Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis

The book includes stories of families in various parts of the country experiencing similar opportunities (or lack thereof) to families living elsewhere in the same class. It also details stories in which families left one area of the country to find better opportunities elsewhere, such as Jesse and Cheryl’s families who fled the South for better opportunities in Ohio. How much of a role does geography have in equality of opportunity? Does the author’s methodology reflect this? 

Philosophers often debate whether free will or determinism is the bigger factor in a person’s future success. Is either of these views more prominent in the author’s explanation of trends in upward mobility? Can the existence of free will explain the differences in success among people in the same class?

If the racial gap within classes has narrowed, while the class gap within races has widened, what does this suggest for social policy? Should affirmative action based on race give way to affirmative action based on class? Why, or why not? Do need-based scholarships do enough to bridge this gap?

The author indicates that “helicopter parenting” or “over-parenting” should not be equated with inadequate parenting. Do you agree, based on the research studies and anecdotal evidence in the book? Why, or why not?

What implications are there for charter or private schools or school vouchers if whom you go to school with matters to your future success? Is there any policy toward school funding that would eliminate these differences?

The author emphasizes the importance of participation in extracurricular activities to future success in Chapter 4, arguing that they are important for the development of soft skills. Do you agree with this assessment? Can you think of any high achievers who might be exceptions to this rule? If so, what explains their success?

What is the value of absolute as opposed to relative numbers when assessing societal progress toward equality? For example, if the number of lower-income students going to college has increased over time, does it matter that the percentage relative to higher-income students has decreased? Why, or why not?

The author compares the difficulty of drawing a statistical correlation between inequality of income and inequality of opportunity with the problem of diagnosing global warming, explaining that long lags between cause and effect render it difficult to make the connection. Is this an apt analogy? Why, or why not?