The babies are speaking to us, I wonder if the author would send his children, grandchildren to this school. Let’s start by tackling five big issues raised by the film, and explain why they matter to you and your family: According to Waiting for Superman, from 1971 to today, America has gone from spending an average of $4,300 per student to $9,000 per student, (adjusting for inflation). Political economy of non college bound students, Nobel Economist and expert on human capital, Gary Becker, weighs in Half the people in the audience were crying at the end because the movie made them see that, as great as charter schools are, the demand greatly outpaces the supply and children are instead left to go to schools where Id imagine wed find this author employed. “Does tenure guarantee employment? Only 1/3 of the population still works at 61. see State elected public officials using politics to underfund education as well as This is not to say that teachers are bad. However, I think these points are also guilty of, if not hyperbole, then at least sweeping and generalized interpretations. pouring knowledge into a students head) and does so without acknowledging the limitations of the metaphor. You dont need a union. Yes, the movie has some propaganda I understand, but it touched on the stress and struggles of the parents and children to get the best education they deserve. Nationwide they are breaking even with public schools, but this does not mean that they are failing. We could create a Finnish-like environment here but almost every solution offered here in the past 50 years would have to be ignored and major legislation building on the recent health care law but covering things such a minimum wage of $28 per hour, guaranteed housing, and fuller social security benefits would be the first things enacted. In summary, focus on your successes,(there are many!!) I agree with Matt,lets stop being defensive and get the USA educational system back in the top 10! On my the street my mother live, there is a not so good public school. The selection process alone for becoming a teacher is so rigorous and demanding. When given a choice of giving up tenure and doubling their salaries, they wouldn’t even vote. When we Today I saw the movie. “When your child goes to the hospital, you’re immediately the health advocate, and when your child goes to school you have to be the education advocate,” he says. I would love to move to this model. > This thing almost destroyed me, it really did. I dont remember hearing the words Race to the Top in the movie. media influence the good or the bad in schools. Making that are sometimes worthless and expensive. Copyright © 2020 Education.com, Inc, a division of IXL Learning • All Rights Reserved. Unions, their lawyers, and their politicians that are bought and paid for. Students must be capable of passing tests, which are admittedly biased, in order to be successful. Waiting for Supermancould and should have been an inspiring call for improvement in education, a call we desperately need to mobilize behind. Why you should care: Guggenheim makes the case that teachers unions use tenure to prevent schools from firing bad teachers, and use campaign financing programs to prevent lawmakers from making sweeping reforms to reward good teachers.