First Paragraph:

In Dweck’s TED talk she presents the concept of a growth mindset and how teaching students to have different perspectives when given a hard problem. You can see the difference in their attitude when their test scores improved and had the opportunity to improve themselves . “So let’s talk about equality. In our country, there are groups of students who chronically underperform, for example, children in inner cities, or children on Native American reservations. And they’ve done so poorly for so long that many people think it’s inevitable. But when educators create growth mindset classrooms steeped in yet, equality happens” (06:33). This implies that if children are given the opportunity to learn in the right way when they are doing poorly in school, their ability will grow. Equality happens which shows how both the children who were doing poorly improves as well as children who had the opportunity to learn and did well. This is similar to Coates’ The Case for Reparations of African Americans not getting the equality they deserve in their income and how people should give them chances so they can strive as well. White people get higher income and better houses than the African Americans As Coates states “This is not surprising. Black families, regardless of income, are significantly less wealthy than white families. The Pew Research Center estimates that white households are worth roughly 20 times as much as black households, and that whereas only 15 percent of whites have zero or negative wealth, more than a third of blacks do. Effectively, the black family in America is working without a safety net. When financial calamity strikes—a medical emergency, divorce, job loss—the fall is precipitous” (36). This shows how African Americans are having lower income than White people. The African Americans do not have a stable income and when financially stricken, there are mostly other things such as divorce and job loss that goes along with it. Income is a problem not only affecting a family but also their lives dependent on it. There is no equality on income then there is no equal social status. This is very scary because if they are not seen equally in their lives then what is the point of working hard to provide a better future. In this generation we sacrifice by either working or providing something to help the world. When white people dominate in having a higher salary and living in a better neighborhood than what can African Americans provide to today’s society. They do not even have the basic things such as having a stable income and a house. We need to give them a chance to prove themselves so that they can at least get the equality they deserve. We need to have a growth mindset like Dweck is talking about for the world to be peaceful and have equality. 

Second Paragraph:

HR 40 was presented by John Conyers Jr, one of the African Americans in Congress. The bill is made to have reparations for many horrible events and discriminations that occurred to African Americans in the past. In The Case for Reparations, Coates says that “HR 40 has never under either Democrats or Republicans made it to the House floor suggests our concerns are rooted not in the impracticality of reparations but in something more existential” (21). This shows that the bill has never ever passed to protect the African Americans. The bill never passed because people in this generation are not concerned for the people of color. This can mean that the problem is not in the bill itself but in the people’s viewpoint. Their opinion of “history is in the past” or “it has to do with our ancestors, not us.” is in their mind. These logic are still occurring in today’s society that people do not acknowledge how badly the discrimination happened to African Americans. They do not realize rough lives they have gone through in their past and are still going through today. People need to become mindful of how they were beingtreated in the past. HR 40 not being passed by the congress has a connection with Scheuer’s ideas of critical thinking. Scheuer says that “[critical thinking] is the advanced skills that form that bridge include thinking independently, an almost self-evident intellectual virtue but a vague one (and no mind is an island); thinking outside the box (likewise crucial but unspecific); grasping the different forms and divisions of knowledge and how they are acquired (but the forms of knowledge and ways of acquiring them evolve); seeing distinctions and connections beyond the obvious; distinguishing reality from appearance; and engaging with complexity, but not for its own sake.” (27). This shows that critical thinking requires someone to think outside of their box which is what congress should have done for the African Americans. It also states to grasp the different forms of division of knowledge and seeing distinction which congress also fails to do. This is important because the members of Congress are not taking into the African Americans point of view. They are mostly White men so they do not notice the hardship African Americans have endured. If the congress engaged in critical thinking, HR 40 would have been passed already. African Americnas may have had a better life a lot sooner.  Being able to have critical thinking allows people to understand other people’s perspectives and take a view from their side. People have different ways of thinking and it is important to incorporate everyone, since America is not just about one race. Congress should start to use Critical thinking and have more perspective for others and let reparations happen. 

In the first paragraph, I have added more introduction to quotes. I also have added more of my viewpoint into the quotes at the end of the paragraph. By adding the introduction tp quotes, it can make the paragraph flow more better and letting readers understand the quotes. Also by adding more of my viewpoint, it allows readers see the connection between the Coates and Dweck. In the second paragraph, I have added explanation to what HR 40 is which readers will understand what the bill was suppose to do. I also have added more connection between Coates and Scheuer to show a deeper connection and the how congress ave failed to take African American’s point of view.