The American Dream in recent years has been under scrutiny by the lower and middle class because of some realization that it has changed meanings over time. Many citizens, predominately older or conservative citizens, still believe that the American Dream has not changed but many lower or middle class citizens believe that some are advantaged in achieving the American Dream more than others. Although many conservatives may believe that the American Dream is still achievable for all, I believe that citizens with a better socioeconomic status receive a better education, training for skills, and chances to network; giving clear advantages compared to others.
Many Americans would define the America Dream as achieving an economic status in the …show more content…
Gatto in Against School explains the six functions of modern schooling, emphasizing on the differentiating function specifically how “children are sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits – and not one step further” (119). Children are taught a curriculum that is influenced by their future social role dictated by their socioeconomic class. Many children are not taught how to move beyond their current social status and are being taught to stay within their class, not to move beyond it in hopes of achieving anything more. Anyon in From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work also discusses the influence that social class has on a child’s education and skills. Specifically Anyon discusses the differences in the working class schools and the executive elite schools. The working class school is very mechanical, involving very little decision making or critical thinking (140), whereas in the executive elite schools children were taught to analyze, problem solve and how to excel and prepare for life (148). Anyon focuses on how the differences in how the curriculum is being taught creates a difference in the skills a child …show more content…
Although this may be true to some part, what isn’t considered is that less and less people actually control the upper class. Wealth distribution of the upper class is extremely different from where America was at 50 or 30 years ago. In the Percentiles of Family Wealth Graph, the comparison of the percent of wealth owned by the top 1% in 1963 compared to 2013 is a sizable difference. What we can conclude from the graph is that wealth in the top 1% although has increased dramatically, the number of citizens actually controlling that money is far less than the distribution back in 1963. This proves that although overcoming the advantages many others will have will always be a part of achieving success, the challenges to overcome are far harder than previously seen as. Anyon emphasizes, “These differences may not only contribute to the development in the children in each social class of certain types of economically significant relationships and not other but would thereby help to reproduce this system of relations” (152). Anyon also argues that there are clear differences in the upbringing of children in different socioeconomic classes that make very distinct advantages to those in an upper-class
Many Americans would define the America Dream as achieving an economic status in the …show more content…
Gatto in Against School explains the six functions of modern schooling, emphasizing on the differentiating function specifically how “children are sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits – and not one step further” (119). Children are taught a curriculum that is influenced by their future social role dictated by their socioeconomic class. Many children are not taught how to move beyond their current social status and are being taught to stay within their class, not to move beyond it in hopes of achieving anything more. Anyon in From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work also discusses the influence that social class has on a child’s education and skills. Specifically Anyon discusses the differences in the working class schools and the executive elite schools. The working class school is very mechanical, involving very little decision making or critical thinking (140), whereas in the executive elite schools children were taught to analyze, problem solve and how to excel and prepare for life (148). Anyon focuses on how the differences in how the curriculum is being taught creates a difference in the skills a child …show more content…
Although this may be true to some part, what isn’t considered is that less and less people actually control the upper class. Wealth distribution of the upper class is extremely different from where America was at 50 or 30 years ago. In the Percentiles of Family Wealth Graph, the comparison of the percent of wealth owned by the top 1% in 1963 compared to 2013 is a sizable difference. What we can conclude from the graph is that wealth in the top 1% although has increased dramatically, the number of citizens actually controlling that money is far less than the distribution back in 1963. This proves that although overcoming the advantages many others will have will always be a part of achieving success, the challenges to overcome are far harder than previously seen as. Anyon emphasizes, “These differences may not only contribute to the development in the children in each social class of certain types of economically significant relationships and not other but would thereby help to reproduce this system of relations” (152). Anyon also argues that there are clear differences in the upbringing of children in different socioeconomic classes that make very distinct advantages to those in an upper-class