Waiting for Superman

"Waiting for Superman" was playing at a local theater a few weeks ago, so I made a date with myself and went for a matinee. I learned a lot from it, and overall I loved the movie. I think we need to start the conversation of public school reform, and we need to be truly working toward a solution. This movie has started the conversation, now it's up to parents and educators to work together to come up with the solution.

In this country we seem to believe that people need to just take control of their own destiny, to choose another way if the way presented isn't good enough.

So the question for me is this: As a people, living in this country, are we entitled to an education? Is education a right for all people, or is it really just for some. Is it for those who live in a "good" neighborhood and make a lot of money, or are all children entitled to a good education no matter how much money their parents have?

Should education be a socialist idea? Shouldn't every child, in every neighborhood be getting the same education as the next if we want to have an educated society?
No matter what color we are, where we're from, or what economic class we fit into, parents want the same thing for their children: The best education possible.

Sitting there alone in the theater, I caught myself reacting with mouth agape, shaking my head in frustration, and sometimes fighting back tears.
The families in the film were living in areas where their schools are failing, and failing miserably. One mother had tried numerous times to have a conversation or conference with her child's teacher. The child was in first grade, and the teacher would not respond to her requests. Unbelievable.

When the mother who sent her daughter to a private school across the street from their apartment was crying because she was behind on payments and the school wouldn't let her daughter walk across the stage for her Kindergarten graduation, I was frustrated.
The little girl watched out her window as her classmates filed through the door of the school on graduation day.

I thought the movie left some questions unanswered.

For instance, I didn't realize that teachers get tenure after only two years, and they don't have to do much to get it. Why? I also didn't realize that bad teachers don't get fired, they get moved around to other schools. A travesty.

It definitely pointed out the flaws in the teachers union and why we need to reform the system, but it didn't present a solution.

I don't think getting rid of the teachers union is the answer. There are probably very good reasons why there is a teachers union. At some point in history teachers must have been treated unfairly. (And if I weren't lazy right now I'd start to research that and reveal it here, but I have dinner on the stove, a boy who needs a bath tonight, couple of freelance stories waiting to be written, some emails waiting to be answered, and some site council information to review tonight.) To do away with the union entirely would be a knee-jerk reaction and in my opinion not a good solution.

The movie showed that there are some amazing things happening in the charter system, though not all states have charter schools.

I'm in the midst of a similar movement where I live. Sean is attending a public Montessori school, but it isn't a charter school. I'm not sure what the buzz word is in our system, but the name I would give it is alternative education.

I encourage everyone to see "Waiting for Superman," and whether you love it or hate it, start talking about it.