School and Community Portrait What makes a good school? What makes a good teacher? Does this school help the student to achieve the American Dream?

Abstract: <Tab/>The following paper addresses three main research questions regarding Pleasantville High School, in Pleasantville, NY. I spent half a day, once a week for seven weeks observing for the most part a physics class taught by Mr. Greg Dimurro, where I kept notes in an observation log. The three questions I address are was it a good school, was Mr. Dimurro a good teacher, and whether or not the …

…vast majority of students must be willing to learn and want to be successful. Only then will a school truly be able to be successful. Those three things are like pillars holding up a bridge. If you take one of them away, the bridge will come crashing down, just as a student's chance of achieving the American dream does when they are not given the same opportunity as a student who lives in Pleasantville, NY.