The "Model Family" is a myth that does not represent the American population with huge cultural diversity.
The American Dream is true on the surface when it is overlooked. However, when taking a deeper look at the relationship between success and an education with a strong work ethic, there is not as great of a correlation between them as one might imagine. This is due to the fact that the "Myth of Education and Empowerment" is false. The "Myth of Education and Empowerment" emphasizes education as the solution to improve social status and essentially lead to success. However, as John Taylor Gatto argues, " we have been taught in this country to think of 'success' as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, 'schooling', but historically this isn't true in either an intellectual or financial sense"(144). In his article, Francis X. Hezel, a Jesuit priest, summarizes that "the old formula 'education equals a good job' is no longer an axiom in our day"(The Myth of Education) and refers to the "college-educated young people return[ing] home to discover that the jobs they expected were not to be found"(The Myth of Education). Although education is seen to be the catalyst for success, this is not the case. This may have been the purpose of the twelve years of mandatory schooling that has been established in the United States. However, it is not successful, as it fails to promote higher level thinking skills and does not provide equal education to its populations, in addition to the enforced mandatory nature of the learning, not from one's own self-interest.
The outward purpose of the education is to promote critical thinking skills. However, as the goal of the system is to provides similar education to everyone, people are prone to think alike in this system, resulting in individual success less likely.