American Dream 2.0 Project
Overview
The American Dream 2.0 project objective was to dig deep down on the "American Dream" perspective from past decades as well as the one today. Whether it has the same meaning or has changed throughout peoples journeys. Not only has it opened up my classmates eyes, but as well as mine, in reviewing whether we own our American Dream or simply borrowing it. In order to do so, each student individually interviewed one person that came of age in either the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or 2000s decade. We then compared their American Dream and journey with their decade. For our persons story to be honored and come alive we wrote a biographical narrative that expressed their journey on who they've become today,
Writing ProcessA major part in this project was creating our book, American Dream 2.0- Redefining the Journey, with all of my classmates narratives and self reflection about the American Dream. My class came up with a series of questions to ask the person we were interviewing. When we made sure we had the correct information, as well as enough information we began writing their narratives. Since these writing were going to be displayed in a book we had numerous peer critiques so each story would flourish in its own way. Once we decided we were happy with the final result, we began researching the decade of our interviewee. How it was before and the similarities and differences of the American Dream the interviewee had and the decades American Dream during that time. Which also consisted with an excessive amount of peer critique. Once every students writing was complete and final we combined the two together.
Within the decade we were in, your group collaborated together in figuring out a chapter intro. Specifically in my group, the 90s, I only had one other partner to work with, unlike the other groups that had around 5 people. Together we connected each others stories and compared them by our person's American Dream and the decade during that time. |
Shinpei Takeda's "Inscription"One other main factor that connected with The American Dream 2.0 project was Shinpei Takeda's "Inscription." Shinpei, an artist, wanted a short description of a sense of arrival. So each student described a time of arrival within themselves. He incorporated each of our short stories into his art piece. Which was also displayed in The New American Museum during our exhibition.
The way I define my American Dream.
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Below is the evolution of my writing throughout the process
Part II of Book- Self ReflectionWhat you thought the American Dream was before this project.
-Since the beginning, I didn’t focus my full attention on the phrase, “The American Dream”. If someone were to ask me my thoughts on the American Dream, I would simply give them the answer that everyone has grown up with, not my definition of it. I didn't fully set my mind in the “American Dream” because I thought it was unattainable, unreal, impossible to achieve, and a myth that was passed on throughout time. Who would ever guess that the “white-picket fence, a big house, a family of four containing a son, a daughter, a wife and a working husband, a operational automobile” would have or has ever existed? It just seems so perfect to even be real. Self Evaluation
-This project has changed the way I see people's perspective. In my mind I probably still think the way I used to or believe the way I used to but it has expanded upon that now. It has also given me a new way of understanding and comprehending ideas. -Communication skills were a great impact for me during this project. I feel it being easier to open up to my peers and feeling comfortable asking them for help because
1. I did it quiet often 2. I'm more comfortable and connected with my peers and have made new friendships that I'm very happy about -I feel that there wasn't anything as challenging that didn't make the work manageable. For the most part, I felt that was running through everyone's mind would be the time we had to finish the whole project. -While I grew as a writer, I grew in presenting my work at its finest as well and vise- versa. While I wanted my work to be its best, I wanted the same for the project. |
What you learned and gained so far about the American Dream. -Since I am 16 years old and have the options of obtaining a job, getting my driver's license, start looking for colleges, and later doing these all on my own, I see the hardship journey I will soon come across. Wouldn’t you think that asking for the job that's being offered would be just as easy as asking for it? Wouldn’t you believe that the process of receiving your driver's license would be as easy as going to the DMV and asking to take your driver's test without any knowledge of how to drive? Wouldn’t you think that doing well at school would already be the gateway in getting into college and not having to worry about extracurricular activities, test scores, sports and so many others? By now you might be wondering how this relates with the American Dream. But if I simply couldn't understand the process and challenge in any of the topics I just listed, how would I possibly get through life as an adult that has so much more to handle? Music BandsThroughout the process of creating a book and writing biographical narratives, my classmates rehearsed their decade song. We also came up with a band name and chose what song we wanted to perform. My group, The Mandayltes, was picked to play a song in the 60s and we choseTwist and Shout by the Beatles. Everyone rehearsed and rehearsed until the day of Exhibition.
Stencil MakingDuring our Music class we created a 16 line song/poem along with silhouette stencils to represent our interviewees story. We presented them during our Exhibition in crankies that some of my peers made. Even though it took some long and hard work, every single one of them came out spontaneous.
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Where are you at with the American Dream now - what is your current thinking of it and what are your hopes? -Because of the multiple perspectives I've encountered and my first impression of the American Dream, I now just focus my attention of the “Dream” part. Since I'm not fully an American and I would like to accomplish the goals I set for myself. When I hear the words “American Dream”, I feel that others believe that if you’re not considered American, the American dream is something you should want to achieve. From what I know about the American Dream, it hasn’t affected the way I want my dream to be. The American Dream still lives on today. It may not be desired as it was in the past, but it hasn’t been forgotten. |
Exhibition
Now it's time to showcase our work!!
Exhibition was showcased in The New American Museum along with Shinpei's Inscription Installation "Arrival Theme" Even though this project was a bit stressful, we came through! There might have been a few bumps here and there but it was an overall spectacular project that I would love to do again. Exhibition is one of my absolute favorite parts about High Tech High International because even though its a time where you don't get to be in class the whole day, you also get to interact with your team and build stronger relationships with your peers. And that is what I gravitated towards. Also, viewing my peers and how far they've come from the beginning of the project till the end is fantastic as well. I enjoyed seeing my peers having the interest in communicating, interacting, exceeding to their best and most of all having an amazing time. Exhibition, itself in The New American Museum was flourishing. I could honestly notice the passion and determination in my classmates eyes when building and showcasing our work. Not only that but also in our performances that we practiced for our music class. Without one another, I would not have been able to even imagine how this project would have been like. Plus, because we were working with an artist and a setting outside of school, I feel as if my classmates wanted this Exhibition to mean more than some regular school exhibition. |
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