This last sentence was beautifully said. Consciousness within education is so important because it will allow us detect what needs fixing in our world today and learn how to respect one another. Free expression is also so crucial in our classrooms so that students can fully express themselves without feeling as if they're wrong and makes them feel like they're in a safe place to do so.

I agree with the method that the author does in their professional role. I think getting compliments about teaching methods is good, however, taking it all in and only accepting it might shut out the opinions of other students. It is better to be humble and mindful than simply accepting what good is being said.

This truly shows how ingrained racism is in our education institutions and how much work needs to be done to reverse this way of teaching. I think it's a little sad that there are teachers out there who might lead students to learn more about racism and allowing them to embrace it when it should be the opposite

I disagree a bit with this statement. The imposter syndrome isn't something that only poor student experience, I believe other students (no matter the income) experience as well especially getting into a competitive school. There might be a comparison happening, making them think that because they got into a difficult school, they wouldn't be able to meet the standards that is expected from them at the school

I found this shocking to know that spending every dollar on early education can help save $8 on other public benefits. I'm not really understanding how that happens though, so if someone can elaborate on this, I'd appreciate it!

I could see how it may be confusing for future teachers of tomorrow because they might be seeing school as a place where you simply go to learn. However, there can be factors that make it hard for students to learn. For example, the student's parent are not able to help them out with homework because they never have had an education. I think there might be judgement being made externally rather than internally, but I can still somewhat see why teachers may think they can "lift themselves" out of poverty.

I found this statement to be very powerful. I believe that it is very true that schools might be a place where many Americans can fail, especially if you are put into an school that doesn't have many resources and funding. Public schools that don't have a strong foundation, will probably make it harder for students to succeed the American Dream.

I agree that education is expensive and not funded enough. It is concerning that Americans know how important education is, but it still isn't valued enough causing our education institutions to not be fully supported. It brings up my question: how can we get more funding in our education institutions?

I believe that the author mentions about these various issues to show that many Americans have different hurdles that they need to overcome to achieve the American dream. Achieving the American dream for some may seem straightforward, but others might need to put in more work to achieve it due to the cards they were given in their life. Yes, this all might look like separate problems, but at the end of the day, all of these problems make it harder to achieve the American dream and everyone deserves to have that chance.