Review of Waiting for "Superman" (2010) by Stephen M — 03 May 2011

Waiting for Superman offers a clear picture of the failing American educational system, especially for kids in urban areas. This is not a very cheery flick, and it sometimes over-emphasizes the grimness for several minutes. But it also offers a series of possible solutions.

Every morning in large cities across America, parents send their kids off to school with the small hope that the children are being educated. Instead, the kids pass through security checks and into overcrowded and underfunded classrooms. Other students with developmental and behavioral problems bring any possible learning to a screeching halt. The teachers, protected by powerful unions, sometimes do not even pretend to do their jobs. Educators exhibit a combination of helplessness and the understanding that teachers cannot be terminated unless they obviously do something heinous. These factors create dropout schools, where only 40 percent of student graduate. Many of them cannot read or write past an eighth-grade level. Itâ(TM)s no surprise that George W. Bush and No Child Left Behind made the whole situation worse.

This doc follows five poor families. Some work themselves to death to send their children to private schools. Others put their faith in an impossible lottery system that, on average, offers only 1 in 20 students the chance to attend a better magnate school. We spend the entire film waiting to see if any of the unfortunate kids get the opportunity of a passable education.

This is awful, sad stuff, but Waiting for Superman is an education we all need.