A Charter Teacher Speaks!
Waiting for a Fair Shake: The One Sidedness of 'Waiting for Superman'
Last week, I went to a pre-screening of "Waiting for 'Superman' ", the new documentary about urban education by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth". As a charter school teacher, and Teach for America corps member to boot, I figured it'd be nearly impossible for me to dislike the movie.
But I found something strange happening to me as the film progressed. At the start, I felt moved by the vivid portrayal of the horror of inner city public schools. I grew slightly uneasy, though, as the movie slid into casual union bashing, a feeling that only intensified with the depiction of all tenured teachers as hacks like Lisa Simpson's incompetent teacher, Ms. Hoover. By the time I left, the film's one-sidedness had galled me to the point that I was ready to break into "Solidarity Forever," the old trade union anthem.
Last week, I went to a pre-screening of "Waiting for 'Superman' ", the new documentary about urban education by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth". As a charter school teacher, and Teach for America corps member to boot, I figured it'd be nearly impossible for me to dislike the movie.
But I found something strange happening to me as the film progressed. At the start, I felt moved by the vivid portrayal of the horror of inner city public schools. I grew slightly uneasy, though, as the movie slid into casual union bashing, a feeling that only intensified with the depiction of all tenured teachers as hacks like Lisa Simpson's incompetent teacher, Ms. Hoover. By the time I left, the film's one-sidedness had galled me to the point that I was ready to break into "Solidarity Forever," the old trade union anthem.
