I agree that this is highly problematic and I have long been against standardized testing. I think this connects with the problematic color blind view point because it tries to view students as being the same in pursuit of equality while they are not from different backgrounds. Furthermore students have certain disadvantages and advantages between each other and a standardized test will not truly capture the intelligence of a student.

I think this is another unfortunate consequence as some immigrants stray away from their ethnic culture to try to pursue success in our country. However even by doing this, they are never fully accepted since they are not fully white. On the other hand, this creates alienation between their communities as they are seen as leaving their culture behind.

I think this is an unfortunate reality across many ethnic groups in America. I myself relate to this as many feel the need to assimilate and embrace more American values while simultaneously giving up another part of our identity. While there was not a major event that caused this, I feel like this has been a subtle feeling that lingered with me throughout my education.

I agree with the author and think this is a very important point to bring up. Within our own country, diversity is only going to increase in the future and people need to be aware of each other multiculturally at a higher level. Additionally, this is also an important point as future leaders will also need to understand complex interactions as different non white countries become more powerful in the world.

I agree that this is highly important. When only the first steps are taken in curriculum such as by celebrating holidays or adding a small unit to existing curriculum students do not think critically about the cultures. However I think that by adding curriculum that reflects the true realities of our country both negative and positive, it forces the students to rethink their perspectives and make a choice for themself.

I think this is a very important part brought up frequently by the author. While learning about different ethnic cultures is a step in the right direction, it is also equally important to learn about the history of ethnic groups in the context of our own society. This can be easily overlooked, but in reality it is the most applicable to teaching students in respect to the society they live in.

I find this interesting and important as sometimes inclusion can be unevenly concentrated into one person of a certain identity to the point where they are uncomfortable with so much pressure. As a result, there can be a regression in wanting to pursue multicultural curriculum.

I think this can be an effective strategy to encourage participation and engagement which could ultimately lead to increased engagement with multicultural curriculum. From my experience, it can be very uncomfortable to share a personal cultural experience by myself to a large classroom audience. However, small one on one conversations between students and each other are much easier to get involved with and can allow for better connection and relationship building through multicultural discussions

As a student who has gotten an education in both white and non white cultures and civilizations I feel that this has benefitted me positively in creating a positive and encouraging space. For instance, being able to learn more Asian history in high school helped me feel more included. However, I don't think there is always a need to decrease education on Western culture as this is also important to learn especially being in the United States.

I highly agree with this as in high school, I always felt anxious and disappointed in myself when compared to other students who were in higher levels of subjects such as math that I could never possibly hope to catch up to. Furthermore, this is only getting more extreme as students in increasingly lower grades have access to higher levels of classes especially through middle schools.

I found this especially to be true growing up in elementary school, where there were much more kids from underprivileged backgrounds in the non magnet/gifted programs. However, I did not question or understand why this was at such a young age.

While I agree that the consequences of this are unfair in society, I would say that it is not morally wrong to go to extreme measures to give your children the highest possible advantage in society.

I find this interesting and connected it back to studies I learned about in high school where "standardized" tests are supposed to be fair because they are "standardized". However, rich families are able to pay thousands to resources such as SAT tutors to get higher test scores. Additionally, the SAT has had a long history of posing questions biased toward higher income individuals

I believe that many of these issues have complex arguments on both sides especially with these recent events regarding affirmative action and legacy admissions in the last couple years especially being a current college student. On one side, there is a greater need for equal representation in college admitted students. However, students who fit into demographics such as upper class caucasian/white people may also argue that they are unnecessarily being disfavored due to these policies.

I think this is a very important statistic to point out. I often see people online pointing out comparisons to shutdown arguments about inequalities in areas such as race, gender, class, etc. However, it is important to look deeper into whether things are correlated in this instance. As white people may make up a larger portion of the population, some people may try to argue that more white people are poor than people of color so people of color's struggles are not valid. However, it is also important to point out poverty rate perctanges relative to population sizes.

I believe this brings to light a complex debate about whether private schools really should exist. On one hand, it might be irrational to try to ban private schools as this would go against the "freedom" of the country. However, private schools inevitably create unfair advantages when compared to public schools.

I believe that this is a very powerful statement as despite how public schools have existed for a decently long time, social class disparities are still increasing. However, I do feel that despite growing class divides, quality of life in public school has improved somewhat. For example from my own experience I do feel that factors such free meals for all students in school and mental health awareness curriculum are positively contributing to helping public schools act as an equalizer

I think this brings up an interesting side that I had previously not considered. I had only considered the physical resources of the school as well as the individual students themselves to be important tools in setting students towards success in schools. However, this adds that the actual attitudes of teachers teaching as well as the peers that students surround themselves may also play an important role in influencing success through encouraging the individual students to take school more seriously

This brings up another complex issue which is often overlooked. From the outside, property taxes determining school funding may seem like an even playing field as school funding his adjusted for different areas. However, upon taking a deeper look this causes high disparities between high income and low income areas. This can also be compared with the different between equity and equality as equality may provide even opportunities in a sense, but only equity can get two sides to the same level of success. Furthermore, from an individual perspective, it is fair for people to think that they would want their own taxes to go to schools for their own kids to have the highest advantage rather than having their money be funded to a school that does not directly benefit their own children.

I highly agree and find this to be true especially being a freshman and examining results of college acceptances of my classmates. There are especially large disparities as regardless of the accessibility of public school, it is unavoidable that some students will have more resources available to them allowing them to have an easier time getting through school compared to other students who have lower socioeconomic status and as a result have less resources available to them. Additionally, I also find it to be especially true how schools in higher income areas have more resources. For instance, I noticed how a high school in a higher income neighborhood had much more clubs and diverse career pathways for students that I would have appreciated, compared to my own school in a lower income area which had few clubs and pathway options I could choose from.

Reflecting on studying this previously in high school, I find this statement to be especially true. Public school sets itself apart as it is accessible to everyone therefore, people often correlate it with being a "great equalizer" as I have heard the term before. If parents are unsure of how to set up their kids for success in American society, public school is the first option for many. Thinking about the road to success, public school sets a starting foundation and is especially influential for kids growing up. However, as the previous paragraph discussed, the outcome of "failure" in a seemingly even playing field of society with having publics school can also create complexities and can create pressure and blame on students as individuals.

I think the American Dream as a concept is intricate and complex in how it cannot be solely defined as good or bad. On one hand, the American Dream can be a powerful and inspirational tool, as it inspires Americans to strive for their best and pursue success, symbolizing its use as a positive tool in society. Furthermore, the notions of the American dream as described in this section, are intertwined with virtues of American freedom, sending a message that Americans all have the freedom within them to rise to success. However, the American Dream can also be a negative as people may blame themselves for failure on themselves when there are other factors at place such as biases in society towards race, class and gender.