Waiting in Line for Waiting for Superman

While putting up my posters for events sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Public Life, I saw a poster advertising a showing of the new documentary Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim.  I had just heard of the movie from a classmate in Political Theory, and luckily enough, this poster was advertising a free voucher to see the movie at the Michigan Theater on Wednesday (tonight). So I grabbed a voucher, went to the movie (alone), and just got back.

First things first, the movie made me cry. I rarely cry, so that's something. So it was definitely emotionally moving, and no wonder given the focus put on taping the experiences of several elementary or middle school age children, Anthony, Daisy, Alexander, Bianca and a high school girl whose name I don't recall.

Second of all, the verdict of the documentary was BAD TEACHERS. Teachers that aren't trying their hardest to help their pupils, teachers that lean on union contracts, teachers that are in it for the money, that are tenured, that would prefer not to risk merit-pay reform. The parts of the film that struck me the most were these:

• A video-recording of a 'bad teacher', filmed by a hidden camera, sitting at the front of an unfortunate, out of control class, reading a newspaper and checking his watch. 
•  Bianca and her mother, staying at home during the graduation ceremony of her parochial school across the street because her mother had been unable to pay the remainder of her tuition bills. As her mother cried, she wondered why the school decided to punish Bianca for her mother's financial trouble.
• The video-recording of the dozens and dozens of 'bad teachers' on probation, but getting paid full-wage (if I'm not mistaken) to sit around in a building for months upon months, unable to be fired because of the out-of-control power of unions.
• The culmination of Michelle Rhee's proposal of voluntary merit-pay for union teachers: the decision of union leaders to prohibit putting the proposal to a vote among union members. After that decision, Rhee finally realized that the mess we're in is the result of unions caring more about the grown-ups...

This film came to a conclusion that finally makes sense, finally hits me in the heart, finally gives me something to hope for. The way to solve the education crisis in this country is ultimately to care about the children and teach them well. That means putting children in the care of motivated, effective teachers whose top priority is the children. Sure, we can disagree about how to do that - free market or incentive program - but that's the goal we can all agree on, and this documentary drives it home that we are by no means there yet.