Education is valued inherently because “it’s valued for its own sake,” and it is a vital tool for everyone to possess, therefore it must be accessible to everyone, so that it is ethical (Rainbolt & Dwyer, 2012). So, if the protected practice of school zoning continues to lead to classist and racist segregation of schools, causing those students to underperform wealthier students significantly, then that practice is unethical because it prohibits an inherent resource from being available to everyone. If something is valued inherently, then that means it is good for everyone and everyone should have equal access to it. School zoning is a practice that allows the government to legally draw district lines between neighborhoods to separate the schools each zip code can attend. “Nationally, high-poverty districts spend 15.6 percent less per student than low-poverty districts do, according to U.S. Department of Education,” suggesting that if one’s house were to be located in a more affluent zip code, then their child would have more money spent on their education (Semuels, 2016). This is unethical and goes against education being an inherent value because the system is giving better opportunities to students who come from wealthier neighborhoods. In addition, “lower spending can irreparably damage a child’s future, especially for kids from poor families,” and damaging a child’s future is considered harm, therefore that is unethical to underspend on certain students’ educations (Semuels, 2016).
The problems America is facing right now with the inequality of their education system based on race and class is a huge ethical concern that deserves a lot of attention. If the Supreme Court ruled in 1954 under Brown v Board of Education, that separate but equal in education was unethical and inherently unequal, then the practices of legal segregation in schools is still unethical today. Also, if the United States Declaration of Independence states that, “all men are created equal,” and we presume that the term men is inclusive of women as well, then under the ideology of universalism, discrimination against students of color and low economic status is unethical. In order for the American education system to become ethical, lawmakers must understand that giving more opportunities to certain students over others through schools zoning practices is unethical because everyone is considered equally morally important, regardless of their race, gender, religion or class.
References:
Rainbolt, G. W., & Dwyer, S. L. (2012). CRITICAL THINKING: The art of argument. Stamford,
CT: Cengage Learning.
Semuels, A. (2016, August 25). Good School, Rich School; Bad School, Poor School. Retrieved
April 15, 2018,
