BIG SOCIAL IDEAS

AMERICAN DREAM CONTENT American Dream:

- ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American

- Rooted in the Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Kamp, David

- A national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.

- The meaning has changed over time but for the 20th century its focus was on the achievement of prosperity though hard work

- The working class and middle class served as the heart of the American dream

- “Work hard, save a little, send the kids to college so they can do better than you did, and retire happy to a warmer climate.”

- Being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class

- That American dream of a better, richer, and happier life for all citizens of every rank.”

Cump, D. (2009). Rethinking the American Dream. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2009/04/american-dream200904

Samuel, L. (2012). The American Dream: A Cultural History. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

Australian Dream - Derived from the American dream, and greatly expanded in the 1970s,

focuses on the ownership of a single storey detached house, surrounded by a garden, which featured in the back a hills hoist and a barbecue. The dream was accompanied the by he annual summer holiday by the ocean, living within a nuclear family where the male was the breadwinner in the family, weekly mowing with the Victa lawnmower and washing the family car on Sunday mornings.

Bell, Ron and Rhonda Allen. (1996) The Great Australian Dream: A Collection of Voices and Visions. Australia and New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

Activities Task 1: What is the American dream? - 4mins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNtKt1WQcZ4Teacher facilitates discussion: Q: Why this would attract immigrants to America between the 1960-1980? A: Freedom, Equality, move away from their own war-torn countries. Homework recap: Why did their migrant student migrate to America to facilitate their American Dream?

Values of the American Dream:Answers: Family structure, Home, Occupations, Marriage, House, College, Prom. We Didn’t Start the Fire - Video Clip - Billy Joel – 5 mins 80s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

Task 2: Glogster. http://edu.glogster.com/?ref=comSample poster:

Task 3: Q: Even though some aspects may be similar do both countries desire the same dream?A: Americas dream is living to work, where as Australia’s dream is working to live. Emphasise to students that this may be used to as a means of practice for their

upcoming presentations.