Kevin Welner, the director of the National Education Policy Center, explains why Inside Job, the winner of the Best Documentary Academy Award, is a better movie about education than Waiting for Superman:
The film also points out the growing and now extreme inequality of wealth distribution in the United States. “The top 1 percent of American earners took in 23.5 percent of the nation’s pretax income in 2007 — up from less than 9 percent in 1976.”
Consider those final three items: (1) the advocacy of deregulation in order to free up innovation, (2) hubris and general belief among hedge fund titans that they are infallible, and (3) increased wealth inequality.
If Superman had explored these issues instead of bashing unions and promoting charters, moviegoers might have walked away understanding a great deal about why the families it profiled and so many similar families across America face a bleak educational future.
electricgrendel
Well- one is a documentary. The other is propaganda chock full of willful ommissions. The thing I hate most about Waiting for Superman is now when I search YouTube for the Iron & Wine cover of that song I end up hitting that stupid film’s trailer.
Yes. It’s all about me. :D
FFrank
Remember almost every Oscar Winner was a Union Member.
geg6
@electricgrendel:
IMHO, “Waiting for Superman” is a propaganda film. Michelle Rhee loved it, but I don’t know anyone else who knows anything about education who did.
superdestroyer
Kevin Welner lives in Boulder Colorado where the local public high school is 77% white and 2% black (http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/co/other/133#students)
Dr Welner, PhD, JD,(http://www.colorado.edu/education/faculty/kevinwelner/) knows what it takes to have a good school. He just refuses to admit it. That is the problem with colleges of education these days.
Of course, his essay was reposted at the Washingtonpost.com by Valerie Strauss who attended Jewish Day Schools. I guess that Valerie also knows what makes good schools.
bottyguy
ok, but “Exit through the Gift Shop” was a better movie than either of these.
Punchy
But one teacher in Wisconsin with 35 years on the job makes $70K, so everyone nationwide that’s in an union are overpaid and lazy, so suck on that.
Tokyokie
I liked Inside Job, but I didn’t think it contained anything that somebody who’d been paying attention (which excludes 95% of the population, I guess) didn’t know already. I thought Restrepo was the best of the docs.
Dork
Charter schools can discuss how great Jeebus is. Public schools cannot. Difficult to see how these wingnut gov’s will use that information. Or not.
Bostondreams
@superdestroyer:
And what, pray tell, is he willfully ignoring? Please, clear it up for us.
Ija
@superdestroyer:
Huh? What makes a good school? Lack of black and brown people? Is that what you are trying to say? Is this trollery or what?
Ija
And the tributes and genuflection to Sullivan has begin. Ta Nehisi, why couldn’t you resist? I lost a little bit of respect for you now.
Seriously, why is Sullivan so well-regarded? Are these people so blind? I give up.
Cacti
@Bostondreams:
If you’re actually interested in finding out, rather than getting huffy and puffy, here is a good place to start.
AND
Nor is much attention paid to the attrition rates of charter “success stories” like SEED or KIPP, or the Stanford/CREDO study of 2400 charter schools which showed 17 percent of charter students performing better than their public school peers, 46 percent showing no difference, and 37 percent performing worse.
Cacti
@Bostondreams:
Sorry, didn’t see that you were responding to race trolling.
Anyhoo, Diane Ravitch does a great job of eviscerating “Waiting for Superman” and the numerous “Inconvenient Truths” it ignores about charters.
Haiwei
This is a great point, but it could be made more clearly. the “hedge fund managers think they know everything” distracts from the point that household income is the single greatest predictor of education success, and we’ve been crushing income for 80% of the population for 30 years.
rikryah
Charter schools are a hustle, plain and simple.
Dennis SGMM
One thing that jumped out at me was Wehner’s statemrn that “But no mention is made of the telling fact that Finland had, in 2005, a child poverty rate of 2.8 percent while the United States had a rate of 21.9 percent.”
I thought that sounded too high so I Googled “US child poverty rate” and found this at the National Center for Children in Poverty:
The fact that more than one in five children here live in poverty is enough to make me want to slap the hell out of any pol who brays about “austerity.” The best teachers in the world would be hard pressed to educate these children.
balconesfault
The public school system represents a HUGE amount of public investment in publicly owned and managed infrastructure. A lot of it in very very valuable locations.
I’m not sure if that’s not one of the desired end-games for the conservative movement towards private schools and charters – there are clearly many on the right who wake up every morning disturbed that the public sector continues to own a significant portion of our national infrastructure, and who dedicate themselves towards finding ways to turn those assets over to the private sector.
Nobody should forget that generally undiscussed in the MSM portion of Walker’s bill – the one that would allow Walker’s appointed cronies to unilaterally decide which state utilities to sell off, to whom, and for what price.
The attacks on the public schools could just be another example of the GOP’s smash and loot approach.
geg6
@Cacti:
Yes, Ravitch is totally right on with it, too.
I have experience within my own family of one of the nation’s largest charter schools. My niece attended it for one year and lost an entire year (her freshman year!) due to it. It was all about getting bodies in the door (or online, as it is both a physical and a cyber school). No one in the place gave a shit about education. My sister fought and fought and fought with those people, trying to make sure my niece would be on track academically, but no one cared. Another sister and I (both of whom have graduate degrees in education and one which teaches master level classes in it) had to go with my sister en masse to finally get my niece out of there. One year later, niece is in her local public school, doing well and taking AP classes, but she only got there with a lot of help and intervention from the guidance counselors and faculty at the public school. But she’s lost her love of math (which was her favorite subject) because of the educational malpractice at that charter school, which, as mentioned, is one of the largest and most profitable in the nation (and certainly in the state of PA).
superking
Exit Through the Gift Shop was pretty awesome. I wish it had won.
Anyway, mistermix, what’s the deal with the name changes? That’s Dougj’s thing, isn’t it?
PurpleGirl
Hedge fund managers who get the philanthropy bug began supporting charter schools and school reform that excluded public schools from getting funds. Hedge fund people love charter schools.
balconesfault
I’ve a very positive first-hand experience with charter schools. Our son – a high performing Aspergers – was having a horrible time in the public system in his early grades. For a variety of reasons early level public school education was just not meeting his needs. So we found a charter that was willing and able to offer a level of challenge that the public schools couldn’t with their resources and directives (make sure as many kids pass standardized tests as possible). Fortunately, our school system also had a phenomenal magnet program at the Jr. High/HS level, so we were able to sequence him back into the public system to finish his K-12 career.
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac
The lack of data in a documentary like Superman is what drove me up the wall. These Charter schools that are working, how much money do they use every year? What do the teachers at those schools get paid in comparison to public school teachers. Why are only 1 in 5 charter schools getting better results? Why did the teacher’s union vote against higher pay for a removal of tenure?
Too many questions, too much voiceover, too much handholding, ever pushing you towards their conclusion. I mean, when Gasland is a less idealogical screed than your education “documentary”, you have a problem.
Stillwater
@superdestroyer: Boulder has a good school system because the parents – and others who live here – are wealthy and willing to spend money for their kids education. Your claim seems to be that the mere lack of black people in a school system guarantees it’s overall success. Maybe you stated this badly?
balconesfault
I’m constantly amused by GOP inconsistency on the school funding issue.
Take the whole vouchers thing. Specifically, the Federal Government Funded vouchers for kids in DC to attend private schools that the GOP kept funding.
Next time some wingnut brings that up, tell them you think it’s a great idea – and should be expanded to cover the whole country. The GOP should be proposing federally funded vouchers to cover kids in every school district across America.
It’s a great way to watch a head explode.
sven
This is my favorite line from the WaPo article:
Fire 5 to 10% of teachers every year… What could go wrong with that?
The Republic of Stupidity
The Republic of Stupidity – February 28, 2011 | 10:02 am · Link
Oh goody… moderation hell this morning… must be two in one post… let’s split it into two posts…
@Cacti:
Good link… thank you…
Scariest line in the whole piece…
The George W. Bush Institute just announced its intention to train 50,000 new principals in the next decade and to recruit noneducators for this sensitive post.
Translation: If we can’t put public education in its grave one way, we’ll do it another… by taking all the schools over and making sure they’re run by our own hand-picked, house-trained Christianist wackcadoodles…
The Republic of Stupidity
The Republic of Stupidity – February 28, 2011 | 10:02 am · Link
@Cacti:
Good link… thank you…
Scariest line in the whole piece…
The George W. Bush Institute just announced its intention to train 50,000 new principals in the next decade and to recruit noneducators for this sensitive post.
Translation: If we can’t put public education in its grave one way, we’ll do it another… by taking all the schools over and making sure they’re run by our own hand-picked, house-trained wackcadoodles…
Funniest line…
The stock market crash of 2008 should suffice to remind us that the managers of the private sector do not have a monopoly on success.
True, that…
And not only does the private sector NOT have a monopoly on success, the poor simply don’t have the resources of the rich to screw up on such a vast and magnificent scale… the failures of poor tend to be rather meek and limited in scale…
balconesfault
@sven: There’s actually something to be said for this, at least for a short term.
The problem is in how to identify the bottom 5-10%, and how to make sure that the next, say, 70% of the teacher pool, aren’t spending so much of their time obsessing over politicking to keep their jobs and teaching to the test that they actually have any time to spend on real education.
Villago Delenda Est
@sven:
As they say on the Intertubes, the stupid, it burns!
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac
Also, too, see The Wire, Season 4, then come back and try to blame the Teacher Unions.
Chris
@sven:
Hmm. I wonder, is this how Finland achieves that high level? How does Finland achieve that high level? You think, if you want to have the same results as them, you might want to try finding out how they do it before you start firing everyone in sight?
Stillwater
@balconesfault: there are clearly many on the right who wake up every morning disturbed that the public sector continues to own a significant portion of our national infrastructure, and who dedicate themselves towards finding ways to turn those assets over to the private sector.
This. But what gives the game away for these ‘smaller government’ types is that they aren’t arguing for the complete elimination of government involvement in education. What they really want is for government to keep collecting taxes, but redirect that money into private firms. Such a system obvious promotes ‘freedom’ by preventing the radical liberal agenda (otherwise known as facts and democracy) from indoctrinating impressionable young minds.
WyldPirate
@Ija:
Don’t get out much, do you? It’s called fluffing your colleague. Happens a lot in professional occupations like academia, journalism, government and other occupations that perceive themselves as being “high-brow” or essential when really what is done by the bulk of those in the profession is a waste of time and money.
It’s also known by other, less flattering terms such as boot licking and ass kissing.
Ija
@WyldPirate:
I know, I know. I just thought TNC is a little better than that. I guess not.
gene108
@balconesfault:
I really think the right-wingers want a permanent underclass, like many Third World countries have. I think that’s their end game. To turn America into a Third World nation.
lou
@Dork:
Whether or not charters are a good idea, they are public schools and thus, Jeebus can’t be taught. Of course, one of the problems on the charter school front is that if there is little regulation (looking at you Arizona), they might get away with it.
Vouchers, on the other hand….
Stillwater
@balconesfault: As a matter of indisputable logic, if you fire the worst 5-10% of teachers over the course of only a few years, it won’t take long till every teacher is above average!
Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@gene108: Congratulations! We’re there.
Erik Vanderhoff
Look, I’m a parent, stuck in a crappy school district (San Jose Unified) for the foreseeable future (Thanks, banksters, you fucks!). But my son’s educational future isn’t bleak because my wife and I bloody well take the extra time to expand his educational opportunities by reading, exploring, and spending time with him.
A child’s future is only bleak if his or her parents are complete idiots.
Villago Delenda Est
@gene108:
They think we should be more like Honduras.
WyldPirate
@sven:
The teacher turnover rate is already in this range every year because of shitty pay, bad conditions, job dissatisfaction, etc.
Teacher Turnover, Teacher Shortages,
and the Organization of Schools
So yeah, kicking out another 5-10% a year sounds like a great idea. Not like we need to to make the profession more attractive to attract and maintain more talented people in the profession rather than shitting on them constantly.
Erik Vanderhoff
@Ija: Dude, some professional ass-kissing from the paid bloggers is forgivable. It’s part of the job.
Ija
@Erik Vanderhoff:
Yeah, but they don’t have to be so heartfelt about it. I don’t mind fake flattery, but this seems to be the real deal, and my estimation of TNC has fallen somewhat witnessing his obviously high regard for Sullivan.
gene108
@Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion:
No we’re not. We’re a long, long, long way from the problems faced by Third World countries.
@Villago Delenda Est:
I think that’s the attitude of most right-wingers. After all, why should public sector workers have secure pensions, when private sector workers don’t? Why should ‘x’ profession earn a comfortable living, when ‘y’ doesn’t? We, i.e. you, me and the rest of the middle class, all need to sacrifice…
…so starts our race to the bottom
kansi
@Villago Delenda Est: Yes. Finland? Bah, too cold! Let’s at least emulate someplace more tropical.
WyldPirate
@WyldPirate:
just an FYI–the blockquote above is messed up and the paragraph below the blockquote is from the source. The last paragraph is mine. Sorry for any mix-up
FYWP!
The Moar You Know
Our local charter school experiment ended when the principal got the contract, hired his entire family to staff all the administrative positions, and all five of them walked away with over a half million bucks each for one year’s work.
Not a damn thing the district could do about it, save for threaten legal action and bluster – the freedom for them to do so was written into the charter.
The problem with charters is that nobody looks too closely at the actual contracts. The district was lucky that the family didn’t want to stick around, as they had another two years on the contract, and they could have done the same stunt again for another couple of years. Or rented out the school as a nightclub. Or any other thing they’d felt like, short of:
1. Selling the actual school.
2. Not admitting students.
Mind you, they didn’t have any obligation to actually teach those students, just admit them.
But Waiting for Superman takes the blame for poor student performance and places it on teachers, instead of on parents, which is where it almost always belongs. So it’s a feel-good movie, and very popular, especially with parents whose children don’t do so well in school.
Phoebe
I used to care a lot about this topic until I realized that I hate all schools. In a very dfh way.
gene108
@The Moar You Know:
I don’t know, maybe conservatives have a point about public schools having an education monopoly and the lack of competition causing stagnation, but I think they need to look at the most monopolistic entity involved in a child’s education: Parents!
If you have parents, who aren’t pushing you hard enough or are pushing you too hard to learn, what choice do you have?
I’m not talking about abusive parents, which is a separate category, but more common situations where a kid may not be optimizing his or her potential because of whatever human imperfections the parents have. Kid’s a math whiz, parents are lawyers and suck at math. Wouldn’t it be better to optimize the child’s math skills to let him or her have parents, who are good at math? I bet it would.
Why can’t we choose better parents?
If competition brings out the best in us, I think competing with other parents to be the best, will get us the best parents and children in the world and greatly improve our test scores, which is after all, the most important measure of how well our kids are doing.
gwangung
@Bostondreams: superdestroyer is the whining asshole who keeps whining “Democrats will always control minorities! Democrats will always control minorities!” when the fact was that Republicans had a golden chance to win over Asian Americans as a group and pissed it away.
Corner Stone
@Erik Vanderhoff:
Talk about putting the blinders on.
iriedc
DC charter schools cannot teach a religious-based curriculum, since they are public schools in the fullest sense of the word “public.” several of DC’s Charters are performing very well, and the data is easily available. Also poorly performing DC charters have been closed- an appropriate solution for a Charter which is NOT an appropriate solution to addressing a poor neighborhood public school.
Svensker
@Erik Vanderhoff:
How about if his parent is a drug addict?
Or a single parent who works two jobs and is never home?
Or two parents who don’t know enough about education to know they need help?
Or parents who don’t speak English well and can’t help with English enrichment?
A parent doesn’t have to be an “idiot” not to be able to help the child. There are lots of other issues that come into play — schools and communities need a way to help those kids.
matryoshka
One thing no one ever notes in all this wailing about public school teachers’ pensions is that teachers pay into those pensions instead of Social Security. For the 7 years I taught, I did not accrue SS benefits. It’s not like teachers are double-dipping. Also, to even become a tenured teacher in the state where I taught, a teacher had to teach for FIVE YEARS before s/he was offered a real contract. How many other jobs require a 5-year probationary period, during which you can be fired at anyone’s whim? And honestly, it’s not that hard to get rid of teachers. Any principal or parent worth their salt (or even kids, sometimes) can make your life so miserable that working at Starbucks looks like a fantastic option.
When people talk about “good” teachers, they are often not defining what they mean by “good.” Do they mean the ones most popular with kids? The ones who suck up to the administrators? The ones who give more As than all the others? The ones who will do more for less? I haven’t seen either of these documentaries, but I would guess that these questions aren’t addressed there, either.
The Moar You Know
Thanks for mentioning this. My wife has been a teacher her entire life, and will never get a dime of Social Security.
If I should die before she does, she will get my Social Security. But if she dies before me? I don’t see a dime of her pension.
Teachers get screwed eight ways from Sunday, and both conservatives and liberals do nothing but bash them, rob them blind, make them miserable, blame them for all of society’s ills and use them to advance their own fucked-up visions of what society should look like. Kind of a heavy burden to bear.
matryoshka
Indeed it is, Moar. Kudos to your wife for sticking it out her whole professional life! I’ve always admired the ones who could do it. So where does her pension go, if not to you, in the event that she passes first?
The Moar You Know
@matryoshka: My wife is the most awesome person I have ever met, so thank you and I’ll join in on the kudos.
As to the “where”, I don’t know. Probably just back into the pension pot.
Bostondreams
@Cacti:
No worries. As a public school teacher and a grad student in a college of education, I naturally get huffy and puffy. :)
And I’ve heard superdestroyers same arguments from better spoken racists.
Bostondreams
@gene108:
Look up Samuel Chapman Armstrong and the ‘Hampton Idea.’ That creation of a permanent submissive working class/castes was a huge goal of certain elements of education aimed at African Americans after the Civil War. And Booker T Washington was in many ways complicit in it.
Chris
@gwangung:
Also Muslim Americans. One of those facts nobody knows is that they were a solid Republican voting bloc until the 2004 election; if there had been enough of them to be noticed, it’d have been alongside Asians as a stereotypical “good minority whose people hate communism, uphold family values, have great business instincts, succeed in America and never complain about their adopted country.”
Took a hell of a lot for the GOP to alienate them.
Captain C
@sven:
And of course, we’ll be able to hire better replacements by slashing salaries, benefits, and job security.
Maybe we should try this approach with CEOs and Wall Streeters first, before we experiment on our children. (Side note: if I had been the boss of the WSJ when they published their infamous “lucky duckies” article, I would have called in the authors and editors the next morning, told them I loved their piece, and was so convinced by it that I was cutting their salaries to $12K with no benefits, effective immediately.)
Captain C
@gene108:
This. They haven’t considered the implications of never being able to leave the house/island/gated community without a well-trained bodyguard.
lou
@Chris:
Ditto on Asians. Back in the 90s, during Newt Gingrich’s heyday, my boyfriend worked on the campaign of a Dem running against one of Newt’s boys. He won, despite the odds, because the Asian community in the district was pissed off at the Republican congressman’s anti-immigrant stance.
superdestroyer
@gwangung:
The Republicans never did have much of a change with Asian-Ameircans because the Republican party in California collapsed, Asians are lumped with whites for educational opportunities while being separate for government contracting.
When the Reagan Administration have racial quotas to people from Indian, everyone should have recognized that Asians were lost to the Republicans.
Also, look at http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2011/02/estimating-the-union-vote-premium/, minorities are lost to any conservative party no matter how hard the conservative party tries to pander to minorities.