Running Head: ARTICLES ON URBAN EDUCATION

Article Reviews
Trevor Smith
Regent University

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For all three of my articles, I chose writings which were relevant to education in urban
America. I am from the D.C area, and I intend to teach in that area in the future, so I am familiar
with and particularly interested in many of the unique struggles which oppose excellent
education in inner-city areas. Most urban centers are low-income and high-minority regions, and
these demographics are frequently excluded from national attention in regards to educational
excellence. Historically and currently, the schooling that inner-city students receive leaves them
less capable of success than students in wealthier regions. In her article Education and Urban
Schools, Cynthia Hudley states that the education that poor, urban students in public schools
receive is demonstrably insufficient to make them competitive with their more advantaged,
middle and upper income peers. In each of the articles which I studied, the writers examine
practical ways to address the discrepancies opposing urban education.
In her article, Hudley examines many issues in education for students in denselypopulated areas, which have lower rates in grades, testing, and graduation than the rest of the
country. The portion of the article which I found the most intriguing and the part which Hudley
predicted would be the most controversial is when she discusses including incentives to
encourage highly qualified teachers to work in impoverished schools. Hudley suggests giving
urban teachers merit pat partially based on student evaluation. This will give opportunities to
teachers who have a high confidence in their own abilities to go into urban areas in hopes to
receive higher pay for increasing student evaluations. However, I believe that this system is
problematic. Urban educators need to have a passion for working with children with a wide
range of issues. If they are only teaching these students for monetary benefit, I believe that they
will quickly leave when faced with more difficult administration, classroom budgeting, school
security, and disciplinary issues. Rather than attempting to bribe teachers to come into lowincome areas, I believe that we should be explaining to teachers how working in urban centers of
education gives them a real opportunity to impact children who are in dire need of a role model
to inspire them toward their full potential.

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Another article addressing the issues of urban education is An Effective but Exhausting
Alternative to High School Suspension, written by Susan Dominus. In this article, Dominus
argues for a reduction of suspensions, and an increase in student-teacher meetings in which
problematic students are mentored in a one-on-one basis. Now many teachers are contributing to
programs of restorative justice, in which teachers set aside time to meet with difficult students
and do their best to correct their misguided behavior. But this takes time a resource which few
teachers have in abundance. Not only does it take time, but it can be emotionally draining to
invest heavily in the least controlled students. Dominus notes that many teachers pour into these
troubled children and see much progress, then see those students turn around and make the same
mistakes again. Can teachers already overburdened and fatigued be expected to spend time
after school every day attempting to correct the behavior of students who very well may never
show any long-term, positive change? Certainly, it is far easier to prevent the bad kids from
returning, and keep our teachers free from any additional responsibility. Easier, for sure; the
article spends much time in examining the difficulty of fully implementing systems of restorative
justice within schools. And yet, Dominus argues for such a reform regardless, boldly stating that
if you are unwilling to hold our students to high expectations, provide the necessary support,
restore damaged relationships and demonstrate unconditional love, then Leadership and Public
Service is not for you. Yes, it takes time, effort, emotional energy; but if even one child
experiences life reform through that extra time, the reward will greatly exceed any cost.
The last article I studied was Large Urban-Suburban Gap Seen in Graduation Rates
written by Sam Dillon, in which the issue of mediocre graduation rates in inner-city schools is
examined. Dillon suggests that we need to hire better teachers in order to adjust these rates, and
that is a huge part of the issue: urban schools should be reformed. But inner-city students do not
simply drop out because their schools are worse although school quality is a major issue which
must be addressed. They also drop out because they truly believe they are less likely to succeed
than their suburban peers. Whether due to a broken family, racial stigmas, socioeconomic class,
or general stereotypes placed upon urban areas, children in these centers begin to internalize a

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negative narrative which tells them they cannot graduate and they may as well dropout now
why waste time? Educational reform cannot be limited to mere analytical data: the mentality of
urban youth must be deeply altered.
To improve education in urban centers, there must be a shift in paradigm and mentality.
Many urban youths are told from early childhood that they are incapable of success due to
socioeconomic factors. This issue is largely a mental barrier: the words children hear shape their
own inner narrative. Dillon states that improving teacher quality is crucial to raising graduation
rates in these inner-city schools, and that is true. However, improving teacher quality does not
simply mean finding teachers with higher degrees or more organized lesson plans. Urban
students also require teachers who are willing to invest time, effort, and emotional energy into
difficult students. They require teachers who can address their students as capable individuals
created in the image of God, fully equipped for rising above the difficulties and stereotypes
which surround them, and growing into educated, excellent men and women ready to impact and
improve their families, their communities, the world, and the Kingdom of God.

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Dillon, S. (2009, April 22). Large Urban-Suburban Gap Seen in Graduation Rates. New
York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/education/22dropout.html?_r=0

Dominus, S. (2016, September 6). An Effective but Exhausting Alternative to

HighSchool Suspension. New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/magazine/an-effective-ut-exhausting
alternative-to-high
schoolsuspensions.html?rref=collection
%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation

Hudley, C. (2013, May). Education and urban schools. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8,
2016, from
http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2013/05/urbanschools.aspx