Cultural Interpretations of the American Fairy Tale "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
The ”Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is one of the most popular fairy tales in US children's literature. It not only pleases children but also interprets American culture. The story is about the adventure of a girl named Dorothy in the Land of Oz. The author Baum had hidden the American economic fight between silver and gold standard in this novel. Oz is the abbreviation of ounces, that is the weighting unit of these precious metals. Since American government had adopted gold standard after this economic crisis, it means that the Populist Party supported by Baum had lost the election of American President at last. The pair of silver shoes, Dorothy worn, had disappeared forever, represented that silver standard had never been adopted by American government. Therefore, we can understand American culture by the study of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Narrowing the achievement gap has become an increasing issue in Minnesota. The purpose of this research project was to explore the attitudes of school social workers and teachers to see if there were any significant differences in the perception of the professionals who work with children directly affected by the gap. Using quantitative data analysis, 51 respondents, including 13 licensed social workers and 38 licensed teachers, were surveyed electronically, via Qualtrics, a survey creation and distribution website. All of the questions were created based on findings in the research. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicated that race and experience did not affect attitudes toward the achievement gap. However, the research did find significance in social workers being unanimous in believing African American students were treated differently. While a greater number of teachers were surveyed, the findings did evoke implications for