The Neumann And Stanley Families Put The Dream In The American Dream

The Neumann and Stanley families put the “dream” in “The American Dream.” As Frontline covers their situation over the course of two years, we experience the struggles of job insecurity, poverty, and foreclosure. We see not only how the parents are impacted but also the children in the home. Toward the end of the Frontline segment, we are shown how the children learned from their parents and their upbringing. We see the true opportunity for upward mobility in American society today, as well as the importance of a higher education. The Stanley and the Neumann families have a lot in common. Both families live in Milwaukee, attend religious services on a regular basis and have hardworking and caring parents. The families also are similar …show more content…
This is the case for the oldest of the Neumann kids as well. Being a college graduate, he is the most successful and stable amongst the four children. The others and those from the Stanley household have made different decisions. Somehow, it seems that they have received an inheritance from their parents, but not one you might expect. The children struggle to feed their own offspring and face being homeless as their parents did. It is learned by many of them that they only way to succeed, or even to survive, is to obtain a higher education. Within this point lies the greatest commonality between the Frontline episode “Two American Families” and the content of a college sociology course. Upward mobility, or the chance to raise one’s class status and social standing, increases with education. The greatest opportunity for children to surpass the earning ability of their parents only exists after they get a college degree, if they are able to do so. Other decisions, like leaving grade school prior to earning a high school diploma or having children at a young age, not only decrease the chance for a stable life, they cause future …show more content…
If taken at face value, it is easy to understand what it truly is: a dream. Sometimes dreams do come true, but rarely do they happen without significant effort. Colin Powell describes this well: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” The Stanley and Neumann families have learned this lesson first hand. Every member of the Neumann family remains determined to keep their home and succeed. Although not in the ways they might have imagined, they manage to do so. Some of them even use a college education to surpass expectations, accomplishing the dreams of their parents. Other children in “Two American Families” show what happen when determination is lacking, seeming to inherit their parent’s problems. Such is the case for one of the Stanley kids who had their own child and dropped out of high school in 10th grade. The American Dream isn’t acquired by simply being an American. Attributes such as patience, strength and persistence are also required. Without those qualities, individuals often struggle to live “paycheck to