Emancipatory Education Now is a student-led initiative at the SJSU Lurie College of Education that examines what emancipatory education – the critical evaluation of the systems and structures of oppression that maintain the status quo in our educational institutions – looks like in today’s society and advocates for the expansion of emancipatory education research, policies, and practices.

In this episode, Vaishnavi leads a dialogue around inequality and access in education. The co-hosts shared their insights framed by questions such as:

What are some examples of initiatives at the classroom, school/university, state, or federal level that have been effective at creating a more equitable education for low income students? What are some examples of ineffective initiatives or missed opportunities?
How do you think race plays a factor in schooling in low income communities? The videos provided some examples. Did anything stand out to you?
In the Crash Course video, we saw that higher income parents are more likely to spend time with their children reading books and strengthening their cognitive skills. These higher income children enter school with more knowledge compared to a child from a lower income household. How can we support these young children early on to ensure that they are successful throughout their school journey?
FAFSA is a great way for students to get grants and money. However, do you think FAFSA is a simple process for low income families? Why or why not?
After reading the article on the factors that count against low income students in the college admissions process, what were your thoughts/initial reactions? Do you think that students that attend schools with extremely low budgets will always have no hope towards attending good colleges since they don’t have impressive extracurriculars or classes?

after reading the article “5 Ways Elite-College Admissions Shut Out Poor Kids” by Anya Kamenetz and watching the videos “Higher Education for Low-Income Students,” and “Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41.”

This episode’s call to action: After our discussion, think about how San Jose State University aids low income students to continue attending classes. Find one resource that SJSU provides to support these students. Do you think this resource is helpful? Is there a resource that you would recommend to SJSU instead?

Join us live for our episode 5 on Friday, April 9, at 5:30pm on the Lurie College YouTube channel. All of the recordings for this series are available at sjsu.edu/education/emancipatory-education-now

SJSU Faces of Learning Project | Meet Project Coordinator Briettny