what does it mean to be an american essay springboard

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SpringBoard ELA offers a full curriculum for students in grades 6–12.

Why It Helps

Beginning in grade 6, SpringBoard English Language Arts students develop and refine skills in critical thinking, close reading, writing in various genres, and doing research.

Over the course of the program, they read and analyze a wide range of texts in genres including poetry, novels, plays, biographies, nonfiction narratives, speeches, and films. They also learn to write in forms including essays, personal narratives, argumentative texts such as editorials, and research papers.

How It Works

Each grade level uses complex, grade appropriate texts that allow students to examine an idea from multiple points of view while working with a variety of genres. Students progress from guided reading through collaborative projects to confident, independent work.

In units built around the theme “Change,” students will:

• Read work by Langston Hughes, John Steinbeck, and Sandra Cisneros.
• Write narrative, explanatory, and argumentative texts.
• Learn strategies for planning, drafting, revising, and editing their own writing.
• Explore the fundamentals of research, including citations and how to evaluate the credibility of sources.
• Deepen their understanding of topics through film and multimedia.

In units built around the theme “Choice,” students will:

• Read work by Nelson Mandela, Robert Frost, Sojourner Truth, and Shakespeare.
• Learn close reading strategies to discover the explicit and implicit content of texts.
• Write in argumentative, explanatory, and narrative modes.
• Examine how ideas are conveyed in film and multimedia.

In units built around the theme “Challenges,” students will:

• Read work by Ray Bradbury and Walt Whitman, an essay about Civil War heroes, narratives about the Holocaust, and Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
• Learn about the hero archetype and hero’s journey narratives.
• Write narrative, explanatory, argumentative, and other texts.
• Research an issue in current events and then create a multimedia presentation.
• Read scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, then watch the scenes on film and analyze how the adaptation differs from the source.

In units that examine the uses of language, students will:

• Read works by authors such as Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich, William Shakespeare, Joshua Bennett, Toni Morrison, as well as selected nonfiction.
• Learn to gather evidence from texts and incorporate it into written and oral responses.
• Write in argumentative, informational, narrative, and other modes.
• Research and present findings around a current issue.

In units that study the power of language to persuade, students will:

• Read works such as Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Sophocles’ Antigone, Susan B. Anthony’s “On Women’s Right to Vote,” and Kofi Annan’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
• Examine how culture influences worldview.
• Incorporate textual evidence into a written argument.
• Write in argumentative, narrative, information, and other modes.
• Research a culture and present findings in a collaborative presentation using digital media.

In units built around the theme “The American Dream,” students will:

• Read foundational documents such as the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, essays by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
• Write an expository essay defining what it means to be an American.
• Write a synthesis essay arguing whether or not America still provides access to the American Dream.
• Write in a variety of modes and genres.
• Compare print and film versions of Arthur Miller’s playThe Crucible.
• Create a news outlet based on real-world news organizations.

In units built around the theme “Perspective,” students will:

• Read works such as James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village,” George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” Shakespeare’s Othello, and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.
• Apply multiple perspectives to complex texts.
• Apply various types of literary criticism: archetypal, Marxist, feminist, historical, cultural, and reader response.
• Perform rigorous reading and writing that synthesizes learning.
• Analyze how historical contexts have influenced performances of Othello, and compare multiple film versions of the drama.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — American Identity — Creating An American Identity Essay

Creating an American Identity Essay

• Categories: American Identity Diversity

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Published: Mar 5, 2024

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Stanford University

What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 3)

The following is Part 3 of a multiple-part series. For Part 1, please visit here , and for Part 2, please visit here .

On December 8, 2020 and January 19, 2021, SPICE posted two articles that highlight reflections from 16 students on the question, “What does it mean to be an American?” I decided to ask students to share their reflections because many have expressed concern about the divisions in U.S. society either directly to the SPICE staff or indirectly through the teachers with whom the SPICE staff works. Part 3 features nine additional reflections.

The SPICE staff’s hope is that the free educational website—“ What Does It Mean to Be an American? ”—will help students reflect upon their civil liberties during this challenging time. On March 24, 2021, SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi will be honored by the Association for Asian Studies for his authorship of the lessons that are featured on the website, which was developed by the Mineta Legacy Project in partnership with SPICE.

One of the featured students, Keilyn Toma, is an American who is enrolled in SPICE’s Stanford e-Japan course, which introduces U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in Japan. The other eight students live in the United States. The reflections below do not necessarily reflect those of the SPICE staff.

Talia Christian, Texas: As a multiracial South African immigrant, I’ve had to keenly observe America. I noticed that people in the U.S. come from many different bloodlines. Sadly, the beauty of this is overlooked because so many find peace with the idea that America is a melting pot yet don’t acknowledge what that means. I find myself uncomfortable because I don’t belong to any racial group in America. How will I identify at school? South African isn’t an option. Am I going to live on the White, Hispanic, or Black side of town? Because de facto segregation is very much alive, I must choose. I hope to see change in America as part of being an American, which means that I have the freedom to be that change and instill unity.

Gracee Curley, Arizona: In today’s world, people seem to be judged by what they do and don’t have, or their race. It seems like after 2020 happened, everyone has a different perspective of America and what it means to be American. To me, being a Native American in the new world today means seeing those “above us” imitating our sacred sound or backing away from us just because of the color of our skin. It means seeing our own culture used as a Halloween costume outfit, and even seeing our people used as school mascots. Being American for me is being scared to go out into public. Nobody wants to be judged in this world just because of one’s ethnicity.

Jeana Fermi, New Jersey: The American identity is inherently revolutionary, forged in the radical notion that anyone can adopt it, and rooted in the winds of change. Being an American has no strict boundaries; it is an open-ended question that we fill with our own uniqueness and interpretations, thus birthing an identity of synergy. Our nation is not perfect, its history marred by painful legacies of injustice that continue to permeate the society we live in now. But I’ve found a unique hope in the American propensity for change—that the pursuit of progress is not merely optional, but fundamental to being American. The American story is a collective striving to form a more perfect union not in spite of our differences, but because of them. I feel most American when I join this effort.

Zaynab Jawaid, California: To be American is to be hardworking. My grandmother came to New York in the ’70s and always held multiple jobs. In order to make it in America and provide for her family she had to work hard and always give 110 percent. Hard work may seem difficult at first, but it is always rewarding. My parents have also persevered and worked hard to give my siblings and me a better and easier life than they had. My grandmother and my parents’ example (especially my mother’s) have shown me how hard work always pays off in the end. As an immigrant and a person of color, you have to give that extra effort in order to make it in American society. Being American also means to be able to believe and practice the religion you want, and for me that means Islam.

Koki Mashita, California: As a Japanese citizen living in the U.S., I have been able to observe cultural differences. The U.S. values individualism, patriotism, and opportunity unlike anywhere else I have lived. Americans often speak up for their own beliefs by protesting. This may make the U.S. seem like an unstable country but speaking up is essential for change. If Americans didn’t love their country, Americans wouldn’t be advocating for their beliefs. An example of this advocacy has taken place during COVID-19, with many Americans, who are struggling to make ends, speaking up. By speaking up, some new opportunities have arisen despite the pandemic. For example, many new businesses that accommodate for restrictions, such as social distancing, have been established. The values of individualism, patriotism, and opportunity come to mind when I think of what it means to be an American.

Phoebe Masters, Ohio: America is by no means perfect. There are actually times in my life when I have not been very proud to be an American. There are so many problems that plague the country: racial inequities, record high incarceration rates, and corruption in the government. But, being an American means we have the ability to see these imperfections in our country and advocate for change. In America, we have the right to protest and speak out against what we think is wrong and unjust. It is our duty and right to hold lawmakers and government officials accountable for implementing the change we want to see. America is not perfect, but being an American means change, evolution, and innovation as a result of endless ideas and opinions coming together, creating one united nation.

Ellie Sul, California: To me, being American means taking advantage of every opportunity given. We have a proper education, a gateway to our dream occupations, and a path to our aspirations. Growing up in America, I’ve been given countless possibilities to achieve my dreams. My grandfather, who came to America to seek a better life for his family, gave his children and grandchildren the opportunity to be successful in America. He was like so many other immigrants who crossed oceans to come to America for the greater good of their families. Being American has granted me this life full of fortune and possibilities, and I am eternally grateful.

Keilyn Toma, Japan: If you were to ask me “Are you American?” I would answer no. I was born in California to Japanese and Chinese parents, but 16 out of my 18 years were spent overseas. I prefer the rice fields of Saitama to the mountains of Utah and the bustling streets of Hong Kong to the avenues of Boston. But perhaps this is the new “American.” The increasingly international fabric of America means more people like me. For me, the American ideals of individuality, opportunity, and freedom serve as support and an instrument of change in whichever culture I choose to be a part of. The opportunity in multiculturalism lies in applying the best parts of different cultures. That means encouraging individuality within Japanese conformity and promoting change within Chinese rigidity. 

Abigail Weiss, Louisiana: If I was asked what it means to be American growing up, I would likely say I am proud of the country I am from, referencing equality of opportunity and the American Dream. Recently, however, the overwhelming level of injustice in this country has diminished the sense of pride I used to have by being American. I used to gladly dress up on July 4th, but in recent years my friends and I are hesitant to even associate with anyone who posts a picture in front of the American flag. This may not represent the universal experience of young Americans, but I think this does highlight the growing political divide. I think there is still hope for me and many other members of my generation to restore our sense of pride in this country by electing officials who care about the lives of all Americans.

SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi Is the 2021 Franklin R. Buchanan Prize Recipient

What does it mean to be an american: reflections from students (part 2), what does it mean to be an american: reflections from students.

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What Does It Mean to “Be American?”

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In 2014, New York Times reporter Damien Cave traveled the length of highway I-35, which runs south to north through the middle of the United States, for his “The Way North” project. Along the way, he asked 35 people, “What does it mean to be American?” These are some of their answers. 1

Becoming American means following the rules. It means respecting your  neighbors, in your own neighborhood. —Francine Sharp, 73, retired teacher in Kansas (born in Kansas) If you work hard, you get good things in life. —José, college student/roofer; immigrant without legal status in Tulsa, Oklahoma (born in Mexico) Being American is making a change, and making good changes. Being American is being welcoming, being caring about other people, being proud of the country. And it’s forgiveness. It’s not holding grudges on anything—I mean, where’s that going to get you? —Natalie Villafranca, 14, in Texas (born in Dallas) Being American means protection by the law. Anyone can say whatever they want and, even if I don’t agree with them, they’re still protected by the law it’s my job to enforce. That’s their freedom. That’s their right. —Sean Larkin, 40, sergeant with Tulsa Police Department’s gang unit in Tulsa, Oklahoma (born in Virginia) Being American is red, white and blue and being free. It doesn’t matter what language you speak; if you’re born in America, you’re still American. No matter what you look like, no matter what. —Sebastien de la Cruz, 12, student who gained attention, and backlash, when he sang the national anthem during the 2013 NBA finals in a mariachi outfit (born and lives in San Antonio) I want all girls, especially girls of color, to know that they can be a part of science. And more than that, they can be leaders in science. I want them to know that, because I know that I am America. That I am science. I’m just the part that people refuse to recognize. 2 —Taylor R., 13, speaking about her ambitions at the March for Science in April 2017 The following excerpts are from other Americans discussing what they think it means to “be American.” Among these voices are historians and writers who think about this topic a lot, as well as individuals from other walks of life who participated in a discussion for the documentary film A More Perfect Union . 3 Precisely because we are not a people held together by blood, no one knows who an American is except by what they believe. It's important that we do know our history, because our history is the source of our Americanness. —Historian Gordon Wood When people wrote "All men are created equal," they really meant men; but they didn't mean any other men except white men who owned land. That's what they meant. But because the ideas are powerful, there's no way that they could get away with holding to that. It's not possible when you have an idea that's as powerful and as revolutionary as a country founded on the idea that just because you're in the world, just because you're here, you have a right to certain things that are common to all humanity. That's really what we say in those documents. The idea that we begin the Constitution with, "We, the People" . . . even though they didn't mean me! They had no idea I'd ever want to make a claim on that. And they'd have been horrified if they'd known that any of us would. But you can't let that powerful an idea out into the world without consequences. —Writer Rosemary Bray The American Dream has no meaning for me. What it was founded on, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in many ways I feel are used as billy clubs against minorities and cultural minorities, whether they be gay, or different in any way from the norm in this country. I, for example, don't think I'd like to go to California because of what I look like. I could be pulled over and carded, and I would have to prove my ancestry. And look how long my family has been in northern New Mexico. Ten to twelve generations! —Vicente Martinez

• 1 All quotes except the last one (by Taylor R.) are from “ Day 39: On Being American ” (The Way North), New York Times , May 17, 2014.
• 2 “ March for Science Earth Day 2017 Speaker - Taylor Richardson ", YouTube video, 1:15, posted by EARTHDAYORG, Apr 24, 2017.
• 3 All quotes are from the online companion materials to the documentary A More Perfect Union (Arcadia Pictures, 1997), available at PBS website .

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Facing History & Ourselves, “ What Does It Mean to “Be American?” ”, last updated June 17, 2017.

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What Does It Mean to Be an American: Essay Guide

If you are a true American college student, you will probably be assigned to write a Bob Dylan essay or baseball essay during your school days. Why? Well, just because you are an American! Who else can be a better national hero for the USA than Bob Dylan and which game is more American than the baseball? That’s a rhetorical question as all of us know the answer to it. 

First of all, by assigning you to write an essay, they want you to develop your writing skills. We all know that writing essays helps us to express our thoughts easily. Secondly, they want to make you feel proud of your country.

Concerning the first aim of your teacher – to develop your writing skills- it seems it can be achieved without any problems. It’s not really difficult to write a simple essay. All you have to do is to structure your essay (introduction, body paragraphs and conclusions) and present your thoughts on these two topics. There’s little doubt you know what to write about Bob Dylan or baseball, so we see no need to mention here the information you have already know. What we do care about is whether you can write the essays in the way that your teachers’ second goal could be achieved.

Are you able to include some patriotic feeling in the essays while writing them? If your answer is “no,” or you have some doubts, our custom writing service can help you to solve this problem. We can assist you with any essay topic. Even better, we can write them for you from scratch if you have no time to do it yourself.

Of course, you can decide to write the essays yourself. In this case, we would recommend that you do the following: write an essay on the topic “What does it mean to be an American?” It will definitely make you use arguments in your body paragraphs which can be included later in your Bob Dylan or baseball essay.

What Does It Mean to Be an American Essay: Possible Arguments

• Being an American means appreciating democracy, personal freedom and private capital more than does any other nation.
• Being an American means watching American football instead of the usual one.
• Being an American means playing baseball and considering this game as a national one (this argument you is for your essay on baseball, isn’t it?).
• Being an American means listening to jazz, country, rock’n’roll music and be a great fan of Bob Dylan.

Being an American Essay Example

What Does It Mean to Be an American: The American Dream

The American Dream is an indispensable part of American cultural heritage and society. It is glorified in Hollywood movies, pop songs, and comics books. The American Dream is frequently the first concept that comes to mind when people think of the USA. Thus, it is believed that keeping the American Dream close at heart is necessary for anyone who calls themselves American.

The American Dream cannot be considered dead. People from all around the world study, craft, and fortuitously land themselves in what is often considered the greatest country on Earth for the opportunity to be successful. However, we must realize that what was once considered to be the American Dream is no more. Accessibility to affordable housing and well-paying jobs are considered luxuries of the upper classes, depending on where a person lives. While thought to be achievable for the average person, the American Dream has been diluted in a sense. No longer are people coming to America for grandiose living, but rather to flee the perils of their home countries, with America being the land of the most opportunity.

The term “American Dream” is not new. James Trustlow Adams penned the term in his book The Epic of America , originally published in 1931, stating: “The American dream that life should be made richer and fuller for everyone and opportunity remain open to all, had been kept alive by constant waves of thought and emotion flooding back from our successive frontiers.” Despite this book being written almost a century ago, Adams was correct; the idea of the American Dream has been subtly pushed upon new generations, making it so we believe that we have the same, if not more, opportunities than generations before us.

The American Dream promises a white picket fence home, a loving family, and a well-paying job that will give you the resources to provide for your family. This idea is becoming more abstract to the average American. According to the United States Census, currently over 45 million Americans live below the poverty line, or 14.5 percent of the US population (US Census Bureau, 2014). In 2013, 20 percent of all American children lived in poverty, according to the PEW Research Center (Patten & Krogstad, 2015). Hence, we must ask this question: If so many of Americans live in poverty, then why do we still believe in the American Dream? This could be attributed to what is called Vroom’s expectancy theory. Fred Lunenburg, of Sam Houston State University, stated in his journal that “expectancy theory is a cognitive process theory of motivation that is based on the idea that people believe there are relationships between the effort they put forth at work, the performance they achieve from that effort … In other words, people will be motivated if they believe that strong effort will lead to good performance and good performance will lead to desired rewards.” The American Dream has been pushed by media, family, friends, and co-workers, all in an effort to subconsciously keep the average worker motivated. The average person would therefore believe, that in America, if they work hard and stay out of trouble, they will be successful. People begin to expect that one day, because of their efforts, they will become rich or affluent. This is despite the fact that several of our children’s peers are living in poverty, and our workforce is riddled with people living paycheck to paycheck.

In conclusion, I believe that the American Dream once existed, and still does, but in a 21st-century capitalistic fashion. No longer are people expected to have a house with a picket fence within a few years of coming to America, or after obtaining a corporate job, but rather people are expected to work hard, and therefore, the potential for people to achieve the American Dream is always there, but never culminates for the average person.

Adams, J. T. (2017). The Epic of America . Milton: Taylor and Francis. Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S .: 2013. The United States Census Bureau, 16 Sept. 2014, www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-169.html. Lunenburg, Fred C. Expectancy theory of motivation: Motivating by altering expectations. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, vol. 15 , no. 1, 2011. Patten, Eileen, and Jens Manuel Krogstad. (2015, July 14). Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Retrieved from www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds- steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/

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springboard

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circa 1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Definition of springboard noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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By New York Times Opinion

Did the night help Trump?

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for Night 4 of the Republican National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rate the evening on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the night was a disaster for Donald Trump; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought of the event, which culminated in Trump’s acceptance speech.

Best Moment

Kristen Soltis Anderson, contributing Opinion writer Donald Trump gave a compelling and moving description of what it was like to be under fire and pledged to represent all of America, not just half of America. That may be easier said than done.

David Brooks, Times columnist The first 20 minutes of the Trump speech. If he’d done the story about the assassination attempt and then added 15 minutes of policy, he would be cruising toward victory. He could have plausibly argued that he is a changed man.

Jane Coaston, contributing Opinion writer Hulk Hogan’s speech was his best performance since he beat Macho Man Randy Savage at WrestleMania V.

Matthew Continetti, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Trump’s account of the attempt on his life was gripping. He displayed a vulnerability and humility that most people had never seen before. And when he kissed the fireman’s helmet of Corey Comperatore, the husband and father who was killed during last weekend’s shooting, Trump created yet another indelible image. It won’t be soon forgotten.

David French, Times columnist Trump’s tribute to Comperatore was touching and appropriate. Placing his uniform on the stage was a powerful visual reminder of the loss.

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