Educ 300: Education Reform, Past and Present, an undergraduate course with Professor Jack Dougherty at Trinity College, Hartford CT. David GuggenheimsWaiting for Supermanlooks at how theAmerican public school system is failing its students and displays how reformers have attempted to solve this problem. This is a documentary about our failing education system and the tears we saw in this room are about our children and how our schools are leaving them behind. There was, as Geoff said, a sense that failure was tolerable, as opposed to a focus on success. Were here to talk about the movie, to talk about education. When I see from my own experience as a school teach are for six years when evaluations didn't work and less than 20 percent of them think that evaluations work right now. /ArtBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] Waiting for "Superman" premiered in the US on September 24, 2010, in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, with a rolling wider release that began on October 1, 2010. GLORIA: Im just so afraid for him. 7 0 obj SCARBOROUGH: Why would you spend a million dollars to defeat a mayor? ANTHONY: Its bittersweet to me. >> The issue is we have to all do this together with good contracts, with all of us on the same side, getting to help good teachers, getting supportive principals, getting a curriculum and the wrap-around services that Geoff does that cradle to college service. Geoffrey Canada: I was like what do you mean he's not real. BRZEZINSKI: Is there a possibility? That's what our union has been trying to do for the last two years. If Anthony goes to Souza, odds are he'll enter high school three to five grade levels behind. SCARBOROUGH: Fantastic. WEINGARTEN: Look, what the unions actually talked about was as part of lifting the cap, as part of lifting the cap, they didn't fight against lifting the cap -- LEGEND: Yes, they did. So it's important to understand how this is locked down here in D.C. and in New York. 57 percent of Daisys classmates won't graduate. /CropBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daisy and her parents have found one other option. /Rotate 0 /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] WAITING,FOR,SUPERMAN,DOCUMENTARY,TRANSCRIPT That's when we come back as we dive into the issues presented in "Waiting For Superman." SCARBOROUGH: Why are you going to get fired? IE 11 is not supported. By the time she leaves Stevenson, only 13 percent of her classmates will be proficient in math. /MC0 31 0 R I think if we actually got to what constitutes a good teacher and had that kind of standard we'd all be in the same place on that and there are about 50 or 60 districts right now, I made a proposal in January about how to overhaul evaluation. Even during the MSNBC town hall today, there were teachers who say I don't care about tenure. It's about figuring out what works in charter schools and exporting that across America. I just heard a story, I met a teacher the other day. They were the right things for kids but they made the adults incredibly uncomfortable. Thank you so much for doing this and also sharing your story in the movie. Though money doubled, reading and math scores have flat-lined. >> We spruced up -- modernized the building. So people keep talking about accountability just in terms of firing teachers but what I think people need to understand is how accountability allows you to unleash teacher passion by setting on fire all the teachers in the school because you're allowed to give them the freedom to teach the way they see fit. RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRES., AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: Sure. /Length 868 Waiting for "Superman" - Wikipedia But you did. /Parent 1 0 R The video explores several of the problems within the system, and tells the personal stories of several families and communities who have been impacted and disadvantaged by the broken education system. It was not simply about education. What happened there? The film also examines teacher's unions. Having made a film on the subject in 1999, documentary filmmaker. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lets get started. It is a revolution. /TT0 48 0 R If you look at what the Kipp schools have done or the uncommon schools, they've been able to replicate this model over and over. We're in a crisis. /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] [4][5][6] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 118 critics. If I want something for her and I cant get it from there, I'm going to find an alternative. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems. It was about a whole range of other issues. A lot of times, the unions, for instance, were fighting to -- fighting the right to have more charters in New York. WEINGARTEN: No one, you know, teachers in at least our union would be the first to tell you, we rail against this system in some ways as much as Geoff and Michelle. Because I know he's easily influenced to do things he shouldn't do. We're here at the site of our education nation summit launching today at NBC News and MSNBC. What did you learn? The most influential scene during this segment is when one of the students, Bianca, and her mother, Nakia, wait for Biancas name to be called as the lottery nears the end. I've been amazed by what's possible. [1], The film has earned both praise and negative criticism from commentators, reformers, and educators. I mean I think that's what this whole debate is about in many ways. We love good teachers. SCARBOROUGH: If you're going to lock kids in Harlem out of that process and let a few see the light and see the -- that seems to me to be immoral. RHEE: What I think it comes down to, people underestimate we did from the school system side everything we need to do. They do allow us to figure out what's working and we should replicate it and what's not and we should close those charter schools that arent working so that we actually develop a science in our business about what works in what kinds of environments and in what kinds of communities. How do you get past that? SCARBOROUGH: John Legend, final thoughts? RHEE: I'm just wondering, if the AFT was putting a million dollars into mayoral campaigns all across the country just based on who the teachers liked, I would buy that argument. I said what I if I made a different kind of movie from a parents' point of view? You believe it, don't you, Michelle? "[19] Forbes' Melik Kaylan similarly liked the film, writing, "I urge you all to drop everything and go see the documentary Waiting For "Superman" at the earliest opportunity. "[9] Scott Bowles of USA Today lauded the film for its focus on the students: "it's hard to deny the power of Guggenheim's lingering shots on these children. NAKIA: I was disturbed. It matters who your local representative is. SCARBOROUGH: Because we've been up to Harlem, we've seen what's happening up there. >> /Properties << BRZEZINSKI: Why not inspire them with pay? What's Mayor Bloomberg doing right? << endobj Waiting For Superman has helped launch a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of the struggles students, families, RHEE: You know what, heres the thing. /Type /Page Why did you pick this topic? A preview of movies hitting theaters this spring : NPR /Filter /FlateDecode >> RHEE: It was actually 12 percent that were proficient in reading but he picked the better statistic because actually, only 8 percent of our children were proficient in math. Many of them. SCARBOROUGH: You also told me that there was a split in the civil rights community, that older members of the civil rights community sometimes fought younger members of the civil rights community who were reformers. LEGEND: Well, it's been quite a learning experience because I get to meet great educators. WebSynopsis. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] BRZEZINSKI: You can hear the distrust here. These students range in First, I loved that town hall today. It's the school that Deborah Kenny runs. The film follows several families as they attempt to gain access to prominent charter schools for their children. It's going to be mommy's job to get you another school that's better. This is about changing the political environment that we're operating in. /Contents 30 0 R I'm feeling it. /TrimBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] This is why. BRZEZINSKI: What happens to these kids? We increased attendance rates. BRZEZINSKI: No. But we need to have real evaluation systems, which is what the union has been focused on, so that teachers are really judged fairly. And we're going to figure out, we're going to get people together here. Its so interesting you say that because Mika, Chris, our EP, myself, everybody thats seen this movie says first of all, they break down and cry at the end of this movie and then when they go home and they look at their children, children who can go to really great schools, they look at their own children differently. They said, look, this work is hard. 9 0 obj So the question is, what's New York City doing right? I knew what the final scene would look like and I still broke down three times. SCARBOROUGH: Its about jobs. It was so heartbreaking to see her upset and all of the other children around her not being called and not being picked. SCARBOROUGH: If she's given the chance. /T1_1 24 0 R Like around here, I mean, I want my kids to have better than what I had. I mean, not all teachers are created equal. People couldn't believe you could do it. SCARBOROUGH: We really had. endobj SCARBOROUGH: Hes like Chuck Yager of the classroom. We have to go to break. BRZEZINSKI: Randi, really quickly. Waiting for Superman. Theres a lot of schools that I want to take you to Davis, great public schools where we are breaking the sound barrier, too. During its opening weekend in New York City and Los Angeles, the film grossed $141,000 in four theaters, averaging $35,250 per theater. WEINGARTEN: We need to help them do that for all of our kids. /Kids [ 4 0 R 5 0 R 6 0 R 7 0 R 8 0 R ] More importantly than our union, the new mayor is committed to it. The fact that there are currently not enough spaces in American schools should also be viewed as one of the primary factors defining their failure to meet the needs of students (Guggenheim). When you put a face on this issue, as we talk about the details of it, that's the thing I keep saying to myself, let's not forget as we argue and discuss and learn about this, let's not forget the kids. Let me answer your question first. BRZEZINSKI: And the reaction that we saw just moments ago was the same, these are people who know. /T1_1 20 0 R They clearly illustrate that no matter the area, teachers are failing America's youth at an alarming rate.. And this is not America, the idea that one kid could have a great education and one kid can't. SCARBOROUGH: How do we do it, Geoffrey? We're feeling a real sense of commitment. LEGEND: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daisys path to medical school begins with eighth grade algebra which she'll need to take when she moves up to Stevenson Middle School. I'd like to follow up by asking you, that on "MEET THE PRESS" this morning, you said the union has taken steps to make teachers better, taken concrete steps. However, the film shows how even charter schools leave some children behind, as those who are not chosen by the luck of the draw in the lottery system, are not able to attend the charter schools of their choice. "[12] The Hollywood Reporter focused on Geoffrey Canada's performance as "both the most inspiring and a consistently entertaining speaker," while also noting it "isn't exhaustive in its critique. Ravitch said that "cheating, teaching to bad tests, institutionalized fraud, dumbing down of tests, and a narrowed curriculum" were the true outcomes of Rhee's tenure in D.C. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon wrote a negative review of the film, writing that while there's "a great deal that's appealing," there's also "as much in this movie that is downright baffling. /T1_0 20 0 R He's a Grammy award winning songwriter. But I think we have to get a layer deeper than just the platitudes that remain on the stage. They asked Rhee whether the pressure on teachers led them to cheat. GUGGENHEIM: The dream of making a movie like this is conversations just like this, the fact that you and NBC and Viacom and Paramount and Get School bring a movie to the table and let people in this room have a real conversation about to fix our schools is essential. WEINGARTEN: The issue in terms of the D.C. election was our members and others really like Vincent Gray. He wrote "Shine," the theme song for "Waiting For Superman." 3 0 obj endobj Waiting for Superman (song), a 2013 song by the American rock band Daughtry. SCARBOROUGH: Hold on a second. /Properties << In this incredible movie, "Waiting For Superman," Davis Guggenheim introduces to us some of the heroic parents who struggle to provide a better future for their children. BRZEZINSKI: Im sorry, we have news for our audience as well. There are really, really bad charter schools across America. SCARBOROUGH: Right. /GS0 18 0 R SCARBOROUGH: All right. GUGGENHEIM: Whats really -- people -- when I hear this conversation, I want to bring it back to parents. /Contents 33 0 R BRZEZINSKI: It was still painful. And a lot of times some of the older civil rights organizations have historically aligned with the unions. I've never seen anything like it in my life. /MC0 28 0 R By the nature of who my family is. WEINGARTEN: Look, we have schools in New York, like the school that Steve Barr and I run, which has a union contract, we're 100 percent of the kids path the math regions. But I think that's false. There are winners and losers. /ExtGState << << WEINGARTEN: Let me get to both of these issues, let me see if I can conflate them. WebShop for waiting for superman documentary transcript filetype:lua at Best Buy. Most will go to John Phillip Souza, which the "Washington Post" called an academic sink hole. I want to say something about what John just said. [39], There is also a companion book titled Waiting For "Superman": How We Can Save America's Failing Public Schools.[40]. They'll talk about this issue. You could fail those kids for another 20 years, everybody keeps their job, nobody gets the go. Waiting for Superman >> SCARBOROUGH: It really is. A teacher wants to stay. 1h 51m. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the cages up here. It's about those kids. Your last really big film was "Inconvenient Truth." We even tolerate mediocre teachers. Explain to me how that is good for children. Waiting for 'Superman' Quotes NAKIA: The schools in my area don't measure up as far as the reading is concerned, the math is concerned. GUGGENHEIM: Those kids can't learn. There is a perception out there that is the union that is standing in the way of principals firing bad teachers. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. WEINGARTEN: I live in New York -- RHEE: You put $1 million into a mayoral campaign. SCARBOROUGH: It was about education. You said, you still cry every time you see it. Ravitch also writes that many charter schools are involved in "unsavory real estate deals" [31], In 2011, many news media reported on a testing score "cheating scandal" at Rhee's schools, because the test answer sheets contained a suspiciously high number of erasures that changed wrong answers to right answers. >> What's the big takeaway from "Waiting For Superman"? Waiting for 'Superman' (2010) | Watch Free Documentaries Online As part of lifting the cap they wanted to make sure that there was accountability for everyone. I want to talk about New York for one second. ANTHONY: I stayed back one grade. I went up and I saw a revolution, a revolution that you helped start.
