1. Gain an understanding for the term meritocracy. The ideology that anyone who works hard enough can acheive the American Dream has been touted by many organizations throughout American history. Evaluate whether or not you believe that this ideology is true, based on the testing results of the third graders in A Class Divided, where the students perform better on the phonics task when they are in the group labeled superior than when those same students are in the group designated as inferior.
American Dream is something that is defined by the individual. However the basic idea is that people can achieve life, liberty, happiness and wealth through working, believing and overcoming challenges. Yet not all people can be included in this category. For some Americans it is impossible to achieve the American dream simply by working hard. For those who are black or Hispanic they face the idea that they are inferior and that they are stuck in poverty. For gays they believe they must be sheltered or they cannot get jobs or advance in the workplace. Women as well face similar struggles. De Facto Discrimination plays a huge role in this. A Class Divided highlights this. It proves that young people’s discrimination stems from what they learn from adults. Now in American society we tend to look at the groups like this.
Black People – Angry, uneducated, poor and rebellious.
Hispanic – Illegal, cheap labor, don’t speak English.
Woman – Emotional, weak, good for sandwich making.
Gays – Odd, drag and heretics.
These concepts that we’re taught by society have raised us to be that way. Regarding grades and the inferiority complex that is not a surprise to me at all. Black students and Hispanic do poorly because they are made to think that is all they can do. In reality there is no, no scientific reason why Hispanic and Black people shouldn’t doing just as well in school as your standard white student.
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