waiting for "superman"

Have you heard about this movie, scheduled to be released this Fall? Its tagline says, "The fate of our country won't be decided on a battlefield, it will be decided in a classroom." Kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker on my friend's old family van that read, "It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber." Right on.

If you haven't already seen the trailer, check it out below. It's because of kids like these, who are so eager to learn and go after their dreams, that I became a teacher. The realization that somewhere inside every student, there is a kid like this (sometimes that spirit is just buried a little deeper), is why I am still a teacher. In this movie, "filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education 'statistics' have names, and follows a handful of promising kids as they go through an educational system that inhibits, rather than encourages, their academic growth."

I'll be interested to see Waiting for "Superman". Part of me has my guard up in anticipation of a steady stream of complaints against the teachers and others who are working every day to open up educational opportunities for our kids. Of course I know that the education system must go through some major changes if we are to educate all of our students effectively. But often, I see far too much hand-wringing over the state of the system, and far too little action being taken to actually make the changes the system needs. On the other hand, I do appreciate that the film's focus seems to be on those who are most affected by the educational system, and have the least control over it--the kids themselves. If nothing else, I think the movie will bring attention to an issue that has been ignored for way too long, and I hope this film will spur people to action rather than wallowing.

The film's official website has a place where you can pledge to go see the movie when it hits theaters later this year. What about you? Will you pledge to see this movie?

I'll save my thoughts on changes the education system needs for another day. Until then, check out this post on ed reform from Tricia, an awesome educator in Austin.

Image via and trailer via.