MSNBC: ‘Income Inequality’ a Problem in Schools as Some Kids Receive Better Parenting

MSNBC: "Income Inequality" A Problem In Schools Because Some Kids Receive Better Parenting (RealClearPolitics)

On Thursday's broadcast of MSNBC's The Cycle, the co-hosts discussed how income inequality affects the education system, particularly primary and secondary education. Their guest, author Robert Putnam, said "rich kids" are bringing "both moral support and encouragement" from home while "poor kids" are bringing in "gang violence, depression and family disruption."

"When kids come to school, the rich kids are bringing in their backpack support from family, both moral support and encouragements and so on," Putnam said. "And the poor kids are bringing from their neighborhoods gang violence and depression and family disruption and so on. Not that the kids themselves are responsible for it, but that's in their backpack."

"So it affects all the kids," Putnam told the co-hosts. "If you're lucky, you go to school with rich kids and if you're not so lucky, you go to school with poor kids. That means the schools are like an echo chamber, and they're making the problem worse."