By Breonna Reese
Gary, IN

Think for a second. Think of a land where life is better, richer and fuller for everyone. How about a land where there is an opportunity for each according to their abilities and what they want to achieve? Well, writer and historian James Truslow Adams came up with the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream is essentially defined as “The Land of Opportunity.” Has America truly fulfilled its name though? With access to education being limited, education has become a privilege and not a right, as it should be. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Education should be a right because not allowing someone to get an education will detach that person from society. If a child isn’t taught how to hold a conversation, express herself and become an intellectual, she won’t be able to carve out a better life — in fact, she may not be able to survive. Despite this, education has been made a privilege.  Continue reading →

Illustration by Angela Kim

By Najay Greenidge
Philadelphia, Penn. 

Education is the key that allows people to open doors in life. Yet we as a society deny certain groups access to this key because of their socioeconomic status. In doing so, we stunt the growth of our society by creating people who are destined to fail.

To return the key to success to the lower classes, we as a society should raise the tax rate for the wealthy, and use that money to equalize educational opportunities for people of all backgrounds.

America has long suffered from the ills of segregation, whether it be racial, ethnic, religious or economic. Yet while overt segregation has been become less socially acceptable, the ever-distant pool of elites has been able to perpetuate inequality because the wealthy have vastly better educational opportunities. Continue reading →