Research Paper on Roles of Educators in Making the American Dream Attainable

Introduction

The American Dream refers to the belief that anybody, notwithstanding where they are born or their social class, can obtain their success versions in a community where upward mobility is achievable for any person. The American Dream is obtained through risk-taking, sacrifice, and hardwork. Accomplishing the American Dream needs economic and political freedom, alongside the private property rights and rules of law. Without these, people are incapable of making decisions that allow them to have success. The American Dream promises equality and freedom, where one makes both small and big decisions affecting their lives. The American Dream also promises the freedom of aspiring for bigger and better things and accomplishing them in the long-run. Education is also an important means by which people can attain the American Dream (Blanchard, and Chandra 262). This means that educators play crucial roles in influencing the course of the American Dream. Since the United States was established, the citizens have lived searching for success and opportunity in the form of the American Dream. The former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that the importance of America that unites everyone is not religion or ethnicity, but the idea that one can come from humble backgrounds and achieve great things. Education provides the path of coming from nothing and achieving great things to realize the American Dream.

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Supporting Learners to become Effective Researchers and Innovators in Education

For most parts of the 20th century, the cornerstone of the American Dream has been the idea that through hardwork, all adults can lift themselves and their families from poverty. However, in the last decades, it is even more apparent that accomplishing the American Dream takes both good education and hardwork. The levels of education in households have increasingly been linked with income levels. In the last four decades, the income gaps between the well and less-educated have steadily grown. Studies published in the 1970s revealed that 26% of the middle-class employees were educated beyond high school (Erisman, and Shannon 10). Higher education gives students the opportunity of making better steps in life.

Even though the system of education in the United States has improved incredibly, there are still milestones to achieve before the American Dream is realized by anyone. In America, there are high achievement gaps between minority and white students, an aspect that has reduced since the last five decades. These students, who come from underserved societies, also deserve equal opportunities to ensure they succeed in the United States (Erisman, and Shannon 15). The education system in the United States is also flawed because of the lack of respect accorded to the teaching profession. There is not enough incentive for young people to venture into teaching and become educators. Compared to the teachers in other leading education countries globally, the American teachers work for long hours and with less pay. They are also held in low esteem.

This underlines the need for establishing more students in teaching if the education system must realize success. These issues must be addressed. Increased investments in education are not the only solution to the American Dream but would also need to channel the funds to the appropriate system. The solutions to issues affecting education come from societal ills that must be addressed first. To reduce the achievement gap, diversity must be viewed as an asset instead of a disadvantage. Introducing an individualized approach to learning and establishing their expectations for every teacher and student help to ensure that all students have the same opportunity for success (Erisman, and Shannon 15). Raising the standards for students can be accomplished by motivating them with more difficult coursework, promoting a cooperative learning environment, and allowing different skill sets to develop. Raising the bar for teaches is difficult but very beneficial at the same time.

Role in the Provision of Social Mobility

The greatest equalizer in the United States is education because it ensures social mobility and opportunity. The American Dream is what America stands for, and it inspired many people to pursue a life in the country. If the American Dream is to be achieved for the present and future generations of at-risk and vulnerable college students, it takes moral dedication and investments from learning institutions (Kasser and Ryan 280). The goal of achieving the American Dream does not only involve the country's higher education system. It includes the combined effort from the K-12 system of education and the support of the state, federal, and local governments in preparing and helping the youth on the path to attain a college degree. The unique strength of the United States rests in its diversity because the right for prosperity and equal opportunity for everyone is part of the country's fabric.

Social mobility means changes in positions in the social hierarchy, where one moves from a class to the other. American societies are different in social mobility, which hinders the American Dream for most people. Education is the main channel for achieving mobility for most Americans. Higher education provides one with upward mobility. At the same time, education is highly linked with occupation and income. The higher the level of education, the more prestigious occupation one has, which translates to higher yearly income. In turn, this is connected to prestige, power, social status, and property. Therefore, education is the method through which upward social mobility is achieved. Accessing education is the key determinant of the mobility that one aspires in the community (Neuman 83). However, education only ensures social mobility provided everyone has equal access. The disparities in income have affected most Americans from low-income households to have access to education, which affects their ability to achieve the American Dream.

Unfortunately, the odds of a child receiving a good education are up to the parents' income or skin colour. While the rates of graduation in America are very high at 82%, 40% of the students are deemed ready for colleges. Presently, there is over fifty million students' part of the public schools' system in America. For the first time, the students from minority communities make up the highest number of students in K-12 classrooms, while half are from low-income households (Noguera 25). These young individuals already have a step forward to climb out of inequity and poverty. Education promises the chance to pursue the American Dream.

Almost everyone will agree that the best means of achieving the American dream is through education. This is true for those who were born in the country. At the same time, poor immigrants have accomplished the American dream without having good schooling. Secondary and elementary education in America is not what it was intended to be. There are failing institutions in the United States that have prevented many American children from obtaining the education that they deserve and need to accomplish the American Dream. Regardless of universal attendance of schools, there are millions of youths spending years in public schools. However, they are not taught in reading or writing and are later relegated to poverty. Their main methods of achieving the American Dream are through entertainment or sports. In America, there is an increasing white underclass, which is the outcome of the poor education system through the dysfunctional K-12 public learning institutions. The education system in the United States has sabotaged the effort of many young Americans who want to achieve better education than their parents did (Ryan et al. 1510). The situation will only become worse with the new curriculum making its way into the country. The new curriculum that is founded on Common Core State Standards only promises student failure and would likely create academic chaos.

Preparation of Graduates for Employment

Liberal education does more than preparing one for a job or career. Education opens the door to different success measures. The education system equips every American citizen to think seriously about the meaning of success to them and make informed decisions among various success meanings (Ryan et al. 1516). Education should and must be an opportunity of exploring new means of seeing and thinking, taking part in critical thinking, and accomplishing sets of commitments, purposes, and passions that are unique to one's own.

Encouraging Learners to Specialise in Desired Career

Education provides students the chance of researching and studying their preferred subjects in details. In college, most of the students are required to take different courses that are considered general education. Students are exposed to intellectual activities and important ideas of life. These courses offer diverse viewpoints on how people should feel and thinking, solve issues, express ideas, and discovery and create new knowledge (Shlay 512). They also assist students in achieving skills necessary for delivering persuasive and reasoned arguments both in writing and orally. It also helps in the identification, acquisition, and usage of knowledge in solving problems. Whether one wants to pursue a career in humanities, engineering, or medicine, one must take these courses to have a degree. These courses deliver primary life coaching skills for students to succeed and realize the American dream. Education gives students an understanding of cultural movements, informed decision making, and understanding ideas that ensure they achieve a successful life.

Conclusion

As shown, the path to realizing the American Dream is through education. The American Dream is obtained through risk-taking, sacrifice, and hardwork. The American Dream also promises the freedom of aspiring for bigger and better things and accomplishing them in the long-run. Education is also an important means by which people can attain the American Dream. Undeniably, the education system in the United States has sabotaged the effort of many young Americans who want to achieve a better education than their parents did. However, this does not mean that education cannot be used in achieving the American Dream. The greatest equalizer in the United States is education because it ensures social mobility and opportunity. The education system equips every American citizen to think seriously about the meaning of success to them and make informed decisions among various success meanings. College gives students the chance of researching and studying their preferred subjects in details. These courses deliver primary life coaching skills for students to succeed and realize the American dream. These aspects are critical in realizing the American Dream.

Works Cited

Blanchard, Sarah, and Chandra Muller. "Gatekeepers of the American Dream: How teachers' perceptions shape the academic outcomes of immigrant and language-minority students." Social science research 51 (2015): 262-275. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4359718/

Erisman, Wendy, and Shannon Looney. "Opening the door to the American dream: Increasing higher education access and success for immigrants." (2007). Retrieved from https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/83113/HigherEducationImmigrants.pdf?sequence=1

Kasser, Tim, and Richard M. Ryan. "Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals." Personality and social psychology bulletin 22.3 (1996): 280-287. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/9212803/1996_kasserryan_pspb...