"Waiting for Superman" - How can this be?

Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, Lawyers take the Oath of Attorney, and Politicians take an Oath of Office. These Oaths are designed to set up standards for behavior as a member of these often elite groups and violation of any covenant of these Oaths are usually grounds for dismissal from the group. These professions require admission into a Bar or Board in order to practice and that board or bar has the right to revoke the privilege of its members when their actions go against the standards of behavior. So where is the Oath for Teachers and Educators? That was the question weighing heavy on my heart as I left the theater.

“Waiting for Superman” is a documentary about the state of public education in this country. I sat down to view this film with some very strong opinions about who is responsible for this disaster we call public education with few ideas on how to fix it. I am a product of the New York City public school system; however, that fact has never made me a champion of public schools, particularly in their current state. To witness the debate about public education, one could easily forget that this discussion is about children and their futures. For most of the discussion is driven by politicians, bureaucrats and the teachers union. The discussion often isn’t about how the children will be best educated and more about how teachers will be treated in the process. I support teachers and their right to unionize, however, when the discussion becomes totally focused on protecting teachers rights, I begin to wonder, with all this bickering among adults about pay, time off and tenure, where are the children in this? Who is protecting the rights of these children to receive an education the constitution states they are entitled to?

This film highlighted what is wrong with public education from the top down and the bottom up. It highlighted the issues of bureaucracy and its total ineffectiveness. It highlighted No Child Left Behind and its total ineffectiveness. It highlighted the teachers union and their total ineffectiveness. It highlighted the parents (well intentioned parents) and their total ineffectiveness. No one group was demonized in this film as the cause for this disaster we call public education, rather what made this film so monumentally moving was its description of the collective blame all parties (including the average citizen) share in failing to educate the children of the United States.

There were tons of percentages, many of which were depressing and disheartening. There were a few stories of children who the filmmakers allowed you to get attached to and invested in (bring on the waterworks). There were moments of humor to break it all up. Collectively this film is a piece of history, one that should be witnessed by all. In addition, there isn’t a PARENT alive who should miss this film. Whether your children are just babies far from school or in the midst of the public education system, you have to see this film. It will shake you to the core, I guarantee.

America is at risk, as this film so eloquently points out. The failing of the public education system is not just failing the children, but as they fail, they become part of society and are often unable to contribute constructively to its prosperity. Many of the children our school system willing fails become the patrons of our criminal justice system, another system failing (and at a more expensive rate). Furthermore, young people today are not prepared to compete in a global economy because they lack the basic reading and math skills to go into the highly skilled professions that are part of this complex global economy (ranking last and 3rd to last of all developed nations in reading and math respectively). One statistic that I will repeat is this (and it’s a loose interpretation of it): in 20 years there will be approximately 163 million highly skilled highly paid jobs in America, yet there will only be 53 million Americans qualified to do those jobs. Want to guess who the rest of those jobs will go to?

I would be remiss in my review of the topic of public education if I did not mention the role of parents. I am from a family where education was THE top priority; not just my formal education, my ability to seek knowledge every day of my life. I was forced to read books that were 1) not part of my school curriculum and 2) above my reading level. I was forced to look up words in the dictionary when I didn’t know that they meant. I was dragged to museums, expeditions and zoos by my parents. I was given history lessons from my father, as he made it his duty to form my view of history beyond what was taught in school. I was pushed and expected to achieve with no apologies from my parents. When I cried at school because I got a 98, the teacher called my father in to the school because she thought I was putting too much pressure on myself. His response, “My daughter should expect to get 100 every time and if she cries because she is disappointed in herself for not getting 100, there is nothing wrong with that.” Some may call that pressure, I call it drive. College (a 4 year institution of higher learning) was a requirement. Finally, failure wasn’t an option. But this is the way in which my parent decided to focus on education for their children. So it makes sense that I went on to college and graduate school and I have a thirst for education that will never die. Every parent doesn’t give their children that thirst, some don’t have it themselves. Does that mean those children should be left on the sidelines? Absolutely not. There is a public education system that is supposed to fill in that gap. And yes, I believe that is their role.

Keep in mind it is illegal in this country for a child between the age of 5 and about 15 not to be enrolled in school. This country feels so strongly about education that it mandates it for all its citizens, yet the system it mandates is failing the very children it is designed to enrich. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.

Many education reformers and politicians are well intentioned. They look at the system with rose colored glasses and believe they can change it to make it work. As the film pointed out, most don’t last more than two years because the system beats them down. The powers that be don’t want to see change to anything that is considered status quo yet they claim they want to see change in the classroom. It is foolish to think that a system that has been dysfunctional all this time will be changed by some slight adjustment that won’t impact most of the people in it. It is naïve to think that any real results will occur without everyone in the system, teachers and administrators alike, feeling that change as a total upheaval to life as they know it. There is NO other profession on earth where the members of the profession can collectively produce the results produced by the public education system and maintain any level of employment. The job of teachers and administrators is so important that “just good enough” shouldn’t be tolerated; these are the lives of children we are talking about. Everyone involved needs to get on board to make drastic changes to this system in order to effect change for these children because everyone involved owes it to these children to give them the best they have to offer. I can guarantee there are teachers in the classroom right now who EVERYONE, parents, students, other teachers, principals, union leaders, etc., know aren’t giving the best they have to offer, but their hands are tied to do anything about it. Meanwhile the children in that class will never get the 3rd grade back.

What struck me most about this film was that it highlighted a fact that I already knew because of the nature of the work I do, this isn’t a money issue. Many people think this has to do with an underfunding of education and I am sure in some districts, in some cases, money is part of the issue. But overall, the failing of public education in this country isn’t because we don’t spend enough money on it, its because we don’t spend the money effectively and efficiently. And the more money that is thrown at the problem, the worse it seems to get.

Back to the teachers union for a moment. The union was formed for the most basic reason unions are formed, the workers weren’t being treated fairly and they unionized in order to gain their rightful protection under the law. It was the right move and is still of a great benefit for teachers in this country. However, when the discussion of education becomes dictated by the teachers union whose sole purpose is to protect teachers, then the union in its protection of teachers is harming the children. Every teacher is NOT a good teacher. Every teacher does NOT deserve to have their job protected. The job of a teacher is NOT a right and should NOT be treated as such by the union. Teachers should be held to a high standard of behavior by the union and everyone else ( sort of like an oath). Tenure is NOT a right, nor should it be automatic after 3 years. Teachers should NOT be left on their own to teach without resources and tools to make them better each year they are on the job. The rights of teachers to tenure should NOT supersede the right of children to have a quality education from every teacher they encounter.

This is not to say that it’s the fault of the teachers, but it should be acknowledged that teachers play a critical role in the education of students. More needs to be done by those in power to empower actual EDUCATORS to make the decisions regarding education. Leave this to the experts in the field to make the policy that will best serve the children. Empower the union to protect the teachers while remaining committed to serving the children. Take away the notion that teachers don’t need to be held accountable for the outcome in their classrooms. Reward well performing teachers with money, tenure and whatever else they would like. Give middle of the road teachers the tools, training and mentoring so they can grow and become high performing teachers. Remove low performing teachers from the classroom until they learn to be better and if they don’t, they should be terminated, permanently.

Finally, I feel no need to go through the rhetoric of singing the praises of those who become teachers. It is well known and universally agreed, good effective teachers are Heros. But this isn’t the time for that. When I walk into the emergency room bleeding to death, I don’t pause to salute the doctor who is about to save my life, rather I look at him, his staff and the hospital as having a duty to save me with the expectation that by their sheer presence in an emergency room wearing a doctors uniform, they have the skills necessary to save my life. It is only once I am saved, stitched up and healing do I take the time to thank the doctor for what he has done. The system is bleeding out, the minds of the children are suffocating, and American leadership on the global scale is dying. What we need is those who are in the trenches to perform the duty for which they signed up to do and do it exceptionally with a passion and vigor that cannot be shaken or destroyed by bureaucracy and bullshit. What we need is for educators and policy makers to get together on this issue and treat it like a life is depending on it, because frankly all our lives are depending on it.

~Maliek K. Branch~