THE AMERICAN DREAM

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What is THE AMERICAN DREAM?
Powerpoint adapted by Suzanne Conti
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Is FREEDOM?
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EQUALITY?
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INDIVIDUALISM?
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MOBILITY?
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AMERICAN DREAM

• Land of Opportunity
• Rags to RichesAnyone can become rich, famous,
  and powerful.
• Jobs and education are available to all who want
  them.
• Meritocracy (rewards) skill effort.
• Through hard work, courage and determination, one
  can achieve prosperity. Americans can live
  better than their parents did.

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Emma Lazarus is best known for "The New
Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883 its lines
appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the
Statue of Liberty1 in 1912.

• "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled
  masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched
  refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the
• homeless, tempest-tossed
• to me, I lift my lamp beside
• the golden door!"

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Coming to America

• America is called the Melting Pot because of
  the immigration here from all over the world.
  Even though immigrants spoke different languages,
  had different cultures, and held different
  beliefs, the one thing they all had in common was
  to pursue the American Dreamlife, liberty, and
  the pursuit of happiness.

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• The American Dream is the dream of a land where
  all people can succeed through hard work. It is
  also an idea that suggests that all people have
  the potential to live happy, successful lives.

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• Lets view a few videos about the American
  Dream.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vv83imxeoCI4
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vYHB1KvEOOzg
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vaBFfrGNrrQc

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• Originally, the focus was on hard work and
  religious freedom. Today, however, the focus
  seems to be on material prosperity and fame.
• The American Dream is deeply rooted in American
  society.
• Several critics have pointed out that this dream
  is not attainable to all because of the
  inequality rooted in class, race and ethnic
  origin.

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• The phrase The American Dream came into the
  American vocabulary starting in 1867 when writer,
  Horatio Alger came out with his book Ragged
  Dick. It was a rags-to-riches tale of a poor
  orphan boy in New York City who saved his
  pennies, worked hard and eventually became rich.
  
• It became the model that through honesty, hard
  work and strong determination, the American Dream
  was available to anyone willing to make the
  journey.

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Dream Makers

• If one advances confidently in the direction of
  his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which
  he has imagined, he will meet with a success
  unexpected in common hour.
• - Henry David Thoreau

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Arnold was born to a police officer and housewife
in Austria, and later emigrated to the U.S.
speaking no English He went to community college
and started acting. Now he is a
multi-millionaire, married into one of the most
elite families in Americathe Kennedys, and is
governor of CA. He has said In this country, it
doesn't make any difference where you were born.
It doesn't make any difference who your parents
were. It doesn't make any difference if, like me,
you couldn't even speak English until you were in
your twenties.
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Ralph Laurenmaker of Polo son of Russian
immigrants who became a fashion mogul
billionaire, started working in his teens to buy
fashionable clothing.
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Oprah, raised by her grandmother in rural poor
Mississippi, is a billionaire with a book club,
television show, several charities, and many
other endeavors.
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Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the U.S.,
was famous for his Witicisms and for discovering
electricity using a kite. He was born the son of
a candle maker (one of 17 children) and came to
stand before kings and Presidents. He is also on
our 100 bill.
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Finally, Tei Fu Chen is a Taiwanese immigrant who
went from living in his car to building a
billion-dollar herbal foods empire.
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The Declaration of Independence was written in
1776 by Thomas Jefferson. The general sentiment
is that people are better off than their parents
and that it is possible to start out poor and
work hard to become rich.
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness
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It all begins with a Dream . . .

• You see things and say, Why? But I dream things
  that never were and I say, Why not?
• George Bernard Shaw

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Chinese Stowaways die while trying to enter the
U.S.
WHY TAKE THE RISK?
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American Dream?...
Or, a Tale of Two Cities?
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Before we assemble into groups to determine
the American Dream lets watch a few videos
that show China trying to live the American
Dream. http//wallstreetpit.com/50624-abc-nightl
y-news-from-china-part-1-videos
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Lets read an article about Do We Need 75,000 a
Year to Be Happy? By Belinda Luscombe Monday,
Sep. 06, 2010 http//www.time.com/time/business/
article/0,8599,2016291,00.htmlixzz1ALeq0BJm
Lets read an article about
Lets read an article about
Define benchmark, Nobel Prize, adversities, temperament, plausible, expendable, citizenries What is the difference between the two types of happiness described in the article? Why do you think we are capable of these two different feelings? 3. Having money clearly takes the sting out of adversities. What adversities have you been through? Would more money have helped make your life better during those adversities? 4. What are some possessions that are important to people? Try to think of how much things cost. Do you think that at 75,000 people can have everything that they really need to live well? Have you ever felt deeper satisfactionabout the way your life is going? What are the sources of that feeling? Are they based on comparisons with other people? 6. When you are an adult, do you think money will indicate to you how your life is going? If not, what will? 7. When people take jobs that pay more than 75,000, are they doing so to obtain more possessions? 8. If people stopped caring about overall life satisfaction, would they continue to pursue jobs that paid more than 75,000? 9. Besides making money, what else does the desire for deeper satisfaction with how life is going motivate people to do? 10. Besides material well-being and overall satisfaction, are there any other motives for living life in certain ways?
Lets answer some questions..

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REFLECT
How accurate is the American Dream? You will
work in groups of 3-5 to decide What does the
American Dream mean in today's world? Is it
the same for all Americans? Is it a myth? Is it
simply a quest for a better life? Why do some
see their dreams fulfilled, and others see their
dreams wither and die?How has the American
Dream changed over time? What factors affect
these major events in history (political,
economic, educational, social, etc.)? What is
your personal American Dream? What is your
groups personal dream, as a whole?
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Culminating Activity
You will work in a team of 3-5 members, working
together to come up with a definition for The
American Dream. Your group will write your
finalized definition as a mission
statement. Each member will choose a different
venue to reveal your groups American Dream
statement (see handout for specifics). Each
group will unite venues to create a PowerPoint
presentation, and upload it to edmodo.com.
Each group will present their interpretation of
the American Dream to the class, reflecting on
the groups interpretation and each individuals
personal dream. This activity will continue
throughout the reading of the play, A Raisin in
the Sun.
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American Dream Project
This will be an ongoing project throughout our
reading of A Raisin in the Sun.
This is your groups job
Handout and information on how to use animoto,
photostory, and voki is also listed at the
wikispaces link below
This is a sample animoto I created
http//animoto.com/play/QKADlywZSFGBQF4ZGbVv5g
This project must be completed and submitted to
edmodo.com PRIOR to the conclusion of the class
reading of the play, A Raisin in the Sun. See
the Class period edmodo submission group code
(located on board).
Upon completion and presentation, other groups,
as well as the presenting group will peer/self
evaluate the projects, utilizing forms handed out
on the day of Presentation.
All presentation How Tos and samples can be
found at http//contienglish12.wikispaces.com
Have Fun! Be Creative and demonstrate Critical
Thinking.
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References
Powerpoint found on Internet/adapted by Suzanne
Conti Project found at http//online.sfsu.edu/kf
erenz/syllabus/dreams and adapted by Suzanne
Conti Animoto.com Voki.com Youtube.com Izzit.o
rg Googleimages.com abc nightly news Time.com