Themes Of Education In Waiting For Superman

An important function of education is to prepare children with the academic skill that they need in order to function in society. However, the troubling aspect of the education in America is the fact that students’ performance in math and science does not match with other students in other countries. The filmmaker Davis Guggenheim spoke against public education and implied that charters schools are the hope for higher education. In the documentary “Waiting for Superman” released in 2010 the film demonstrated the dark side of public education in which parents and children expressed the desire for a better education system in search for guaranteed higher education. The film previewed a group of individuals in different geographical location in the United States who searched for a gateway entry to try to escape the public education system through a lottery. To examine the role education played in the film I will contrast three theoretical perspectives; the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism to comprehend the American education system.

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.

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

This demonstrates that if Sam’s school had got more funding then Sam may have received a proper education, and would have learned the intellectual skills that could help him to obtain a high paying job. Unlike many other people in richer parts of America who are able to achieve a lot in life due to their education, Sam’s lack of wealth ruins his future. Another example is one that hits closer to home- in terms of educational funding, the Illinois system is corrupt, and one of the districts that suffers most is that of Chicago Public Schools. In an interview with Ryan Young from CNN and an anonymous Chicago Public School teacher over the recent strike over budget cuts and the overall lack in school funding, the teacher states, “We care about the students. We want funding for our schools so our children can have supplies… gym, art, and PE., just like the kids in the suburbs do.” This is a direct representation of what is occurring in the Chicago Public School system today as a consequence of budget cuts and unequal funding. In general, the lack of school funding gives poorer children disadvantages when it comes to supplies that can help them to thrive. Also, budget cuts weaken the capacity of schools’ to develop the intelligence and creativity of the next generation of workers. In fact,, funding cuts lessen the ability of the schools to help prepare children better for their future, such as improving teacher

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.

To progress in society, one needs knowledge to further themselves. If one does not gain a good foundation for that knowledge, society will leave them behind. There are certain obstacles that prevent others from pursuing an education such as an inability to access a place of learning, not getting good education from teachers, or just flat out quitting school to make easy money by joining a gang. In Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real Cool,” seven delinquents quit school to engage in rebellious behavior and in Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson,” a teacher takes several underprivileged children to a high-class toy shop. By using point of view, diction, and symbolism, Gwendolyn Brooks and Tone Cade Bambara show the reader why it is important to learn

Zoe Blackburn Craig AP Lang 2 March, 2018 Waiting for Superman Film Review Waiting for Superman by Davis Guggenheim is a documentary released in 2010 that promotes the educational welfare of America’s children in public school systems that are severely broken in many ways. Just under two hours, Guggenheim relates many factual information and shines light on education. The film starts by introducing the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) act which progresses into describing the many faults of the educational system. Throughout the documentary, the film shows personal stories such as Daisy, Francisco, Geoffrey Canada, and Michelle Rhee.

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

Although the documentary is coined the name Waiting for Superman, there in truth, is no Superman coming to the rescue. No hero in a red and blue cape is going to save these children from the horrors of growing up without an actual education. These children are left to a failing system because teachers simply just do not care about how they are affecting their lives. One of the strongest forms of emotional appeal in this documentary revolves around the raffle to get into a charter school. The narrator explains that these children’s futures are being “placed in the hands of luck.” Guggenheim is able to establish feelings of sickness for those who do not get selected and he creates a sadness that is sure to make his audience weep for the children that leave with drooping shoulders and forced

“ The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, is a short story written by Native American author Alexie Sherman. The reading focuses on what education is like for young Indian children living on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state.. As a child, Alexie was determined not to be like the kids of his community. Children were praised for their failure in school and Alexie did not want to be a part of that. Growing up, Alexie was basically born into a literature family. His father was an avid reader and filled the house with books.Throughout the passage Alexie uses rhetorical strategies to help the reader understand that he is trying to break free of the cultures belief of failure for children on the Reservation.

All of the facts point to one prevailing conclusion; America’s school system is failing. No film makes this clearer than “Waiting for Superman,” directed by Davis Guggenheim. In the film, Guggenheim does not hold back in his onslaught of surprising, yet true, facts. Guggenheim points out that Americans are failing compared to the world in major areas of study, such as math and science. However, there is one place American children lead the world; Confidence. Guggenheim says that there is a simple way to fix this prevalent problem, especially for urban youth. The solution, he says, are charter schools. Charter schools are publicly funded, but privately owned schools that do not have to follow curriculum guidelines like

The political documentary, Waiting for Superman investigates and criticizes the American public education system. Directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott in 2010, the goal of this artifact is to look at the role of charter schools in comparison to different educational reforms. The film connects how these factors are producing results that may change the future of education for students within the United States. The plot of this documentary focuses in on the stories of 5 regular public education students Bianca, Emily, Anthony, Daisy, and Francisco who are from across the country and all strive to be accepted into a charter school system. Through the perspectives of the 5 children and their families, the audience observes how they each individually struggle to succeed under various circumstances. Guggenheim introduces the different and difficult options that he believes contains the hope to change the American education system and its repercussions.

Push tells the traumatic story of Claireece Precious Jones, an obese and illiterate sixteen year old who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother. Claireece is pregnant with her second, child as the result of an incestuous rape by her father, who is also the father of her first child. As a result of her pregnancy; Precious is sent to an alternative school. Precious is an ambitious and hopeful young lady who dreams of a better life for herself and her children, but she does not have the proper supports in place to help her achieve her dreams. With the support of her teacher at Each one Teach One, Precious gains the supports that she’s been missing her entire life and for the first time in her life she is able to imagine a life beyond her daunting circumstances. Within this paper, I will examine the inadequacies of the schools to deal with student’s problems and learning disabilities, the inadequacies of

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.