The issue of whether you can achieve equity without equality has been widely debated. It is an important issue because it concerns our primary education system. A variety of different arguments have been put forward about this issue. The following will consider arguments for equity and will point to some of the problems with this view. I will then put forth reasons how by looking to equality, you achieve equity.

Inclusion in general education involves including every student regardless of disability in a general classroom environment. Those who support inclusion, strive for a change in how disabled children are taught. This raises the question, how. How do you teach a disabled student in the same environment as a regular education class? Can it be done while still maintaining a regular class?

Stricter policies and tighter security seems to be the solution for a nation shocked by the violence in schools. “Three million crimes are committed each year on the campuses of America's public schools. In the two-year period from 1992 to 1994, 105 students and 12 teachers died violently at school or during school-related activities (Rozalski and Yell, 2000). Zero tolerance policies provide a feeling of safety for students, and at the same time provide reassurance to educators. The administrators in our schools look at it this way, they have done their duty and got the message across: “We will not tolerate that type of behavior!” Are educators sending the right message when they choose to take this attitude? Is kicking the student out of school or expelling them actually accomplishing anything?

There is little evidence that zero tolerance policies are reducing violence in schools. According to a survey that was conducted in 1996 and 1997 by the US Department of Education, it is evident that zero tolerance policies do not necessarily have less incidents of violence than schools with none. There was still almost 80% violence in all public schools, and there were also high percentages of weapon, drug, and alcohol offenses (US Department of Education, 1998). On this particular issue, my argument stands that it cannot actually be clear that zero tolerance is making schools safer. Having a bad kid home all day, with nothing better to do, is definitely going to be trouble. The American Bar Association describes zero tolerance policies as “unfair and inappropriate” (CNN Student News, 2001). They also have voted to recommend putting an end to these policies. I could not agree more. Zero tolerance policies cannot be seen as the single solution to schools problems.

School vouchers redirect educational funding from the schools to individual families rather than to the school districts. This in turn allows for families to decide where they would like to send their child for school. A choice between either public or private school is given, and either all or part of tuition is paid. School vouchers is an effective way to help

Some topics in this essay:
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