This particular sentence hit home for me. I had a very similar experience in high school and it goes to show how common this is in classrooms even in 2021. The book for me was To Kill A Mockingbird in advanced placement language and composition. This is another factor to consider in educational reform. Oftentimes, white teachers are hired to teach in spaces where the majority of the room are minorities and they aren't aware of how that affects their teaching strategy or how it should. This experience just as in mine, can encourage students to disengage and lose their will to participate in class, negatively affecting them as a result.

I think Smith did a great job with the juxtaposition in these sentences. It also goes to show why schools with lower budgets oftentimes cut art programs or don't offer a wide selection for students to show their creativity like better-funded schools do. In my experience, the high school in my city offered art and dance only while the school I transferred to where the average salary was 5 times as high offered pottery, animation and web design. It was also clear to me the system was truly not designed for students like me because it took me three months to obtain the intra-district permit.

This statement reminds me of the documentary by Netflix called Operation Varsity Blues. It discusses the ways in which kids with less resources remain unaware of the way the choices they make in high school deeply affect their future. For example, choosing to opt out of AP classes in high school makes you ineligible for the top 100 universities in the country. However, when I took advanced placement courses one singular exam cost ended up at around 100 dollars and not many students can afford that.

I think these are extremely significant aspects of learning that need more attention. It's refreshing to see that there are researchers out there pushing for education reform. It's beyond my understanding how even the people most affected by these factors are unaware of them but by writing about it, it gets the conversation started. I really agree with the line "these seeming neutral aspects" because it's easier to assume they have no effect on students but challenging these societal norms is important.

I really appreciate this statement's inclusion in the reading. Wealthier, usually white parents use the term "pull myself up by my bootstraps" when these conversations are introduced and that's not fair to say in many cases. It indicates that poorer families live that way because they don't work as hard or have as much determination to succeed as they do. However, oftentimes, minorities have to face more obstacles than the average white American does that influence income and support they can provide for their loved ones.

I took an Anthropology class early in my college career that helped me understand such a huge gap. In 2020 when I applied to university, many colleges across the country were not requiring SAT scores because of the external factors that influence both rich and poor students. Rich students are usually always offered more and better resources like private tutoring, and even parents with more time on their hands to support their children. Students in low-income neighborhoods fall through the cracks because their parents work two jobs to make ends meet and get home so exhausted that sleep is all they can manage.

I feel that it really is so telling of what our education system is here in the U.S. that the varying incomes between both men determine their fate. Schools in neighborhoods with different incomes reflect the wide wealth gap in our country. A school in East LA has never had the same resources a school in Brentwood has had. In Brentwood, teachers are less stressed, have better hours, more support, and that greatly reflects the way they can show up for students on a daily basis.

I think this is a great point Ms. Hooks makes. It's why white teachers integrating themselves in schools where the majority of who they're teaching are students of color is so important. This is a nationwide issue in all aspects of American life. Medically, doctors have also proved to be ill equipped to deal with diseases people of color are predisposed to due to genetics.

In my experience with the GAT program, many of my peers and I took the initial IQ test. However, from my research schools with better funding and better equipped teachers took it a step further by pushing the students that qualified for the program in a way that other children were not. In some cases, students switched to schools with amazing GAT programs. Students like myself oftentimes found themselves alienated and isolated from the rest of the class due to the pace at which I learned in comparison with other students.

Mann was raising a very important flag even in 1848 when he exposed the importance of education for so many who were unaware. I really appreciate Jackson using the Father of American Education's famous words to pull the reader in. It's very relevant to the rest of the writing and flows very nicely with what follows it. I also agree with the specific phrase Jackson chose to include because education really is the great equalizer.

This reminds me of the school to prison pipeline and how that unfolds in our schools across the nation every single day. I believe this line is a bit repetitive but it is important because it focuses on issues that plague our education system. While introduction of police on campuses has been presented as effective especially for kids that have a difficult time at home but the reality is much different. Minority students are expelled or suspended at 3.5x the rate their white peers are. There is evidence that supports the idea that presence of police on campus only complicates issues but it's clear that the policy is not going anywhere anytime soon.

I think this is a very significant statement. This directly connects to educational opportunities for low income students. It is very exciting to imagine a world in which we move so far into desegregation that education policies finally align with 21st century thinking. However, education reform is realistically very slow and budgets are decreasing for departments that badly need them.

This. I really appreciate the authors shining light on both sides of the same coin. The experience of the American Dream is different for every race. There are outside factors that influence social mobility for minorities as they usually have to deal with heavy turmoil that comes with migrating to a country with an unknown language and culture. First generation students are also affected by their parents' experiences and difficulties.

This shows the level of social mobility available to Americans living in the country. It is important to acknowledge that while many of us may be upset with the systems set in place and advocate for change, there is privilege in being allowed to voice our concerns and grievances. If you aren't happy in the situation you're in, you are allowed and encouraged to change your environment, career and lifestyle. Diversity in the country is also a contributing factor to no one batting an eye if one day your corporate job isn't satisfying you anymore and you'd like to open a surf shop by the beach in Oregon.

I agree with the author and I would like to add that I feel the American Dream also encourages Americans and immigrants to strive for more. It pushes everyone in the country to do better and be better everyday rather than be complacent in their situation. Citizens understanding they reside in a country that offers them many more opportunities than the average nation does. In America, the average resident has more resources available to them which might make them feel guilty when they don't take advantage of those helpful tools.