User:Dunbarhm/Prince Edward Co. Va Today and Diversity

The Issue:
Prince Edward County's education system has resurrected itself from it's painful past, despite this however it still has a lot of progress to be made. The non-white population in Farmville are still in a state of crisis, due to lack of "values" that seem to be unspoken, but lived. Factors that show this are the significant underachievement of African American students versus the white students. Entire schools are split up, according to references like Time Magazine who say that they still segregate themselves into black and white clusters in the cafeteria, with no surface reason as to why they do this, but something that is hidden and always there.[ ] This is astonishing considering the ratio in the public schools of Prince Edward are 38% whites and 62% African Americans (ratio of High School) which means there is not a small, but major split in the public schools in Prince Edward Co.

Diversity Advantages:
Differences in children performances show early on and often children of different ethnicity and background fall behind. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that students from low economic backgrounds and some children of color repeatedly achieve below the national average in math and language skills, with the gap getting larger as children continue through their school years. Diversity is the very fabric of our society and can be beneficial in school, the workforce, in your community and household. Diversity being implemented into school systems can have a powerful impact on both students and teachers, then effecting an entire community. With a growing diverse population in America, there is no doubt that students are going to have to learn in a diverse environment especially when the American demographic is that by the year 2050 almost half of the population of the United States will be comprised of People of Color. Along with this a topic or issue from several cultural backgrounds or influences can shape the framework of a person's view on the world and the way that a person approaches every aspect of one's life. This behavior of viewing an issue from several perspectives is best modeled when beginning in the school systems with our teachers and principals simply modeling respectable multicultural behavior for students to follow. Children of all races/ethnic backgrounds can learn and grow as students and future citizen leaders of the future. Diversity not only is the fabric of society, but is the very key to being an individual. Combining people of several backgrounds you may achieve new opportunities that you did not know or hadn't seen before. So by introducing our students to many diverse cultures where they spend five days a week, the student will be well rounded because of it, and they can gain knowledge from their friends for the future. Cultural Diversity thus helps our students go out into the real world, and be able to apply the things they learned in school and assimilate themselves into this diverse world. Overall the advantages of cultural diversity can help students of today create a bright future for tomorrow.