(2010)
A good education is the most vital asset a child can have. It has a profoundly widespread effect on the empowerment and development of our youth, and thus the future of our country. Waiting for Superman contends that the American education system is failing (American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science among industrialized countries) and points to immensely successful charter schools, which are publicly funded but operate independent of bureaucratic regulations that hamper other public schools, as a means of comparison.
Guggenheim brings this issue to life through the stories of five children, all vying for desks at charter schools across the country. These children are painfully aware of the significance of gaining enrollment in these charter schools, and their presence provides the audience with an emotional connection to the issue and to the film itself. Their earnest desire to learn raises the question: why can’t we provide every child in America with such a premium education?
One of the central figures of the film is the ebullient Geoffrey Canada, founder of the immensely successful Harlem Children's Zone. Canada invokes a childhood hope that Superman himself would emerge to rescue him from the desperation of the South Bronx. Canada’s career has led him to become Superman to the Harlem community, rescuing children by providing them with an education "from birth to college."
The coveted desks at the charter schools are in high demand. In order to keep admissions impartial, interested students are selected literally through a lottery drawing. Guggenheim captures the lottery on film, in all of its unwarranted horror. Students have a 5% chance of winning the lottery. The other 95% are destined for public schools and increased drop-out-rates.
Guggenheim mainly points to powerful teachers unions as a culprit against reform. However, in an article on HuffPo, Rick Ayers, Adjunct Professor in Education at the University of San Francisco, points out that there are other issues that need to be addressed;The film dismisses with a side comment the inconvenient truth that our schools are criminally underfunded. Money's not the answer, it glibly declares. Nor does it suggest that students would have better outcomes if their communities had jobs, health care, decent housing, and a living wage. Particularly dishonest is the fact that Guggenheim never mentions the tens of millions of dollars of private money that has poured into the Harlem Children's Zone, the model and superman we are relentlessly instructed to aspire to.Guggenheim has excelled in using the medium to address social issues and inspire reform. His previous film, An Inconvenient Truth, was heralded for raising international attention to global warming. During the closing credits for Waiting For Superman, the audience was urged to text "POSSIBLE” to 77177 to have $15 contributed to a Donors Choose project. The official film site, www.waitingforsuperman.com, also offers opportunities to take action.
official film site * trailer
Trivial Tidbits:
- Received the Audience Award for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Guggenheim on Colbert
