By DAVID MATTESON
Sparking controversy for its criticism of the American public education system, the documentary Waiting for “Superman” by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) released Feb. 15 on DVD.
The film follows five families seeking a better education for their children by trying to enroll them in charter schools. Each family is from a different racial background and varying urban neighborhoods. However, the film also dissects the failings of the education system by analyzing indicators such as poor test scores, dropout rates and school’s closing due to funding. The movie reaches a conclusion that the main contributor to the issue is teachers’ unions, which restrict school legislators from firing poor teachers.
The film itself is limited in its view of why public education is substandard. Poor teachers are not the only contributing factor; however, the film dismisses other reasons such as a lack of funding for schools. It romanticizes students as pious and eager to learn, but who are then corrupted by awful teachers and a wrecked system. It fails to distinguish the role students themselves play in their own education. The movie lays the blame on teachers; as Chancellor of Washington D.C. Public Schools Michelle Rhee states “It’s all about the adults.
The movie is not awful, in fact every student should take the time to watch it. It thoroughly explains with appealing graphics the way teacher’s unions operate as well as other school policies. In terms of factual information it is interesting and enlightening.
Waiting for “Superman” portrays students as seeking a great change. However, the movie never directly states how to go about accomplishing this goal. “Superman” remains an elusive and empty metaphor for a better public education system. In this way the film does not meet the hype that has surrounded it.
Three out of Five Stars
To see the movie trailer: http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/