Waiting for Superman
NYT Critics' PickParamount Pictures
Students Caught in the School Squeeze
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: September 23, 2010
“One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me ‘Superman’ did not exist,” the educational reformer Geoffrey Canadarecalls in the opening moments of “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” a powerful and alarming documentary about America’s failing public school system. “She thought I was crying because it’s like Santa Claus is not real. I was crying because no one was coming with enough