Davis Guggenheim (Creative Commons)

"Waiting for Superman," the latest documentary by Academy-Award winning director Davis Guggenheim does just that as it takes an in-depth look at America’s broken education system. Armed with powerful statistics, case studies, and historical analysis all framed within the narrative of five young schoolchildren looking for a ticket to a better life, Guggenheim makes a compelling case for America’s present opportunity – and dire need – to radically reform public education.

A central thesis of the film demonstrates that American students are underprepared because a majority of them lack decent teachers. Despite the “No Child Left Behind Act” enacted by Bush in 2002, which seeks 100% proficiency in 12th grade student test scores nation-wide by 2014, students continue to fail and drop out of school at alarming rates eight years later. Current statistics indicate that 8th grade students in states across the country are barely pushing 15-30 percent proficiency rates in reading and math.

For a country that considers itself the number one power in the world (a world leader on so many fronts), this statistic is more than alarming – it’s downright dangerous for the stability of our nation as we move into an era defined by technology. According to the film, 123 million American jobs will be high skill/ high pay by the year 2020, yet only 50 million Americans will have the technical skills to fill them. Hence, the need to go abroad to find workers that can fill those jobs will become unavoidable.

Students that seek the opportunity for a better education can enter lotteries for a place in a magnate or charter school, yet the odds of getting in are almost always overwhelmingly stacked against them, as is the case for all five students featured in "Waiting for Superman."

Shock, outrage, and heartbreak are just a few of the strong emotions stirred by the film, leaving one to fathom, “what happened? Who caused this? And how do we fix it?” 

Despite every presidents’ attempt to reform education for the last half century, test scores among American students have essentially flatlined. The major villain portrayed in all of this? Teachers unions: National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). 

Kindergarten through 12th grade teachers in public schools all work as members of a union. Their job contracts are secured through tenure, a concept originating from universities to ensure that qualified professors would be able to conduct research and keep their posts. However beneficial tenure is to public school teachers, it seems to be having the opposite effect on its students. Barred by union contracts from giving performance reviews or even firing underperforming teachers, school administrators can do little but “trade their lemons” year to year in response to poor teachers.

Without knowing the other side, it’s easy to make a snap judgment from the documentary about the problematic nature of teachers unions, especially when so many logical arguments, examples, and frightening statistics point to the unions as halters of innovation and protectors of a status quo that holds our nation back. If one in 57 medical doctors can lose their license to practice in Illinois, why have only one in 2,500 teachers ever lost their right to teach? Especially if far fewer than half of the students in that state perform at a proficient level?

In Los Angeles, one doesn’t have to look very hard to see the problems that underperforming schools contribute to the community. Ask any one of the hundreds of USC students that go into LAUSD schools each semester to help tutor and lead classes in reading, math, science, and the arts and they’ll fill you with stories about the struggles these students face.

Undoubtedly, teachers working in inner city schools face challenges with their students from outside the classroom that they cannot control or be held accountable for. On top of that, funding for schools in lower-income neighborhoods remains significantly lower than those in more affluent areas, which presents additional teaching challenges. 

However, education reformers featured in "Waiting for Superman," like Geoffrey Canada, who started Harlem Children’s Zone to support students in poor neighborhoods and Michelle Rhee, the no-excuses chancellor of Washington D.C.’s public schools, demonstrate that change and success are totally possible. But it requires a concerted effort on the part of many, especially major contenders like teachers unions. And it needs to happen now. 

Per the rhetoric of the film, America cannot wait for one superhuman to come in and magically rescue us from the collision course that our education system is on. The future of the nation rests in the hands of our educators, making their job a critically important one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. With support from every side of the issue, and a willingness to set aside personal interests and political differences, America can do an about face and climb back up the international education rankings. We must.

Reach Sarah Erickson here.
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