Over the last few years public school systems have been slowly decreasing in their effectiveness, causing there to be many students, especially those whose families are struggling financially, to be left behind; while others, who have the ability to enter charter schools, are receiving a better education and are succeeding. The documentary Waiting for Superman, directed by David Guggenheim, is focused on this disheartening truth about the American Education System. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos, and music, it attracts the audience to the plot and leaves them with an unsettling feeling about schooling that will hopefully cause them to want to take
“One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman didn’t exist... I was crying because there was no one coming with enough power to save us.” Just as many children look up to fictional characters such as Superman, parents rich or poor, look up to our school system to educate their children. However, too many of these parents are beginning to realize that proper education, like Superman, is nonexistent. In Waiting for “Superman,” Davis Guggenheim addresses the teachers union about the failing public school system in America. Through the use of ethos, anecdotes, statistics and visual and audio elements, Guggenheim attacks a problem too precious to let slip through our fingers.
Educational systems in America are impaired, and the very educators that are meant to teach are the one’s pulling it down. That is the apparent message that Davis Guggenheim attempts to convey in his documentary “Waiting for Superman”. He uses many strategies to get his message across. Some of these include cartoons, children, and those reformers that are attempting to pull the system out of the ditch that it has found its way into. He makes his point very well, and uses facts and figures correctly. He does leave out some of the opinions of the opposing views, but it does not take away from his point that the educational system in America is in need of repair.
Firefighters, Police officers, and soldiers are all of our heroes today, but the heroes that children are lacking in today’s society are teachers. In the documentary Waiting for Superman, it does a great job of showing many of the flaws in today’s education system. In Waiting for Superman, The music and audio features provide a humorous tone and also, at times, a more serious tone. Ethos is established throughout the Waiting for Superman documentary by having experienced teachers and presidents of well known educational companies give their thought on what needs to happen with the schooling system in the United States. The experts in this topic talked about how many of the public schools in the United States are considered to be dropout factories, which is where more than forty percent of the enrolled students drop out. This means more kids sitting on the street with no jobs or education. Furthermore, crime rates will go up, as well as the poverty level because the children can not get a well paying job. It is made known in Waiting for Superman, that the good schools are very expensive and only have limited spots available. To get into these schools, there are often raffles in which you enter for a chance to get in. This method is unfair because there is no guarantee you will get chosen, therefore you may end up getting a worse education than what you know you can receive.
Andrew R. Deras Dr. Jide Osikomaiya English 100 8 September 2016 The Most Compelling Problems In American Schools As we delve back into a new year for students and teachers alike returning to school to continue with the daily life of academics and learning, we all must be understanding of what exactly we are sending our peers and children back to. It should be no surprise to most of us that throughout the years we have seen countless upon countless examples from the news and through others, that our school system is flawed in some way, shape or form. It is no longer a coincidence that our students are only achieving 36th from the top in all total curriculum (Arnett). This is also evident to anyone who may happen to own a T.V. and has been a viewer to these numerous articles describing these horrible issues we have within schools firsthand (ABC News). Not only that, but schooling can also be further compromised by politics and law related issues (Ravitch). What my goal for the essay I am submitting to you is; to give my opinions on the current situation of public schooling in America, discuss the issues, and back my points I will be presenting, with concrete evidence I have uncovered in my research. I would like to make it clear that my stance on the current situation is that there is not only a singular problem with public education, but a number of issues that inhibit students to learn properly and function as productive members of society. An excellent place to start would
The film shows a group of parents giving their best effort to get their kids a more better chance at getting a insightful education, and an opportunity of getting a decent job. The parents go through all the stress, anxiety, and hardship; and it makes the audience feel sorry for them and the viewers feel compelled to help them. Guggenheim wanted the audience to have a feeling of urgency to help these kids and to guide these parents. When the kids where put into the drawing for the charter schools and the audience watches a child be called that wasn't one of the featured kids, the parents get anxious, and can see the pain of waiting. The audience sees when the kids don’t get in, and the kids question why their name was not called. The pain of knowing the kids are going to be sent to an awful school because their name was not called, and it overwhelms the viewers with a sense of pain and agony and makes the audience want to believe there is another way that they can help. The audience wants to make a change the school systems so they can help the children like
In Waiting For Superman, director Davis Guggenheim wants the American people to become aware of the education crisis taking place in the country so they can realize that drastic change is needed. The Music and visuals play a fundamental role in presenting the severity of the problem with education in America. Thirty minutes into the video, a cartoon is shown to portray how contrasting views and regulations do not truly allow an educator to do their job. The cartoon design is innocent and there is calm, soothing music in the background. The music and cartoon visual choice are meant to mimic how Americans handicap themselves with unnecessary rules, when in reality, it should be as smooth as the short cartoon. In addition, later in the video,
Countless children across the United States have the opportunity to go to school, whether it be a public school or a private school. However, many children, specifically in african american communities, do not have the opportunity to receive a proper education. They are simply thrown into a school because the state requires it, but what they do not require is an appropriate teacher. Throughout his documentary, Waiting for Superman, Guggenheim utilizes emotional appeal (pathos), the logic (logos) of his argument, and tone to convey the obvious fact that african americans in low-income communities are not provided with the necessary means to success.
When the word school is mentioned, often, we first think about students and teachers. These two groups roughly describe the educational system. This assignment will focus on teachers as stakeholders in public school districts.
Director, Davis Guggenheim, in the film Waiting for Superman, tells the untold stories of five children waiting for their opportunity to go to a better school. Guggenheim’s purpose is to convey the idea that some schools are waiting for their superman to come save the day. In Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim uses a variety of rhetorical devices to show how the education system is corrupt and what is being done to fix this system. Guggenheim appeals to the viewer’s emotions by providing many heartbreaking stories from the five children being interviewed. There is nothing more pitiful than puppy being kicked or a toy being taken away from a baby.
The documentary Waiting for Superman uses several rhetorical strategies and appeals in order to effectively get its purpose across to the audience. The purpose of the documentary is to persuade people that public schools must be changed drastically for the better. Which would ensure that a multitude of students, if not all students, would be given better chances to succeed in life at the correct and required academic levels. This message is efficaciously relayed to the audience, which is comprised of anyone who is part of the school system, whether that be parents, students, principals, superintendents, presidents, or anyone else who can and is willing to make an effective change to the school system. The message delivered in the film is very
Waiting for "Superman" was filmed by Davis Guggenheim. It was released back in 2009. It talks about the education system in different neighborhoods around the United States of America. It also shows the corruption in the education system. This movie shows how the bad the public education is, and how many people are struggling on a daily basis to get a great education no matter the sacrifices.
In 2010, Davis Guggenheim released one of the years most talked about documentaries, Waiting for Superman. His film was an eye opening, to many, look at the failings of the U.S. school system. The film follows five students across the U.S., who range in grade level from kindergarten to eighth grade, as they try and escape the public school system through a lottery for a chance admission to a charter school. Guggenheim lays the blame for the failing public education system at the feet of the various teachers unions, and makes a plea for the public in general to get involved in reforming the system. By analyzing Waiting for Superman through a sociological perspective, issues of inequality will be explained using the theoretical approach