America has been built on the graves of the lower class. Its capitalistic economy was created with the intention of keeping poor people poor, while the rich get richer. Despite the social and political change that has happened since the founding of this nation, poor people are being struck where it hurts the most, education. 

It has always been a common belief that you can accomplish anything in America if you work hard enough, but according to American University, “By relying largely on property taxes to fund schools, which can vary widely between wealthy and poor areas, districts create funding gaps from the word go.” This essentially means that richer counties that have higher property prices get more property taxes allocated to public schools giving them money proportional to their property taxes. Poorer counties have lower property taxes due to the property being cheaper as the people living there can not afford expensive houses They in turn get less money towards their school. If education is the way to rise the social chain, then America is not as equal as it seems. If you are poor, you are only able to afford houses in poorer districts that have schools that simply do not have enough resources. You are not able to get as much of an education as someone who was born rich. 

This extremely disheartening fact is the sad reality of America. As someone who has moved around a lot, I have seen firsthand the disparities in education in different districts around America. When I lived in a poor neighborhood in New York, the school was horribly underfunded and there were barely any opportunities for the children going there. It seemed as if the world had just given up on them. When I was able to move into a more developed district, the difference was drastic. Children were given a place where they could feel like they belonged.

Although some might find this completely discouraging, there is hope for the future of America. An article from Unicef states, “Children in less wealthy countries often perform better at school despite fewer national resources, the report says.” If you are able to do better at schools regardless of income, there wouldn’t be a problem with educational inequality. The problem now shifts to what is wrong with American education. School reformations need to start to make learning as efficient as possible. Once we find a solution to this problem, I believe that students will be able to learn much better than they did before. To ensure equality within this new educational system, federal funding for schools should be increased. Instead of property taxes which breed inequality, an increase of federal funding would ensure that a school in Norwalk, Connecticut would get the same amount of money as Tallahassee, Florida. The future of mankind relies on educating the youth. It is our responsibility to make sure that children regardless of their background will get the same quality education that was promised to them in America.