What Is Waiting For Superman Essay

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

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

The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.

How far a student can go in life is already pre-determined by the generation before him. Success is no longer made up of solely intellectual ability, but rather if the streets the student walks through is gang-ridden or not, if their parents are absentees, and other conditions in which the child grows up in. Valerie Strauss expresses these concerns in her article, “What the Numbers Really Tell Us About America’s Public Schools” in which she discusses how income levels correlate with students’ success rate which is further accentuated through Kamiak and Mariner High School’s Standardized Test Results. “Motivation, a Major Factor in U.S. Student Test Performance” by Dian Schaffhauser continues this idea of external problems affecting low scores

Guggenheim shows how the lack of global competition made us look awfully good. Unfortunately for America this has changed drastically seeing as nowadays schools need to be much better than they were fifty years ago. This is because in the past they were only expected to turn out high school classes where 20% of the kids went to college. Nowadays to be a successful school you need to turn out graduating classes where just about everybody is ready for college. Unfortunately very few school districts are accomplishing this goal. To make this story truly resonate with people, Guggenheim profiled several students waiting to get into Charter Schools, which are schools that are run by different rules and regulations than most public schools, and in turn usually have a history of success. Watching these poor children observe the lottery that will determine whether they can attend, and in a way determine the fate of their education, will break your

The education system has been the cornerstone of freedom and equity for economic success in The United States. However, the history of education has never been so crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the young people. The public schools must struggle to provide equality in educational system as never before. The demand for education has become necessary and growing to provide education for all students to comply with the rigorous academic standards on a global scale (Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., Farrie, D. (2010, p. 1).

Firstly, the book pinpoints on the high levels of inequality associated with our Education System. Markedly, the author was inspired by the experiences that a group of ten of his students faced as they progressed through the system. Paradoxically, a look at the American Education System depicts a system with many entry points that serves the interest of every child in a balanced way.

In the video of waiting for superman, the filmmaker made the purpose of the video to show the audience of kids wanting to go to a better school, believing they can have a better education than what they have. Attending schools in struggling neighborhoods. How their is only little bit of an opportunity there is to have.

This film makes it clear that many of our public schools are failing and takes you through the struggles and disappointments that five children and their families endure going through a rough system of conflicting education regulations, avoid the academic hardships that are public schools in order to receive a proper education that may guarantee them a fulfilling and career

While everybody nowadays receives a good education, not all are taught to the highest standard. The education system, for a long time, has remained unadapted to modern life; this principle remains true. As part of the national wakeup call on America’s scrambled and varying education standards across the nation, Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for Superman raises thoughtful consideration to the subject of educating youth. Throughout the film, Guggenheim utilizes the stories of children in poorer areas to appeal to the audience’s emotional side, or pathos. Effectively showcasing the lives of lower-income families and the disadvantages faced- like not getting into a school that efficiently teaches children and permits them to consequently receive an even higher education, potentially breaking the cycle of poverty- Guggenheim offers evidence based on the success rates of charter schools. Displaying the most successful charter schools, and the most prosperous students out of those, puts charter schools into the

In Davis Guggenheim’s 2010 documentary “Waiting for Superman”, producer Lesley Chilcott paired with Paramount Vantage and Participant Media to create a film that documents America’s failing public education system. Although the United States has tried to improve the education system in the past, it is seen that the desired outcome has yet to unravel. This film has been screened at schools- such as the College of the Holy Cross- and by the Saratoga Film Forum with a discussion about the film after to inform citizens of the faults in our educational system. The central claim or position of the film is that America’s public education system is unsatisfactory, even though student spending has increased per student. However, it is seen that students’ results have flat-lined with no improvement since 1971 in reading and math. Even though this film focuses on statistics on America’s public educational system, there is an emphasis on personal anecdotes.

Public school, most likely you see the lack of motivation in students, yet what has caused them to not put in more effort? Whether it is lack of good teachers, bad environments, or lack of necessary and up to date supplies, students in the United States do not have what they need for successful education. Their fates are basically left up to chance, if they get a high score, if they win a lottery to place, or if they are able to be chosen by school administrators, then they can succeed. Davis Guggenheim, director for the documentary Waiting for Superman, claims that the public school system is failing students and people need motivation to change so that students are able to continue their education without the chance of possibly getting into better schools by means of a lottery. Through logos and pathos he elicits the hardships the children must go through, so that people watching the documentary will reevaluate the quality of education and try to inspire change in administration and teachers.

The article "A Solution When a Nation's Schools Fail" is a good read, and is filled with fallacies of emotional appeals, focusing on the failings of most low-income government schools around the world and contrasting them to for-profit Bridge schools. The writer Nicholas Kristof dives deep into the weakness and shortcomings plagued by some Nation's schools today.

I have not paid much attention to the schools that I have attended throughout my life. They only appeared to be edifices composed of brick and mortar that consumed up to eight hours each weekday. The schools that I went to from Cunningham in Joliet in my early childhood to MCHS in Minooka for high school, both schools were made to serve a similar function but statistically, the demographics that they served were completely different. There was a higher percentage of children eligible for financial aid services such as discounted or free lunches at Cunningham, hinting at the different economic status of most of the students in attendance. I also remember that there was only one set of classes that everyone was set to take: no advanced or honors courses. I was lucky enough to move out of that district and now go to a school that offers me opportunities that prepare me for a better career. Davis Guggenheim takes a stance that criticizes the structure of the educational system as it gives students with a higher economic background better chances to get a better job or even graduate. In his documentary Waiting for Superman Guggenheim uses sadness, suspense, and captivating animations to convey the message that there is a gap between the education that students in rich areas get vs poor areas and that it can be bridged.

Currently, the United States is ranked 14th in the global educational standard, 17th in educational performance and 24th in literacy, based on average test scores and research done by a trusted Forbes author and journalist, Mark Rice, whose work has been cited in multiple news outlets including the New York Times and several radio shows. (Ranking America, Education). This situation illustrates a problem the country is facing, and that is that our education system has become outdated and inefficient. For students in this country, school is considered nothing more than a task, or a job; resembling a routine that must be completed to move on in life. The problems can be summed up into three ideas. First, School takes up the majority of