Education System and The American Dream

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Education System and The American Dream
American dream means the door for achievement and success. It is a dream of a land
where the life is more productive, fuller and with opportunities for all. However, the American
dream is not so simple as it sounds. For most, it means going to a good college, graduating with a
preferred degree and a well-paying job. Still, it remains to be seen as to how many are able to
get access to the quality education and develop the right skills to be a productive members of the
society. The higher education is believed to be valuable for students and beneficial to society. It
is considered the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. However, in reality, the
education system is segregating the society and destroying the very foundation of the American
Dream. The American Dream no longer exists for many.
Alexie (1) in his article "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” expresses
the point of view of a young smart Indian and the challenges he faced to meet the societies
standards in education. He expresses his love of reading books by analyzing a Superman comic
book. He lived with his family in eastern Washington state and was middle-class. His family
survived on odd minimum-wage jobs, irregular paychecks and government surplus food.
Whenever the family had extra money, the father bought books and novels at supermarkets. The
house was filled with books on different and varied topics like the Vietnam War or the Kennedy
assassination. The young Indian boy is aware that he cannot be a prodigy even though he reads
"Grapes of Wrath" in kindergarten when the other children are struggling through "Dick and
Jane." It is because he is living on the reservation and is an Indian. In the classrooms, the Indian

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group of children was expected to be quiet and stupid. The non-Indian world was afraid of the
smarter Indians and expected them to fail. However, the Indian boy in the story refused to fail
and was determined to succeed. He read books all the times, became more well-read and
educated. He wanted to be a pediatrician but became a writer Alexie (2). He finds it strange as he
was never taught how to write stories and poems in school. Moreover, good writing was a skill
beyond Indians.
Chapter 4 in Robert D. Putnam’s “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis” draws
attention to the differences ins schooling for the upper and lower class children. The chapter
introduces the 140 Policy Perspectives and goes on to discuss Hispanic young women who live
in the Orange County, California. The experiences of Isabella, Clara, and Ricardo differ
significantly at their high schools (Putnam 139). While one high school is top-ranked
consistently and offers a plethora of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, the other high school is
located in an area ridden with crime and violence. The contrast between the two schools provides
an insight into the varying levels of quality of education and atmosphere for the young growing
students. It is because of the residential segregation by income that segregates the quality of
education and school and thus creates different educational experiences for the students. The
author points to the difference in teacher quality, funding levels, and class education. He asserts
how community fundraising, parent involvement, and extracurricular involvement can bridge the
gap in the differences. Thus, the schools are a reflection of the differences in society.
Education is often believed to be the cornerstone of the American Dream, and most
children are made to believe that a good education is the key to success. However, it is
increasingly apparent that all children do not get access to the same level of quality education.
Moreover, thus not all of them will have access to the American Dream (Parachutes and