Review of Waiting for "Superman" (2010) by Drlowdon — 23 May 2013

Waiting for Superman attempts to understand the failings of the American Education system, many of which could also be applied on a smaller scale to schools in areas of the UK.

The movies intentions are certainly noble. It does a great job of highlighting the unfairness of the system where luck seems to the single most important factor in deciding whether a child will receive a good education. It is difficult not to feel for the parents and grandparents who only want their child to be given a chance.

Having recently quit the teaching profession after only five years however I can say with confidence that Waiting for Superman does not tell the whole story. Firstly the families featured do not represent a fair cross section of those entering the school system. Each have a genuine interest in education and, from personal experience, I know that is certainly not the case for all children and their parents.

The movie attacks so called 'poor' teachers and teachers unions, seemingly laying a large proportion of the blame at their doorstep. Of course there are bad teachers (as there are bad professionals in any job) but it ignores the fact that many public schools in the US, and UK for that matter, are underfunded and understaffed resulting in overcrowded classes and little assistance for teachers.

The education system is obviously in need of major changes but Waiting for Superman's solutions are a little too simplistic, ignoring wider social and economic issues choosing instead to use personal stories to play on the emotions of the viewer.