Images

When I look at this picture I see a city with a bad part of town in it, a lower social class maybe or just a few angry people who are hurting from the economy who think its ok to tag the area. I also see nice cars so it has to have some money in the area. This is also representing the poorer class and how angry they are  that upper class  for receiving all the benefits of the government, in forms of bails out. 
When I seen this my stomach drops to think there are people who have to live this way. To be this desperate in life to not be able to have a house, or a job. What kind of American Dream is that. To be so bad off your lower than the poor class. There are so many guesses ow could make about they way these people live there life, if they choose to or if something happened in there life to but them in this situation. It says alto about our government how we just let this go on, how things can be this bad and we cant fix them. Is it the peoples fault of the communities fault for what happens to them? I notice that its mostly men in this picture so is that saying something, are mostly men homeless.
To me I see a business meeting with an pretty fair share of men mad women so that makes me feel good to see the different genders. That shows that its not still set in the ways of men having all the power and say in business. It also shows them all pretty equal . Not one is still at the head with more power of control. Now obviously someone is in charge but there not over using there power. It looks like an upper class group of highly educated people, all dressed very nice and they look like things are going okay. 


From looking at these different images I am able to see the difference in the classes and how social economic levels show in peoples lives more then they say they do. Its easy for people to ignore situations if they don't take the time to recognize them 

The Revising Process

When it comes to writing a paper I never no what to say, I always get carried away with words and the  meaning gets lost inside my hug paragraphs and long sentences. Thats why I look forward to peer editing. A chance for someone else to read my paper and find the meaning in it, and can let me now what i need to cute out. The only problem with that plan is it never works that way. I have never had a useful peer editing session. Every always reads the papers and says yea you could fix one or two things but its pretty good. When in reality its horrible and so much needs to be fixed. I don't know if this is because our classmates are scared of hurting our feelings or if they really don't no what to look for when fixing our papers. I will say i do like the more about because it allows us to see what are classmates what to know more about and what we are missing. By seeing what is missing allows me to focus more on what is needed other than some other idea I could be distracted by. Over all i feel like i get the best reflection for the teacher, I just don't feel like the peer reviews give me enough to fix, or change to make my paper an A paper.

Class Backgroound

Narrative

In the Land of the Free everyone has this different idea of what the American Dream means and how it should be achieved. Not only is the American Dream a big part of who you becoming, your class background also play a huge role in the values you form and the person you turn out to be. For many it may be a challenge to place your family in a certain class, but I would defiantly say mines in the middle of the middle class. We where by far not the wealthiest family in the neighborhood, but we never had to worry about having food on the table at night. I believe that where you go in life depends all on how you grew up and what you learned from your family. I don’t really know to much about my moms family besides that they were not very well educated, I think my aunt was there first one to go to college on that side of the family. Than there’s my dad’s family, they have been In America for 7 generations now and with each generation they move up the social ladder. I believe my dad’s side of the family the Starks, were for the most part always a member of the middle class. Which presented them with the opportunities to go to college and better there life with a good education. My Dad comes from a family of six children and he is the only one who didn’t go to college, and I know that he regrets that choice everyday of his life. In My family education is very important to us, its how you make a life for yourself where you can be comfortable for the most part. Growing up in the middle class has showed me many of things I have experienced both the lower class and the upper class and seen how different there lives are just because of the class they live in. Being from a middle class background I feel I learned they most valuable skills. I was taught from the day I was born, that to get anywhere in  life you have to work hard and hustle. I was lucky enough to be given the necessary tools in life to succeed I just had to be smart enough to use them and I did. My parents valued the idea of eduction and doing well in school, along with always trying my best even if it wasn’t good enough, they also instilled honesty and trust in me. I would have to say I was given a great opportunity growing up that when it was happening I didn’t see it that way, but not that I am reflecting back on it, I see it has really shaped who I am as a person. I was able to grow up in a middle class family, living in a lower class neighborhood, that showed me how the others sides lives and how lucky I am to be born a member of the middle class. By growing up with kids from the lower class it opened my eyes to how they live and what they go through, the struggles they face, and how they behave. It taught me how to act around them and handle my self in situations out side of my comfort zone. My life would defiantly be different if I grew up in a different class. 

First Part, still needs a lot of work.

The American Dream as a Guild Line

Each day that we ignore the economic struggles people are facing, we widening the gap between the classes and are putting more obstacles in the way of the ladder to success. Is this behavior leading to the end of the American Dream as people imagine it, or is our country able to reform the dream and continuing to progress in a forward motion. I am going to be arguing that even though are social classes are growing farther part and people are struggling to move from one class to the next, their dream for mobility is still alive and strong, just different then the original Dream. My goal for this paper is to show people what the American Dream should be thought more as a guild line than the actual dream and how each class faces there own set of obstacles that prevents them from climbing up the ladder to obtain the American Dream. Using the book Class Matter by Bill Killer and a few scholarly journals I will evaluate the traditional American Dream and what it has offered people, the different social classes along with there obstacles and how they can use this idea of the American Dream as a guild line to reach social mobility. 

Every individual has a different idea of what the American Dream means to them, how it will effect their life, and if it will pay a significant roll in who they become. When you hear people talk about the American Dream what comes to mind, do you think about money, freedom or being able to reach your highest goals. One individuals idea of the American Dream was mentioned over fifty years ago by a man named James Truslow Adams, who had a more general idea in mind. He wrote, “Its that dream of a land which life should be better and richer, fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstance of birth” (Brandon King). What I believe Mr. Adams goal was in created this American Dream was to give people hope who came to this country to escape their situation in their home land that good could come to them. That they didn’t have to be born here to be successful and everyone has the equal opportunity in America to be whoever they want to be and are not defined by the family they are born into, or raised by. Now in today social hard times he reformed it, “To be successful means to have a steady job, financial security, a place to live and people in your life who love you, if you have claimed all that then you reached the American Dream”( Brandon King). By redefining this idea he has set guild lines for every individual to strive to live up to yet still achievable by most people so they don’t lose faith in the Dream and continue to climb up the ladder. 

Skeptics View: 

What makes the American Dream such a big deal and powerful is that no matter how much are country is in denial we have to face the fact that we are divided by classes; we have the lower class, the middle class and the upper class and what this means is based on the amount of money you make and the education you have you live a different life style than others. The point of the American Dream is to make it possible for people to climb up the ladder of success and move out of their class with hard work and perseverance, but whats happening in today society is the obstacles are to overwhelming for people to succeed so they are just giving up on the dream. Rather instead of giving up on the Dream lets find out whats standing in there way and try and help them over come it. 

Missing parts. 

Obstacles. 

Counter arguments 

My solution to the problem

Showing how to use the American Dream as an outline

New Articles

3 News Articles that have to do with what we have been talking about in class and how they relate to the overall conversation.
1. One of the main things we have been talking about is health care and how it effects the social classes and what things we can do to change it or help it progress. Well i found from New York Times that as of february Obama made it where colleges have to offer birth control to women free of charge. Now the big problem here is that its against some schools religions like catholic schools don't want to have to partake in it. The article also talks about the health care reform that was passed in 2010 that allowed lower and middle class families to be able to receive help with there insurance.  This information could be helpful in showing how health care is not equal for all but that its not always a good thing to that people try to make everything equal.
      http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html

2. This article is about the taxes and people wanting to taxes people who make over a million dollars to help decrease the taxes the middle class is pay to close the deficit. For millionaires to pay the 10-month extension of the payroll tax credit. The republicans are not for this though while the demarcates are using it because they believe that the rich should pay for everything.  This also relates to the gap in the classes and how each class view each other, the lower class wants the rich to pay for everything and the rich doesn't want to, so the middle class gets stuck paying the heavy taxes which is one of the down falls of being in the middle class and is defiantly one of there obstacles they face in reaching the American Dream.
      http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/democrats-continue-pursuit-of-millionaire-surtax/

3. This next article is about how the college tuition have been increasing hugely in the last few years. The problem with this happening is education is an important part of the American Dream and with out people being able to afford college there chances to be successful will go down and they will have a harder time reaching the american dream. The tuitions are obstacles in the way of the middle classes who make to much to get financial aid but not enough to afford the increased cost.  I will be using tuition as one of the obstacles that stand in the way of people reaching there american dream.
       http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/26/pf/college/college_tuition_cost/index.htm

Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography 

Keller, Bill. Class Matters. New York (N.Y.): Times, 2005. Print.

Class Matters is a great tool to use in my paper about the social classes and being able to reach the American Dream. Ever chapter has been useful in helping me understand the growing gap between rich the middle and the poor classes and how they effect peoples lives. The first chapter just talks about the different classes in general and about the system. The second chapter helps us see how belonging to the different classes affects the medical treatment you receive and the way you are treated as a person. The higher up you are the better care you get and the healthy you are, while the low class is struggling to even get a little medical help. Now the third chapter is about how a rich girl marries a middle class man, and how the different classes are able to live together in a working house hold while working through these difference. The fourth chapter I found interesting to see how a girl who was raised very poor got the chance to move up to the middle class and was given a good education and able to succeed with a great job and support her self, she still didn’t feel like she belong in the middle class. This book will be a great help in showing examples how how classes and growing apart. 

King, Brandon. "The American Dream, Dead, Alive or on Hold?" "They Say/I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing : With Readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009. 572-79. Print.

This is from the article you handed out in class, I found this piece of writing very helpful in forming some of my ideas and using the evidence to support what I am trying to get across. The article did a great job of laying out what the traditional American Dream used to be and how he thinks it has revolved to fit today society in a more realistic form, in stead of just assuming it has disappeared all together. He also talk about how he thinks the economy should be saved by not increasing taxes but by allowing the rich to keep there money so there more whiling to spend it and help increase spending in the economy and it will give them more of a reason to higher more workers. Now I am not sure it I totally agree that not raising the rich taxes is he most effective way but he makes it sound like a good plan. I just need to do some more research on the topic.

Peck, Don. "Can The Middle Class Be Saved? (Cover Story)." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 308.2 (2011): 60-78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

This article is a scholarly journal so its a bit more sophisticated than the other two source I have been talking about but I feel it could be very helpful with making my point through the next paper. It talks about the recession that has hit back in 2007-2009 and how hard it hit the middle class and how it compares to other times when the economy was like this. It also talks about how having a high school diploma is not enough any more that to be successful a college degree is going to make you more successful in the long run. It also talks alto about wages increasing the how the classes were effected by the big recession. 

"Saving The American Idea." Vital Speeches Of The Day 77.12 (2011): 431-435. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

This source is also a scholarly journal that has to do with the American Dream and if its still available based on the economic stance America is in today. The founding fathers had this idea of an Dream that Americans should strive for that would make them feel like there able to live there own life. We are in tough times and sometimes we take equality and liberty for grantee. 

Writing about our Papers

Writing about our Papers 

Part 1 

What problem issue, conversation, is being responded to .What position are you talking, what will you be arguing suggesting. Is The American Dream still alive in our country, is it possible to reach this dream as a county or as an individual? What is the American Dream right now in our system? We have been talking about the different levels of classes in are system the poor the middle class and the upper class, does belonging to one of these levels effect you reaching the American dream, is it possible to move from one class to the next. These are the ideas I will be talking about and discussing the challenges that prevents people from moving out of classes and reaching the American Dream. I might even suggest some ways to make it possible for people to reach there dream, and embrace their obstacles. 

Part 2 

What are other saying about this? What have we been seeing in our research reading, What are your intention as a writer, what do you want to accomplish with this paper, What are the task you will need to do? For the most part we have been talking about how unfair the system we in America have and that to be successful you have to have lots of money and power, now I don’t agree that in the big picture we have to have lots of money to reach our Dream. In the readings there is a clear line that the classes effect people and that classes do exists in our system and they play a bigger role in choosing our path than we think. My goal of this paper is to show people what the American Dream should be thought more as a guild line than the actual dream and how each class faces these own set of obstacles that keeps them from climbing up the ladder to obtain there Dream. I want to inform people of this idea of how to set goals for themselves that are more realistic than the American dream but till allow them to reach for the stars. First I will need to look up people different views of what the American Dream is, and what it means to them. See if there whiling to reshape it into a more obtainable goal. Then I will need to look up the different classes and see what the main obstacles that prevent each class from moving up to the next. These will all be the main concepts behind my paper. 

Part 3 

What is at stake with the problem or issue, what will happen if we don’t change something or pay attention to the issue or problem? What do people saying is going to happen? People happiness along with their well being is at stake if nothing changes in the next few years. Our Country is going deeper and deeper into debt because people are either trying to live a richer life than they can afford of people are being greedy with their money and not helping out the people at the bottom that are working hard yet still not able to pull there own weight. By being able to understand all the classes and what there dreams are we will than be able to see why they do what they do in terms of spending. One person said that its becoming the rich and the rest and that everyone is blurring together in a poor economy except the top 1%. People are concerned with how the country is dealing with the suffering people and helping them out. 

Chapter 4/ Sources

Chapter 4
Up from the Holler
    This chapter was about one girl who was able to move up social ladder from a poor unhappy life to a middle class life style. Now this was not easy, and it didn't turn out quit how she wanted but it shows that with hard work it is possible. The main points are how a girl grows up with a really poor sick mom and dad who wasn't around and in her teens she was put in to foster care, which is the worst thing that could happen in these town. She was luck to have a middle class cousin who took her in and helped her out. He being middle class was able to offer her a better education and a new life style, she went to a college for liberal arts met her husband and got married. She became a lawyer after graduating top of her class and internship, they were able to live a nice life in a good part of town and a nice house. She was part of the middle class and she worked long hard hours to get there. But even with all of this she still didn't feel like she belong she didn't know the same things the middle class new, she wasn't raised the same way, she went to a poor college and felt so unsure of her self. She than later ended up moving back to her home town taking over her cousin law firm and adopting her niece and nephew out of foster care, and promised to raise them so they fit in to the middle class life style. What I found most interesting about this chapter was how at the end she talked about what makes the difference in middle class kids and poor kids and its how involved the parents are in the life, that is so true its not money its the involvement.
You asked about a situation where I ever felt awkward or different based on social class and I could say yes but noting that is over traumatizing. I hate going into small town shops, you know the ones that are really expensive and the girls just stare at you, and once you look at the prices you know you cant afford to even be in the same room with them. Those moments when you feel like your less than them cause you cant waist money on 100 dollars shirts. Also when you go into parts of town that is poorer than you and you see situations that make you feel uncomfortable or even scared because these people are talking about things you never think of doing. Social class are different all over and when you intertwine them you are going to feel awkward unless you really know how to act or pull off the situation.

  Sources.

These are just some of the sources I will be using on my bigger project paper, I went on the the school library cite and looked up journal articles that way. By putting in ideas i wanted to write about, and than skimming the sections and finding out they will be helpful in building  a wrong paper. I also will be using class matters chapter 2 and 4 are both going to very helpful in me proving my point. I am still looking for more source but all the one I find will most likely be from the library's page because I know I can trust those articles to be scholarly and reliable sources. They even have graphs and statistics so I can find my logos information to help support my idea. My main focus is going to be on the fact that the American Dream is not ment  to be look at as a whole but for each individual in general and that social classes make it impossible for America to view it as a whole.
"Saving The American Idea." Vital Speeches Of The Day 77.12 (2011): 431-435. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Peck, Don. "Can The Middle Class Be Saved? (Cover Story)." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 308.2 (2011): 60-78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
http://www.sesdweb.net/3757201013142825680/lib/3757201013142825680/John_Woodens_pyramid_of_success.pdf

Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Sources
After reading through chapter 6 in one of are helpful books it just refreshed my memory on what different kinda sources are out there and the test you got to put each one through. Just because something is published doesn't mean that is a good piece of information to use in an important piece of work. The 3 most reliable sources are scholarly journals  either prints or databases on line, creditable internet cites and news papers. I believe after reading that these are the best sources because they allow the most credible people to access them, also they are up to date for the most part depending on what the purpose of the piece is and they can be a mixture of primary and secondary sources. Depending on the information you are hoping to agin for the source will depend on which one you use, how you use it and how it will benefit you. When using a scholarly journal you are getting top of the line information on a specific topic for a professional in that area so they information can be primary or secondary and is the most accurate you can get depending on who wrote, and at what university it was written. It can also be good to use the internet to get more down to hearth information or more people friendly info that people can understand better and are more aware of, as long as internet cite has a credible author and sounds good it will be a great source. It can be helpful with getting numbers and dates that can be hard to find in journals. Now news papers can be beneficial in finding the most up today information and statistics along with graphs and charts you just have to be careful which news paper you use and maybe double check some on the information. All three of these sources can be great tools for finding information as long as you look for a credible author and good references. When it comes to finding good sources it just takes some time and skimming to make sure its helpful.
    For my project I will be writing about how in America we have this ladder to success which is a metaphor for people moving up the different economic class and reaching the top along with the American Dream. Now I am going to be talking about the obstacles that America as a country has put in the way of the ladder and how maybe there is a better solution than the ladder. So sources I might use maybe a scholarly journal on how the government divides the classes, or the economic levels of the country. I could also use a internet cite to find the statistics for how many people are in each class and how many actually move from the bottom all the way to the top, and how many stay at the same level. These would both be very helpful in proving my points and find be good credible information, to convince my readers in an logical way and an emotional way.

Prompt 1 Question

Victoria Stark 

English 5B 

Mrs. Hensley 

February 3, 2012

The Ladder to Success

Before we can talk about the ladder to success we must first clarify what it means in terms of the American people to be successful and why there is this idea of a ladder involved in the process. There is no set meaning for what it means to be successful, most people have come to the conclusion that it has to do with how much money you have, the power you hold, and if you have loved ones to share it with. This idea could be different for every person, but lets go with that for the over all American population this is what it means to be successful here in America. Now what is this ladder that was mentioned; it’s what it takes to get to the top and reach the ultimate American Dream, to have it all. To be able to claim all the money, the power, and hopefully all the loved ones you want, the problem is this ladder is not easy to clime. Its has many steps and each step presents its own difficulties, some may never be able to reach the top and claim the ultimate American Dream, while others will just excel right up the ladder. Why is that you ask; there are many reason but most believe its due to the class you fall into and not being able to progress out of that class liked plan due to the difficulties it presents. The big question here is, is this ladder to success even possible to clime to reach the ultimate American Dream or has the country put to many obstacles in the peoples way?

Most people come to America as poor families looking for a place to start over where opportunities may present themselves and bels them with a better life. They come here dreaming of a happier life for their families where they wont be persecuted and forced to live an unfair life ultimately reaching that American Dream they have been hearing about. The only problems with this situation is they are starting at the bottom of the ladder and it’s a long and challenging clime up. Most wont make it due to the education needed, the money needed to get them there and the unfair disadvantages they face like the area they live in, the healthcare the receive and the many obstacles standing in there way. Now there are a few exceptions some people may be blest with receiving a great education and is able to work hard and make it to the top, others might marry into money, and there is those lucky few who win it. While the rest of us maybe able to move a few notches up the social classes but will never reach the top of the ladder. 

Moving up the ladder is all about who you know and what you have to offer other people. People can work there lives away doing important needed jobs and still live their whole life in poverty never being able to reach the ultimate American Dream, that doesn’t mean they haven’t reached their own personal dreams. Our Country as a whole might have to high of standards of this ultimate American Dream and that maybe why its so hard to reach. Not everyone can be at the top because then who would be working the bottom do all the things that people at the top think there to good for. Here’s an idea what if we broke the ladder to success it to different parts and when you reach the top of your part than you can call your self an successful American. 

This idea that you have to be rich with power to be happy and have the ultimate American Dream is just crazy there is know way that every American can clime up the ladder of success and reach the very top, our country is not built for that but we can  break the ladder into parts and each class can have its own top and if you reach that then you can call yourself successful and if you want to go even higher there nothing stoping you just more obstacles to go through.