Rise of the teacher guild
I just finished watching the education documentary Waiting for Superman for the first time.
It does a pretty good job at describing some of the challenges facing our education system, and the filmmakers should be applauded for having the guts to actually offer concrete suggestions for fixing it. The filmmakers highlight the successes of programs like KIPP Academy and Geoffrey Canada’s charter school in Harlem. “We know what works,” the movie declares: longer school hours, high expectations, and the freedom from union rules that protect bad teachers.
What seems beyond dispute is that longer school hours and high expectations work for a lot of families. But we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that’s what works for all families—for example I don’t see Bill Gates, who’s featured in the movie, devoting any resources towards getting a KIPP school in Seattle so his kids can