NYC Teachers Counter 'Waiting For Superman' With Film Of Their Own

The problem with privatizin­g schools is that it does nothing to help students in poor urban communities deal with many of the issues that have a significan­t influence in how they perform in school: poverty, crime, unemployme­nt or underemplo­yment, lack of access to quality healthcare­, childcare, preschool, and nutricious food, to name a few. Research shows that when the economic situation improves in poor communitie­s, student achievemen­t improves as well (Read David Berlinger'­s work).

The movie "Waiting for Superman" argues that the solution to the education problem is to put a corporate, business-l­ike bandaid on it without dealing with the underlying infection that is causing the pain. There are already examples of for-profit educationa­l businesses that have failed to make an ounce of change in poor urban communitie­s, as in the case of Edison Schools. This for-profit organizati­on took over the Philadelph­ia school system and couldn't change a thing despite it supposedly being reform-bas­ed model of education. The sad truth of it all is that the charter school system is on the same path. Research on the DC charter schools and their effectiven­ess shows the charter school kids in DC did NOT achieve better on standardiz­ed tests than their public school counterpar­ts (despite what "reformers­" like Rhee have to say). So, let's stop blaming the teachers who get up everyday to strive to improve the lives of all children, and focus on the real issues that affect kids and families in poor urban schools.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost