The American Dream Overcoming Obstacles Research Paper

My best essay that I wrote throughout the year was by far the Mango DBQ which was titled as “The Obstacles of the American Dream”. This was my best essay because of many reasons. One reason why is because I received a 98 percent on it which was my best grade of the year. Also this essay was easy to write because when papers have many structures that need to be followed it is very straightforward for me.

Unfortunately, the school's lack of appropriate education results directly from poor government funding. So even with hard work, the lower-class student is still held down by his socio-economic status. Poverty-stricken parents are unable to offer their children the same attention and motivation as parents of a higher-class can, therefore never providing these children with the mindset that they are able to accomplish the American dream. According to Mantsios, 40 million Americans live in poverty, and the mental and physical affects the low standard of living has on them is undeniable (Mantsios 328). Citizens who live in poverty work long hours for little pay, yet return to a household that in no way symbolizes the hard work put forth. Within this environment, very few people have the positive outlook to mentor children successfully.

My own children are being raised by parents with both more money and more education. Yet I do not see my children as having significantly better opportunities than I had at their age” (9). Therefore, although unequal opportunity prevents low income segments of the population from having a fair chance at receiving merit based aid, the same argument, according to Mankiw, doesn’t apply to the one percent in relation to the middle class who all have fairly equal opportunity.

In “The Dangers of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility”, Andrew Simmons, a high school teacher who teaches in a poor area of Los Angeles, argues that higher education’s educational opportunities should be the main promotion for students to attend college. The author’s purpose is to inform and persuade his readers to accept his view on what he sees as a problem of the education system. According to Simmons, teachers focus on the economic advantages that higher education could bring instead of the actual education these institutions offer. Because of this promotion, students in poorer areas focus on their potential wealth instead of their future education while students in wealthier areas focus on their future careers

Kathleen Blanco, the 54th governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, once pointed out that “ Every educated person is not rich, but almost every education person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty.” It is almost gratuitous to say that everyone desires a higher education. And why not? It is perhaps the best way to avoid a life of poverty; a life in which one must struggle to meet the basic necessities of life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to receive a higher education, especially students living in poverty, who are often forced to live on a day-to-day basis, let alone even think about school. Poverty deprives these students the quality education they are entitled to, thus inhibiting their potential for future success. This predicament has contributed to a widening racial wealth gap that is not only a threat to the individual’s themselves and the economy, but also a significant threat to upward mobility, which is defined as the ability of an individual to climb up the socioeconomic ladder. One particular factor that has and continues to contribute to this widening racial wealth gap is the lack of a college education among these low-income students. More importantly, this lack of college education is the direct result of a poor-quality K-12 education, especially in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. To mitigate the prevalent racial wealth gap, each

The American Dream, the white picket fence family of America, the successful businessman, the “started from the bottom now we're here”, or the swimming pool of money. The American Dream is still alive and possible. According to many Americans the dream of having a better life, and making money is still achievable.

America has transitioned from the land of unconditional opportunity to the land of predetermined success. However, this can’t be a surprise with by “2000, the top 1 percent of households holding more wealth than the entire bottom 95 percent” (Draut 21). This fact is still true today, with the top 1% holding, “35.6% of all private wealth” ("Facts and Figures in 99 to 1). Now the impact this has is, with attending college being the route to wealth more than ever, prosperity in United States is becoming a game only the privileged can play. “Nearly three quarters of students at the nation’s top 146 colleges come from families in the top quarter of the socioeconomic status (SES) scale” (Draut 48), leaving millions of Americans from reaching their full potential. It goes beyond race, even though lineage and class have a huge correlation. The fact that if you don’t have money in the United States from birth, your opportunities are significantly limited. This is proved with only 3% of freshman from the bottom quarter income bracket going to the top colleges (Colleges, American Association Of Community). A large reason for this is the fact that government funding for students college education has largely decreased with student loans/debt being more prominent. Added to this is the fact that many minority communities are still living with the repercussions of America’s white prejudice past.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 1 Declaration of Independence

The lower class citizens do not have the access to great schools, unlike the other social classes, so they are at a heavy disadvantage to achieve the American Dream. Education is a large part of advancing and thriving in certain economic and social classes. If a person is lucky enough to attend a good school, it gives the individual a better chance at succeeding into a higher social class which then leads to better jobs, pay, and better quality of life. Many people who are qualified to achieve a higher class of education do not pursue it because of financial stipulations. A very prominent professor Paul Teske, a associate professor Jody Fitzpatrick, and an assistant professor Gabriel Kaplan collaborated to create a paper on the access Americans have to quality

In America, the american dream is interpreted in millions of different ways. One American citizen dreams for millions while another hopes for contentment and a family in the future. Though its rarity is observed, every american is given an opportunity to achieve the american dream if they are devoted to doing so.

Many high school student and young adults who dream of becoming well educated are unable to because they do not have access to higher education due to their economic status. Nearly 85 percent of middle school aged children in the US say they would like to earn a college degree yet only 44 percent of students from poor families are enrolled by October following high school graduation (Haveman, 2006). About 59 percent of students finish their

As a society the United States of America incorporated a set of ideas in reference to the success of citizens. This idea is known or referred to as the American Dream. The idea of the American dream promotes the belief that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Success and prosperity fall anywhere on the spectrum of career, family, assets, and ultimately happiness. As a result of this idea that has been incorporated by the country, the American dream creates the foundation of controversy among the citizens whether this idea is beneficial and accurate. The concept of the American dream prevails within the younger generation as they idolize

The american dream is that have all your needs and wants satisfied. Everyone has different needs and wants, so not everyone american dream will be the same.

The American Dream is an idea of how one might want their future to be. The American Dream was first thought of when other races (other than american) saw that they were treated differently, by the people and the country. Each country has different lifestyles for people, houses have a different cost and people don’t earn the same minimum wage. The American dream is what gives people hope to be free, to have what everyone else has.

The land of opportunity: a place where we are promised that hard work and determination will grant us the American dream. The idea of the American dream means something different to us all, but ultimately, we expect results from our hard work and accomplishments. We want to have equal opportunities and a chance at success. As hopeful as that sounds, the harsh reality is that even with years of experience, an education, and impeccable work ethic, we are not all guaranteed the American dream.