Finally watched "Waiting for Superman", and here is what I come up with.. [View all]

[RandySF]

The movie gets one point right in that in larger school districts like my own, with a few really good schools, quite a few bad ones and a whole bunch in the middle. It also show the lengths many parents are willing to go to get their kids out of genuinely bad schools. However, the movie begins and ends with a large set of incorrect assumptions:

1. Every parent cares equally about their children's education.
2. Every kid is equally ready and willing to learn.
3. Kids never come to school smelling like their parents' pot (as I personally smelled on kids' clothes when my son was in kindergarden).
4. Kids never come to school hungry.
5. Every public school teacher puts in the same minimal effort.
6. Kids never come to school with bruises on their faces.

In other words, the movie assumes every teacher is working with the same blank canvas and, with the right tools and creativity, they should be able to achieve the same results.