Every Dartmouth student can agree on the importance of a high-quality education. After all, the caliber of our schooling determines where we work, how much money we make and what elite college bumper stickers we can display on the backs of our cars. The generosity of Dartmouth alumni illustrates the continuing truth of gratitude for a high-quality education; in 2007, our alumni body was second only to Princeton for alumni donation rates, according to U.S. News & World Report. This statistic shows that to alumni, an excellent education is worth investing in. Such sentiments are not surprising. For nearly 250 years, Dartmouth College graduates have used their education at the Big Green to pull away from the masses of people entering the job market and attain some of the most elite careers in the country.
It's always painful to pop the Hanover bubble, but the harsh reality is that the majority of students in the United States will never have the chance to attain such a college experience. Surprisingly, this has absolutely nothing to do with their intellectual ability and everything to do with their zip codes. Students in low-income communities struggle against extra challenges such as poor health care and housing as they attend schools with insufficient resources. More significantly, teachers and administrators often believe that these students do not have the intellectual ability to achieve a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students growing up in low-income communities today are more likely to go to jail than to get a four-year college degree. This reality does not stem out of a higher tendency towards deviant behavior; instead, it comes from the incredibly small likelihood that a student who grew up in a low-income community will have adequate educational support. What an outrage for a country that professes to be a place of equal opportunity.
Not all Dartmouth students have turned a blind eye to this reality, however; last year, 16 graduates chose to fight educational inequality by joining the 2009 corps of Teach For America. They made this commitment with an awareness of the achievement gap and a desire to change it many hoped to inspire their own students to pursue a college experience similar to their own. As corps members, these alumni are fighting the achievement gap from the front lines as they set ambitious goals for their students and develop successful teaching skills. Additionally studies conducted by The Urban Institute and the Louisiana Board of Regents demonstrate that Teach For America corps members are equally as, and in some cases more, effective in the classroom than other instructors, including certified and veteran teachers.
A recent congressional proposal, however, has presented a challenge to the mission of these alumni and Teach For America. Under this new proposal, Teach For America's federal funding would be eliminated for 2011-2012. The passage of such a proposal would force Teach For America to diminish its corps size by more than 1,300 teachers and would limit the organization from expanding to new areas and schools. Such a reduction would limit Teach for America's provision of good teachers to low-income communities, therefore not reaching the students who need corps members the most.Without these young, bright and optimistic classroom leaders, it is certainly possible that low expectations would prevail in public schools across the country, and promising students would become increasingly disenchanted with their academics. On our campus, Teach For America would not be able to maximize the number of Dartmouth leaders sent to fulfill its mission, not because of a lack of applicants but because of a lack of funds. With thousands of students already being denied educational inequality on a daily basis, this proposal is simply unacceptable.
As members of an institution that so highly values a strong education, it is our responsibility to get involved in this debate. In my four years here, I have seen Dartmouth students rally around a variety of issues to achieve their desired results. The pursuit of educational equality is certainly worth rallying for, and we have until April 9th to ensure that every student in the United States, regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status, has an equal shot at the college application process. A "Dartmouth experience" is deserved by all.
