Educational systems in America are impaired, and the very educators that are meant to teach are the one’s pulling it down. That is the apparent message that Davis Guggenheim attempts to convey in his documentary “Waiting for Superman”. He uses many strategies to get his message across. Some of these include cartoons, children, and those reformers that are attempting to pull the system out of the ditch that it has found its way into. He makes his point very well, and uses facts and figures correctly. He does leave out some of the opinions of the opposing views, but it does not take away from his point that the educational system in America is in need of repair. Guggenheim uses those and other devices to inspire action within the masses, and highlight a topic that has been recently shrouded by other problems our nation faces today. He also places blame upon the ‘system’ itself, many reasons add to this conclusion such as refusal to make change, with tenure being the central idea that cripples education. Guggenheim focuses his documentary on the teachers that make-up a large portion of the system. One of his strongest arguments is that the teachers are the problem, and the inability to rid schools of the incompetent teachers is the primary reason American schools are coming in so low in the international rankings. He also shares many facts and statistics that are staggering by their lonesome, but he presents them in such a way to exaggerate them by use of animation, music, and narration. Some of these animations add visuals when a complex idea is being described, such as the idea of the ‘lemon dance” or the ‘rubber room’ in New York. Guggenheim also takes the idea of tenure and uses these techniques to twist tenure into somethi... ... middle of paper ... ... and our sense of guilt with his documentary. Which, while is not the most admirable technique, it causes the audiences to start thinking about what they are doing to help or hurt the educational system, and what our kids are receiving from the educators around them. This film is one that has faults, but is also very credible and a major wake-up call for those currently in power to make a change and help improve the schools of America, securing a better future for all. Works Cited Patterson, James. "Where are you Superman?" Rev. of 'Waiting for Superman'. (June 2011): Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Schwarzbaum, Lisa. “Waiting for ‘Superman’” Rev. of ‘Waiting for Superman’. (October 2010): Academic Search Complete. Web. Nov. 2011 Guggenhaim, Davis. ‘Waiting for Superman’. 2010. Film.
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
Some people dream of wealth, happiness, or genius, but is any of that easily attainable? An intellectual young man from the movie Good Will Hunting has an unusually high IQ that is shrouded by emotional problems. Will Hunting is arrested after yet another case of physical assault in Boston, and this time it was a police officer. When he is arrested, his genius is discovered by a college professor, Gerald Lambeau, who sees potential in Will despite his flaws. Instead of jail time, Labeau offers him a fair bargain. As long as Will attends mandatory therapy, he will be allowed to work alongside the professor. But education isn’t everything, because under Wills sarcastic wit and mathematical genius, he hides his true self. Will scares off five different therapists before he finds himself stuck with Sean Maguire, who ends up using personal and profound forms of therapy to crack Wills shell. Sean delivers this speech to help Will realize his ignorance of his insecurities and other people by using ethos, logos, and pathos appeals; Sean addresses that true knowledge and perspective can only
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
In Davis Guggenheim’s documentary Waiting for Superman, he exposes mainly a one-sided argument against teachers unions, by stating the unions are a “menace and an impediment to reform.” His documentary explores the tragic ways in which the American public education system is failing the nation's children, and explores the roles that charter schools and education reformers could play in offering hope for the future. Statistics show our nation’s student dropout rates, diminishing science scores, math scores, and schools closing due to lack of funding, but numbers fail to represent the names and faces of the children whose entire futures are at stake due to the inability to enact change. Bianca, Emily, Anthony, Daisy, and Francisco are five students who deserve a better opportunity in education. By investigating how the current system is actually obstructing their education instead of bolstering it, Guggenheim opens the door to considering possible options for transformation and improvement. Guggenheim uses certain cinematic elements like interviews and cartoons, to influence an emotional response from the viewers and manipulate their opinion for the argument against its portrayal of unions.
In “Idiot Nation,” Michael Moore discourses on the collapse of American education system and the three main reasons behind it: politicians’ ignorance, shortage of teachers, and the rise of Corporate America. Moore first points out how ignorant the President and politicians are by stating that the President cannot simply identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of funding in education to the fact that politicians prefer to build bomber than to improve our education system; this leads to shortage of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and decrease of books available for students. He then notes that the low salaries of teachers, which are caused by the insufficient funding of education, result in shortage of qualified teachers, leading to the failure of the education system. In addition, Moore discusses about the rise of Corporate America, which is another factor corrupting the education system. To get funding from Corporate America, schools diminish the time students have in class, by making students watch advertisements from businesses and help businesses conduct research during class time. Throughout his excerpt, Moore uses exemplification, surprising statistics, rhetorical questions, and simple but clear reasoning to effectively express his ideas and convince readers of his arguments.
In the essay Idiot nation, Mr. Moore uses humor anecdotes and some solid numbers as to how governments spending is not adequate for schools in these modern times, he contrasts that amount to the billions spent on the military, jails, and other programs that would better be spent as the schools. And how schools are being incentivized by corporations such as soft drink manufacturers putting the donations and sponsorship above the health of the students. Mr. Guggenheim has us follow several students in their quest to leave the tainted teacher’s union schools for the private or charter schools that are unencumbered by teachers with tenure, and with the ability to pay more to the better teaches for the above par performance, and that have a vested interest in the students succeeding and going on to
Based on my research on New Orleans and this documentary I think as one solution the teachers and communities should have control over the policies for education reform because no one knows better than the teachers what is effective and what is not. I also feel that all students should have equal opportunities in education no matter their socio-economic status, race or special needs, every child should be receiving the same level of education. I also strongly disagree with testing being the determining factor of funding and teachers jobs being at stake because many students are not good test takers. This documentary and my research on New Orleans have definitely changed my views on the education system and opened my eyes as a future education to the issues that are currently being faced as an educator.
Teach for America is an important program for today's and future education because it establishes contemporary thoughts and teachings. Like Kuhn states, “society is changing so fast” (Kuhn). Due to this belief, education is transforming and it is the teacher's priority to keep up with this pace. Teachers from Teach for America, or even great teachers within current education, are constantly reinventing their teaching styles and les...
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
First, with all the money that is being put into public education, it needs to be distributed evenly. If public schools had similar resources and capabilities, students wouldn’t need to travel far to get a good education and this would solve many problems. An example of this from the film is when a Mother is speaking about her child’s experience at an open discussion. She talks about how her student loves music and music is taught at a one public school and not the other. Money is being distributed unequally and kids are being taken of opportunities that they could have a passion for. Another aspect that I agree with is that for things to change for the better in the future, everyone needs to get involved. Kids in these unfortunate situations can only do so much to speak up for themselves but it will only get them so far. Most of the students aren’t even able to vote yet so it is important the country as a whole is aware of these problems and learn about how to help. Students from everywhere need to feel that they are valued so they have the chance to
The American Education System has been a core component to the development of generations since it became a public system in the 1870s. Since then more rules, higher expectations for some, and even lower expectations for others have been added to the original structure. In recent years, many debates have surfaced over whether the American education system is failing. Too few they believe the American Education System is on the right track. Most researchers however have shown statistics that it is in fact slowly declining as new acts and regimens are added. It has been on a downward spiral for years and citizens have been watching it happen, the lack of government funding, acts like the No Child Left behind Act, focus in the wrong places, and the curriculum set up is acting as a deterrent for success.
Today, the way the educational system works in the U.S. concerns a large number of people in this country. "Only 25% of adults have a great deal of confidence in the people running education, according to the General Social Survey, down from 49% in 1974" (Russel 4). A lot of discussions have been held to find the best ways to improve teaching methods. At the same time, people recognize that a very valuable solution to increase the level of education in the United States is to look at some problems that cause difficulties and hamper the enhancement of the quality of education. The first step is to define these problems. As in every country, the U.S. wants to develop its national standards in education and wants them to be high. This has always been a government function. Being democratic, the government is trying to fit the qualities of democracy into the way to set these standards. Of course, this is not an easy task since this country has a very diverse population. To please everybody has always been an almost impossible task. Despite this impossibility, national standards have already been set. "If a visitor from another nation was dropped into an American public school classroom without knowing the state or the region, he or she would be likely to see the same lesson taught in the same way to children of the same age" (Ravitch 9). Everything seems right except the fact that the abilities of children are different. Not everybody is able to study at a college; not everybody wants to continue being educated. It is obvious that every country wants to produce as many educated people as possible. But, at the same time, every country needs workers because, regardless of the fast development of technology, there is still a great necessity for human labor. To satisfy all the necessities of the country, the government should provide different kinds of education. This does not mean that we need to eliminate all of the standards; they could be set in each field of education. Although standards are set, there is still a very big difference in teaching methods in different schools. Perhaps, the most serious problem starts in high schools: some schools provide a higher level of education than others. Students from most city schools graduate with the confidence in their knowledge; their level of educati...
...they were given enough motivation. On the contrary, Moore is giving a message that a strong initiative has to be taken to make our system free of corruption and improvement in the American society has to be made for us to be recognized as a super power. Moore also focuses on the fact that the responsibility for the failure of the education system is because of the unholy nexus between the corrupt politicians and the corporate. To sum up, both these authors have been successful in catching the attention of audience and supporting their arguments through their effective use of rhetorical strategies.
In his piece titled Idiot Nation, Michael Moore depicts many faults of the American education system. One quote that caught my attention was “teachers are politician’s favorite punching bags” (pg. 160). Teachers in the public school system are grouped together as the number one predicament when it comes to America’s lack of worldly knowledge. He goes on to discuss the much more egregious and omnipresent issues. I enjoyed Moore’s counter arguments, because I have always disagreed with this myth without knowing the actual problems in our schools.
This book, Dare The School Build a New Social Order by George Counts, is an examination of teachers, the Progressive Education Movement, democracy and his idea on how to reform the American economy. The book is divided into 5 different sections. The first section is all about the Progressive Education Movement. Through this, George Counts points out many downsides and weaknesses of this ideal. He also talks about how he wants teachers to lead society instead of following it. In the second section, he examines 10 widespread fallacies. These fallacies were that man is born free, that children are born free, they live in a separate world of their own, education remains unchanged, education should have no bias, the object of education is to produce professors, school is an all-powerful educational agency, ignorance rather than knowledge is the way of wisdom, and education is made to prepare an individual for social change.