Lies My Teacher Told Me Book Report

The United States of America is often referred to as “The Land of Opportunity”. For generations, families have immigrated to America from foreign lands in search of a better life. In the land of Capitalism and entrepreneurship, it is a known fact that what you work for is what you will receive in return. Nevertheless, millions live in poverty even though they work endless hours at the toughest of jobs. Could that be because this well-known fact is not a fact at all, but only an ideal put in the young minds of Americans by the media and high school textbooks? While it is true that most books inform their readers of the successes America has had in the labor field, they often fail to mention the far more numerous problems and issues associated with it; moreover, the failed attempts to make a change as presented in “Lies My Teacher Told Me”, by James L. Lowen. The Pullman Strike of 1894 was one of the many highlights of the success in labor history and is written into most history books. However, as author James L. Lowen says, “textbook …show more content…
The largest portion of America lives in the middle class with many continually working to better themselves. However, less than 15% of all people will rise or fall one social class in their lifetime. Though it is possible for someone to find their way to the top from the middle or lower class, it is often unheard of as studies show that children and teens with opportunity fare better than the children who do not. With access to tutors for classes in which they struggle and mentors for standardized testing, why would not they do better than those who are not capable of attaining these resources? Why does the school system not have tutors available for those who need them? Is it because the government wants the balance of the social classes to remain as it is, or is it because people are truly “okay” with where they fall on the totem