Reply #7: I especially like the WYNC article. [View All]

[madfloridian]

http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2010/sep/23/waiting-superman-if-only/

"The filmmakers have told audiences they are not anti-union and that they, in fact, belong to unions. But “Superman” does not do much to bolster the image of American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten (which is why she and her members have become vocal critics of the film). Teachers are portrayed as villains out to serve their own interests above those of the children they serve when the film cuts to the infamous rubber rooms in New York City, where teachers awaiting disciplinary action sat for years doing nothing while collecting their paychecks. An administrator in Milwaukee refers to the “dance of the lemons” when principals who can’t fire bad teachers swap them with each other each fall. The film strongly suggests—no, states—that unions and their contracts are an obstacle to innovations when it shows the DC union objecting to Chancellor Rhee’s proposal to give up tenure in exchange for a higher salary."

.."One NYC administrator told me schools are messy places because “they’re like soup.” You never know exactly what caused test scores to rise and fall because children’s lives are so complicated. Some get sick and stay home for days; others have undiagnosed learning disabilities; some have parents pushing them from birth to read; other kids seem to excel no matter what obstacles you put in their way. And every teacher has a slightly different approach, no matter how hard a district tries to unify its curriculum. One may never know exactly what went into the soup.

This is not to say we should throw up our hands and declare the subject’s too difficult to tackle for the public at large. It’s just a reminder that a film telling us there is no Superman can easily leave some viewers thinking that’s exactly what we need. Yes, the problem is complicated. But the steps are complicated, too."