When reading and watching video clips last week about the American dream, there are several ideas correlating to oppression that crossed my mind. The reading “Overcoming the American Dream” had many ideas about oppression that struck me. When the narrative spoke about how money is essential to power, it made me really reflect how this is so true. When I think about the American dream, I often picture a wealthy family with nice things. Relating this idea about money and power to oppression, is actually quite simple. Oppression is built like institutions, and one group of a population has dominance over the other. In the case of money is power, people who have money often have more power over people who have less money. The narrator discussed
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The most striking was how the two men in the debate had two very different viewpoints about the American dream. In my opinion, Tom Horne’s viewpoint was very naïve. I thought it was asinine how he believed that we shouldn’t treat children as if they are being oppressed. If we do not teach that certain groups of people are oppressed in this country, we forget that oppression exists. It is important that each culture in America is able to learn about the history of their culture. Whether they have specific classes teaching about Native American history or classes teaching about African American history, it is important to remember that certain groups have been oppressed in our society. We cannot act like oppression doesn’t exist, thus teaching about these cultures upbringing in America is essential. This video truly made me realize that there are two very different viewpoints on oppression in America, thus it is essential to teach about all the “dirty” history that has occurred in America against certain cultures and groups because we do not want history to repeat …show more content…
The video opened my eyes to what many kids in impoverished areas experience daily. When I was little, I lived in a lower class area of St. Paul. I do not remember much of it because I was only seven at the time; however, what I do remember was actually quite scary. I remember my older cousins coming over one night, and telling my parents how they got beaten up playing basketball at a local park. I believe that was the last straw for my parents because that following summer we moved to the suburbs. I was amazed that Johnny and George were at the top of their class, and that they had plans to attend college. Even though they do not have the privilege of many kids in America, they take a more positive outlook on life. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Oprah Winfrey clip “How Real is the American Dream” because I could relate to it. While I only attended a low income school for a short while of time, I remember my first time at a suburban school. The technological advances they had was mind-blowing; in comparison, to the lower income school I had attended. It is not fair that children do not receive the same education because of the area they live in. Money should not impact the type of education any child receives. It truly saddened me how different each of the schools are; in addition, it is apparent that children in lower income areas are constantly oppressed by the
The most striking was how the two men in the debate had two very different viewpoints about the American dream. In my opinion, Tom Horne’s viewpoint was very naïve. I thought it was asinine how he believed that we shouldn’t treat children as if they are being oppressed. If we do not teach that certain groups of people are oppressed in this country, we forget that oppression exists. It is important that each culture in America is able to learn about the history of their culture. Whether they have specific classes teaching about Native American history or classes teaching about African American history, it is important to remember that certain groups have been oppressed in our society. We cannot act like oppression doesn’t exist, thus teaching about these cultures upbringing in America is essential. This video truly made me realize that there are two very different viewpoints on oppression in America, thus it is essential to teach about all the “dirty” history that has occurred in America against certain cultures and groups because we do not want history to repeat …show more content…
The video opened my eyes to what many kids in impoverished areas experience daily. When I was little, I lived in a lower class area of St. Paul. I do not remember much of it because I was only seven at the time; however, what I do remember was actually quite scary. I remember my older cousins coming over one night, and telling my parents how they got beaten up playing basketball at a local park. I believe that was the last straw for my parents because that following summer we moved to the suburbs. I was amazed that Johnny and George were at the top of their class, and that they had plans to attend college. Even though they do not have the privilege of many kids in America, they take a more positive outlook on life. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Oprah Winfrey clip “How Real is the American Dream” because I could relate to it. While I only attended a low income school for a short while of time, I remember my first time at a suburban school. The technological advances they had was mind-blowing; in comparison, to the lower income school I had attended. It is not fair that children do not receive the same education because of the area they live in. Money should not impact the type of education any child receives. It truly saddened me how different each of the schools are; in addition, it is apparent that children in lower income areas are constantly oppressed by the