Review of Waiting for "Superman" (2010) by Aaron M — 12 May 2011

Guggenheim has really taken the documentary to a whole new level in the last half decade. Yet again, he has made an exceptionally important one that you should really make time for. This is a hard look at the mess of an educational system that has spread throughout our country, and the results are pretty scary.

Year after year we continue to lag further and further behind countries who, quite frankly, have no business outperforming us. Yet, we are getting our butt kicked in the classroom. They make a point in the early part of the doc that really is the essence of the whole matter.

While most people look at bad neighborhoods and say they therefore have poor schools...the truth of the matter is, under-performing schools are creating bad neighborhoods. It's crazy to me that we haven't figured this out yet.

Good teachers need to be treasured and rewarded and it should never be a place for complacency and entitlement. I couldn't agree more with the (now former) chancellor of public schools in DC, Michelle Rhee who argues that teaching is a privilege, not a right to be handed out to just anyone.

It's utterly fascinating to see the results of modern and common sense approaches to education by the Harlem Children's Zone and the Knowledge is Power Program. Yes, it felt like a personal PSA for them at times, but the proof is right there in their results.

We know what works. Longer hours in the classroom (imagine that?), dedicated and motivated teachers, and yes even less tv, just to name a few. We need 100,000 of them. Some really interesting stuff on the extra features too that are REALLY taking things out of the box.

Like School of One where learning is literally personalized for each student. Really intriguing stuff and successful ideas. And we need so much more of it. There is nothing more sad or anything that will make you more sick to your stomach than the last ten minutes of this doc where kids futures.

...bright kids, good kids, smart kids who just want an opportunity, and their families for them....are decided by the bounce of ping pong balls. That should be considered unacceptable by all of us. It's not going to change unless we decide it needs to.

Finally, it all just makes me thankful for the educational opportunities that I have had in my life, but it leads me to wonder....why should I feel like one of the lucky ones? I want all our kids....and someday maybe my own kids.

...to have those same opportunities and so much more? Don't you?