Waiting for Superman

[Starry Messenger]

http://trueslant.com/pattihartigan/2010/01/25/waiting-for-superman/

Talking heads include college dropout and education philanthropist Bill Gates, the visionary Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone, and controversial DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee. From what I’ve read, the documentary is particularly tough on teacher unions and gonzo on charter schools, both of which are hot points of contention in any discussion of what’s failing education.

I suspect there’s a bent toward getting rid of bad teachers, aka unions, as does Matt Belloni in The Hollywood Reporter.

“In fact, for all its focus on underprivileged, inner-city kids, sections of Superman feel like they could have been cut together by Bill O’Reilly. Slo-mo footage of union leader speeches opposing reform that could help problem schools. Hidden-cam video of a teacher reading a newspaper and checking his watch as his class goofs around. New York educators being paid millions to not teach. A major subject of the film, reform-minded DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, runs into a crippling teachers-union road block in her effort to shift pay structures to reward good teachers.”

Agree or disagree, a documentary about public education ought to at least inspire conversation to a wider audience. How many people will see it at their favorite indy cinema and realize that they face the same dilemma that filmmaker Davis does? In the following interview, he notes that he supports the ideal of public education. But when it comes to his own kids? Um, hem, haw. That’s the dilemma.

I'm really tired of anti-public teacher agitprop on film. I wish Michael Moore would tackle education next.



Whitney Tilson, teacher hater, LOVED this film:

http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/01/waiting-for-superman.html

Monday, January 25, 2010
Waiting for Superman


I had the chance to see the premiere of "Waiting for Superman" today at Sundance -- the new ed reform documentary by the guys who made "An Inconvenient Truth" (Participant Media & Davis Guggenheim). I also had a little chat with the producer. This film was the first one picked up at Sundance (by Paramount) and it is going to be HUGE...possibly monumental for education reform. Here's an inside scoop:



The big, fabulous news is that they (the producers and director) GET IT. I knew they were highlighting charter schools, but didn't know they would also take the teachers' unions (and to lesser extent, bureaucracy) to task in such a big way. The three main points of the film are basically: American kids are doing terribly, tenure's ridiculous, and parents need many more high-quality school options.



The heroes of the film are a handful of parents and kids, almost all trying to get into charter schools, and almost all minority. On the policy side: Geoffrey Canada and Michelle Rhee are the lead stars, and, adding to them, Howard Fuller (which made me very happy, and also made me laugh b/c Howard told me last year that he had been interviewed by "some guy with brown curly hair". You're amazing in it Howard-- and about to be quite famous!), and Eric Hanushek. Also a nice cameo by Steve Barr (the producer mentioned they wanted to include Steve much more but couldn't work it in).



In terms of tenure, they explain "the Lemon Dance," mention "Rubber Rooms," etc., and feature Michelle on her proposal to offer teachers much higher pay for giving up tenure. When they say that the union wouldn't even let that get to a vote, the audience groaned out loud. The filmmakers did a great job of capturing Michelle's passion, commitment...and all the backlash she faces.



In that story and others, the film takes a very tough look at Randi Weingarten (I personally believe the AFT leaders gets way too much acclaim for her words--which do not parallel her actions--and was glad to see these non-education experts getting that.) Best detail: as Weingarten gives her interview, she's got a kente cloth hanging on the wall behind her. Speaks volumes.

I wonder what that kente cloth "spoke volumes" about? If this guy wasn't a hedge fund manager, the media would be rightly calling him what he really is: an education tinfoiler. :tinfoilhat:


Kente cloth. How...sinister??

[donco6]

1. I almost barfed when I saw the trailer.

It'll be great for the RW around here, tho. They'll LOVE it!

[Starry Messenger]

2. I saw mention of it on DU today and thought I would do a little digging.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8458134

Whitney has his own film too. http://www.2mminutes.com/films/a-right-denied.asp

So much propaganda coming in so quickly. :( It's insane.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. What a pile of shit

It's MY fault that only 1 in 22 minority kids gets a college degree?!

Guess I need to start adopting my students, taking them home with me, making sure they do their homework, stay away from video games, go to bed at a decent hour and get up in time to get to school.

Good gawd, it's not rocket science to see where the problem lies.

[Starry Messenger]

4. Also our fault for teaching in a poor neighborhood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-lxdCbFmc

Tilson is on the board for KIPP and sends his kids to private schools, per the end of the video here. If KIPP schools are so great, how come his kids aren't in them?

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Just found this and posted it in another thread

This is why his kids are in private schools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfxIyvrAQI&feature=related

[donco6]

8. You would if you really CARED.

Where's your sense of vocation?

and :sarcasm: in case you needed it.

[Recursion]

14. So I guess it doesn't matter who teaches the kids, then

We don't really need to worry about who is a teacher, I guess, if they can't improve students academic performance.

[Starry Messenger]

6. David Guggenheim-"How Do We Get Rid of The Union"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZuNJhrFeeo&feature=related

Bill Gates anti-public education pron at Sundance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1rugFQz_tA&feature=related

[Hannah Bell]

7. sinister indeed. kente cloth. "the powerful teachers union!!!"

[Starry Messenger]

9. Our buddies at the Heritage Foundation are fans.

Quel suprise.

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/04/20/waiting-for-superman-to-rescue-education/

Waiting for Superman to Rescue Education

The decline of public education stands out as a subject ripe for the lens of a documentary filmmaker. In Waiting for Superman, to be released by Paramount this fall, the producers do just that, pointing a critical eye to the plight of public education in America.

The film’s name comes from the idea of a child wishing to be rescued from a bad situation–in this case, from a school system that often leads to nowhere but failure. Other recent documentaries on this topic–such as The Heritage Foundation’s Let Me Rise, Teamworks Media’s The Street Stops Here, and the Moving Picture Institute’s The Cartel-highlight the failures of public schools and the subsequent negative consequences on low-income and disadvantaged children. Waiting for Superman reveals the gridlock created by school district bureaucracy, apathetic teachers, and teachers’ unions. As families across the country continue to fight for education reform, these documentaries give a face to those who are engaged in the day-to-day struggle.

According to The Washington Post:

Waiting for Superman tells the stories of children in several cities — Los Angeles, Harlem, Washington D.C. — interspersed with interviews of educators – Rhee, Harlem Children’s Zone founder Geoffrey Canada, the founders of the KIPP charter school network — to demonstrate the appalling state of public schools in America…. What stays with you, though, are the faces of the children who are being cheated and the tears of their parents who want better for them. It is actually painful to watch these mothers and fathers and grandmothers lose out in lotteries for precious spots in charter schools.

In Waiting for Superman, Guggenheim addresses the stranglehold public sector unions have on K-12 education.

Such gobshite.

[SocialistLez]

10. Michael Moore would put this guy to shame

The maker of "Waiting for Superman" says he's a lefty but if he were a lefty, he wouldn't have made this film or at least it wouldn't be so anti-teacher.

He sends his kids to private schools. STFU dude!

[Starry Messenger]

11. Hey SL, nice to see you.

On Facebook I've been battling with a guy who expresses admiration for Ronald Reagan, but when you press him, he argues that he is "as left as anyone"! He is an admirer of Arne Duncan and school reform. He loves this movie. He hates Bush because he was "dumb". All I can say is, we're in bat country now. Liberals are expressing support for right wing positions in the most vigorous of manner. How can we describe what is going on here?

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. The republicanization of the Democratic Party.

>>>How can we describe what is going on here?>>>>

[SocialistLez]

15. Pretty much/NT

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. How can we be sure Michael Moore would make a film that doesn't slam teachers?

I am a huge MM fan, but I have a feeling he would just jump on this bashing bandwagon. It's the thing to do these days.

[Sabriel]

19. How about just making a film about Savage Inequalities?

Kozol's book is still the main text on the relationship of poverty/social class and educational opportunity.

[Whisp]

16. pro kid, not anti teacher.

for a union to keep bad teachers and make it so difficult to fire their fucking asses, that is what part of the problem is.

lazy and harmful teachers should get the boot but they are kept safe to spread their poison to so many kids

Having questions about the teachers union is not 'union bashing' - it's disgraceful how a clump of people have decided to protect each other at the expense of kids.

[The Philosopher]

17. It's not anti-kid to show protection to all teachers.

It's a right that every teacher should have; a right to due process, a protection from the bias against teachers. You wouldn't throw every American into jail just because a criminal is being protected by the Bill of Rights, would you?

This is the gimmick: people want the unions to fail, so they do everything under the sun to find a reason. Bad apples among teachers being protected by unions? You're going to find the protection of due process. But, what about that teacher in that state who was totally abhorrent to our sensibilities, doing illegal things, there was proof, and the teacher unions refused to let the teacher be fired? Statistics dictates that there's going to be a few people NOT DOING THERE JOB. It's not limited to teachers, you know. Those handling their cases can be human, too.

So the idea that a few teachers (if any) aren't fired when they should doesn't mean we destroy a whole system of protection against vindictive students, parents, colleagues, administrators, or anyone else who happens to have a beef with a teacher. Or, you know, also the lack of vision to provide adequate funding to the school, needing a cheaper teacher.

Unions don't only protect their employees. There are side-effects. We're seeing schools lose their budgets, having to cut to the bone, because no one has stood up to teacher bashers. Because of the Republicans, teachers are supposed to be cheap and easy to replace, like a fast food employee. How do you think that's going to play out for the kids? Do you really think it helps them if they have a teacher who is getting paid $20k and have only five weeks training? Do you think the children will be served correctly by a principal who only knows how to fudge numbers to put the school in a good light?

And it’s not difficult to fire teachers. If you’re seeing a teacher keeping his or her job after doing something wrong or underperforming, all you have to do is look at the administration. They’re the ones keeping that teacher there, not the union.

[Starry Messenger]

18. Thank you for that!

I can't see that person's posts and don't know why they would kick this up after nearly a year. Especially in a week where REPUBLICANS are attacking good solid teachers unions and good solid Democrats are protecting labor. Solidarity!

[Smarmie Doofus]

20. Went private himself. Sidwell, I believe. n/t

[webdiva]

21. great!

I have nothing but respect for good teachers but I've personally had some bad ones in my time and they should be able to be fired if they truly are choosing not to teach children. Tenure should be earned not given to every tom, dick and harry. And if a teacher is really bad they should be able to be fired. It's a load of crap.

[TruthTeller]

22. Please research teacher tenure and get back to us...

[YvonneCa]

23. A few misconceptions in your post. n/t