Berkley Center

The myth of the American dream is that each member of society has equal opportunity to attain a comfortable life in this country. However, the cracks of our system reveal faults in the foundation of our equality Empirical evidence proves that the disparaging inequalities of socioeconomic levels have created pockets of abject poverty within the United States, that are fundamentally irreconcilable with our notion of being the world’s land of opportunity. To rectify this injustice, we must begin with an equality of prospect. That opportunity starts in the classroom. Teachers should attempt to foster the development of students in academic institutions, so that all students in the classroom have the same starting place. This promotion to “level the playing field” should ensure that all students reach at least an adequate benchmark of a basic education.

Our national psyche has trained us as citizens to predispose ourselves to the concept of equity. Our understanding of equality deters anyone from languishing from an abject deficit of prime goods. It hopes to obliterate hierarchy promoting inferiority, remove power structures, level the playing field of competition, and ensure systemic justice for all. This conception of equality however contradicts our sensibilities of liberty that come with a laissez-faire economy. In 1998 the wealthiest 1% of households had 30% of the total wealth and the wealthiest 20% of households owned 83% of total wealth. Conversely, studies of race and class elucidate the statistical likelihood of imprisonment; scholarly findings note that imprisonment has become a common life event for black non-college men; race and class disparities in imprisonment are large and historically variable, such to the point that imprisonment now rivals military service or college.

As the youth of our nation, we believe we will be the human capital, decision makers, and proponents of dynamism within our nation moving forward to hopefully promote positive change. It is hence vital that we champion a sufficient basic starting place and have the skill set to further pursue their education and enriching endeavors. By promoting a robust sense of strong humane justice that promotes empathy for the wealth of diverse advantages and disadvantages existing within the classroom, coupled with a sufficientism that compels a benchmark of success, our educational institutions will truly embody the values that the country rests on: of a nation of opportunity where every individual is nurtured to achieve their potential.