y of urban schools that lack adequate books, equipment, teachers, facilities, as well as support and programs. It is in these communities that the most striking evidence of gatekeeping by rationing resources can be observed.In the context of both ideologies of education, the notions of who deserves resources and who can learn are not distinct, as has been discussed, from race. I expand on this association of race, not through a deliberation of the "problem" of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans, but through a discussion of the problem of Whiteness. The US is a racially-conscious society in which those with White skin are afforded power and privilege. The consequence of their power for our education system are deep-reaching and complex. This analysis understands the majority of decision-making power for education, as with other institutions, to be in the hands of elite Whites. The problems that result from this unrepresentative and unequal distribution of power manifest themselves in two overarching ways: by promoting and protecting dominant White ideology and by ignoring the existence of non-White populations.The promotion of dominant White ideology is evidenced on the decision-making level by the normative stance it takes-where all others are considered deviants and are granted less privilege to determine their academic destiny. In practice, this means that those in power determine the education for the poor and underprivileged. At the same time, "the dominant mode of education continues to camouflage its promotion of hegemonic ideology while insidiously undermining the diverse ideologies of Others" (Spina and Tai, p. 36, 1998). The consequences of this racist and classist practice are far-reaching: "What is considered 'adequate' for the poor...is decided in accord with their opinion of what children of the poor are fitted to become, and what their social role should be" (Kozol, p. 216, 1991). One aspect of this ...
