 The reason I am interested in this research topic is because it has a lot to do with my major which is elementary education. I believe the topic of race and how it affects the American Dream and one's ability to achieve success is a topic that is heavily debated throughout society. This research question affects my values because I have always believed that equality is a right of every person regardless of race, gender, social class, etc. It is important that every person is offered equality in every sense of the word including equal opportunities and equal access to resources. Throughout my life, I have gone to private schools and been given exceptional opportunities which helped me to get into college and to better my life. However, when I got in to college I realized that several people do not have these resources and the available access to learn in a healthy environment which, in turn, forces them to fall behind academically. It made me realize that it is simply not fair that I was given these resources when other people are not given these resources or even able to have access to them. What makes me qualified to write about this topic is that I have seen both schools with multiple resources and schools with lacking resources and how teachers adapt in order to teach the students the necessary information. When I was a junior in high school, I started volunteering at an underprivileged school in Greenville, South Carolina called Saint Anthony's of Padua. The school had very limited resources but the teachers still managed to ensure the kids learned all the necessary material. However, many students still fell behind and struggled to adapt to the lack of resources as well as a lack of familial support. Therefore, my knowledge of both schools with an abundance of resources as well as schools with scarce resources has made me knowledgeable about how one's race as well as socioeconomic status effects the chances of achieving the American Dream.

 The three articles I chose all have to do with either the effects of race on the ability to achieve the American Dream or the effects of race on one's ability to achieve an education which is an essential part of the American Dream. The first article I read by Mara Cohen-Marks and Christopher Stout focuses primarily on the effect race has on the American dream. The authors discuss how African Americans have a lot of skepticism surrounding the American Dream and do not believe that they will necessarily be able to achieve it. However, Caucasians as well as immigrants are a lot more optimistic about their ability to achieve the American Dream. Therefore, the major value of this article is that race definitely affects one's belief in the American Dream as well as the prospect of achieving success in the future. The second article by Christine Sleeter discusses education a lot more and the effects race has on one achieving a quality education. It is clear that an integral part of the American Dream is achieving a quality education that can offer someone opportunities in the future. However, race affects a student's ability to achieve an education due to lack of resources, lack of opportunities, as well as a lack of access. Thus, the central value of the article is that the education students receive is highly influenced by their race which leads back to the topic of inequality. The article by George H. Henry is discussing the Coleman report and the implications it has for students regardless of race. The Coleman report states how race as well as socioeconomic class has more of an effect on one's ability to achieve an education than ability of resources does. However, instead of addressing these issues, teachers have instead stopped paying attention to race which has led to a widening gap between white and black students. Therefore, the central value is that white students are excelling above white students creating more inequality. Mara Cohen-Marks and Christopher Stout are credible authors because they have both written many articles as well as books and journals. The authors also use a variety of sources including books by credible authors and from credible sources to prove their points and arguments. The article also uses various tables and graphs to prove the point of the authors. The authors are slightly bias in favor of the argument that race does affect one's ability to achieve the American Dream and really support that argument throughout the article. Christine Sleeter is a worthy author because she also has written various books, journals, and articles and uses various credible sources in her work. She discusses both sides of the argument but leans more towards the side that race does affect one's ability to achieve a quality education as well as one's ability to achieve success. George Henry is a credible author because he has also written many books and articles and uses a variety of sources for his work. Henry is more in favor of the Coleman report and believes that race is the central problem with the education system today. Thus, all of the articles are speaking about the effect of race on the ability to achieve the American Dream as well as the education gap that is progressively creating more inequality. 

 This research question is arguable because many disagree with the idea that race affects the American Dream and rather think that it is a student's job to be motivated to learn and develop their mind. Some agreements I found between the articles is that they all believe that race has a profound effect on one's ability to achieve success, they just differ on what exactly success is and what it entails. The articles disagree on how race effects students and how to adapt to these changes within a classroom. Different perspectives of the sources affect my own because it makes me questions what other factors affect student's abilities to learn. I might need to revise my research question to also include other factors that may affect one's ability to achieve an education. Overall, I think it is important to include all factors that can affect one's ability to achieve an education and to achieve success in the future. 
