Review: Waiting for Superman


“Waiting for Superman”

This film documented the public school system and how it affects our communities, cities, and country as a whole. It was an eye opener to how bad things have really gotten in the system. Public schools can work but the issues lie in the control the government has over the rules and regulation set forth upon every single school across the nation. There is a breakdown in communication between the federal government and state governments. Honestly, it comes down to money. There are so many funds available to put into the schools systems in order to provide better facilities to enhance the learning experience, but they are not being applied properly. The government is not willing to change the rules that are stated in these contracts in order to take out the bad apples (unmotivated teachers and a failing approach to educate). I am not sure exactly why the change won’t come. If it’s not working, try something new.

This documentary showcased a few children and their parents that were in some of the worst schools across the nation. The parents of these children had entered their child into a lottery for a better school that only had a few spots available in hopes their child would be chosen and given a way out. It was evident how important this chance would be to attend these high excelling schools. The statistics were mind blowing. In most public schools, so many students walk in on their first day of school with so much ambition and potential, and before you know it, they were dropping out. If they made it to graduation, they had reading, math and English levels that acceptable for elementary school. But students enroll in the better schools were all graduating and going on to college.

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I am a product of both private and public school. I attended public school from k-5th grade. My mom was fed up with the system because I wasn’t excelling. Instead, I was getting in trouble and kicked out of class constantly for too much talking and disrupting the class. I was not a bad child. Quite frankly, I was bored and needed more of a challenge. I grew up in one of the richest counties and best school systems in the country but even there, the problems crept in. The following year, I attended a private school but was held back to the 5th grade because my academic level was not where it should have been. I made so many improvements over the next 3 years that I was able to skip back to the appropriate grade. In 10th grade, I went back to public school (it took much begging and pleading) and I found a new freedom but my grades suffered. My teachers didn’t care if I learned or did homework. In 11th grade, I moved to another county and switched schools. I did much better there and went back to being the A student I was. These teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and principals were more invested in me. I felt like they actually cared about me and where my future was going. Oh what a wonderful feeling. And as expected in my household, I went on to college. Through my experience in both public and private, I see how children can fall between the cracks in public schools due to overcrowding and a slack application process for teachers. I vowed that my children will never go to a public school.

“Waiting for Superman” is a must see! Even if you do not have children, you should still feel responsible. The children of our nation barely rank up against the rest of the world. Think about this, if we want to keep jobs here in the US, we need qualified people in order to fill those positions that are needed here. Cheap labor isn’t the only reason companies are moving their workforce abroad. So without a proper foundation and education, we as a country will lose everything to other countries. Please go out and support this. You may be moved to become part of the solution.

www.waitingforsuperman.com

Danielle McGhee



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