Education, Opportunity, and the Power of Social Class Education is a requirement in the United States, every child goes to school, and every child receives an education to some degree, whether be it a high school diploma, a GED, or a PhD. Everyone is given the opportunity of a free public education up to the age of 18. So every child should have the same chance of success in life if we are all on the same starting line. In the articles written by Jean Anyon, Jonathan Kozol and Gregory Mantsios we can see that this is not true. The relationships between social classes, educational opportunities and individual growth are identified. We are told that no child will be left behind, that all children have the same chance of succeeding as adults, but is this really true in our society? In Jonathan Kozol's article, Still Separate, Still Unequal, he states that segregation is still present in schools today. Not in the sense that the government requires black and white children to be in separate facilities, but in the fact that black children come from different socioeconomic backgrounds than white children, which forces them to live in separate areas, attend separate schools, and receive an education. which differs in terms of quality. While visiting some inner-city minority schools, Kozol came across a classroom where the mission statement stating the school's values ​​and priorities is "to develop productive citizens" (Kozol 466). There was a signal that the teacher would give to the class and the students would repeat the signal to the teacher. The teacher turned, looked at Kozol and said, “I can do this with my dog.” (Kozol 466). Kozol and Anyon have the same opinion about what the quality of the curriculum is like, but they differ… halfway through the paper… that our schools are still segregated, but not because of social issues, because of economic issues. Everyone has the same opinion about how families' economic class affects where their children go to school. Mantsios points out that because of where children go to school and how well they are educated, socioeconomic classes remain constant and no one moves up the ladder. All of these authors' opinions build on each other to explain the situation our nation finds itself in socially and economically. Some may have a different opinion about the state our education system is in and how wealth is distributed in the United States, but no one can dispute the fact that no individual in our nation has the same opportunity to succeed as any other person. Everyone has a past and everyone has a future, but one happens to depend on the other.