Journal Assignment- Thinking about opportunity

1. Write summaries for each of the articles in the module for this week. You can be brief here, but write in full sentences and make sure you are demonstrating that you understood the topic and articles major claims/conclusions.

2. What is, according to these articles, going on with the American Dream? Is it achievable for all? What hindrances might one experience in their pursuit of the American Dream?

3. The articles presented this week are delving into some of the (many) issues of inequity and inequality across the American landscape that might lead to a lack of access to social mobility and opportunity. Do you agree or disagree with their claims? What do you think about the evidence they present to you? Can anyone rise up in America, if only they work hard? When Martin Luther King Jr. stated that "It's all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps" what did he mean? Do you agree? Explain, and use the articles as support.

I want at least 350 words for the answers to 2 & 3. Remember that you need to respond thoughtfully and constructively to at least two classmates (no "I like" responses; make critical conversations take place). If you want full credit, give full answers AND full responses.