were giving all instruction in English. Chinese American
students didnt understand the language of instruction, so bilingual
instruction was necessary. The end result was that teaching materials were

distributed in over 60 languages and 68 million dollars was set aside for
bilingual instruction.
Another group of people not treated equally in schools was women. In
the 1970s women were not allowed in many universities or to play many
sports. Title IX changed this. Title IX prohibited the use of federal funds to
schools that discriminated against women. The problem with this was that it
was not easy to enforce.
I Q testing was yet another way that Mexican Americans have been
discriminated against in schools. I Q testing may have seemed to be a good
idea for white students. Other races did not test as well and were considered
inferior. Mexican American students tended to test low and were often
considered mentally delayed. Often they were given tests at a young age in
a language that they didnt understand. I Q tests have been considered
culturally biased but are still used today.
Starting in 1975, East Harlem, New York, the district was rated at the
bottom. Because they were at the bottom, they could take chances, so they
started with small schools of all different types. They had all different kinds
of schools, from very strict with uniforms, to liberal arts schools. Students
were then told to choose what school they wanted to go to. The schools that
were not chosen were then closed down and revamped and improved.
Since the colonial times, schools have worked to improve to give all
children a free and equal education. The struggle has been long and hard.
The court system has helped schools to do the right thing. To date, 90% of

students are in public schools. Public schools do work hard to educate all
students, but need help from parents and the community to keep going the
right way.