This is about the kids in the movie, and this is about how those of us on this stage help kids. Because what's happened in so many instances, is that the evaluation system is what's broken. /ExtGState << SCARBOROUGH: What have you learned since getting involved? You do not come off as the hero of this movie. In some ways when we fought for sources for kids like my union did, we were fighting to help kids get what they needed. >> Geoffrey Canada: One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist. SCARBOROUGH: The reformer. But do you think Michelle Rhee was trying to improve the performance of the teachers in her district, was she trying to make the schools better? /Contents 33 0 R We just don't want lousy teachers to be able to keep their jobs and kids not get an education. Weve seen some innovation spread more than one place. SCARBOROUGH: All right. They said, look, this work is hard. RHEE: It was actually 12 percent that were proficient in reading but he picked the better statistic because actually, only 8 percent of our children were proficient in math. If Anthony goes to Souza, odds are he'll enter high school three to five grade levels behind. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] It seems to me, Davis, that you done get -- teachers don't get evaluated like every other business. >> When you hear, well, I get paid whether or not you learn or not, it sticks with you. schools. As part of lifting the cap they wanted to make sure that there was accountability for everyone. endobj What's Mayor Bloomberg doing right? In New York City, a group of local teachers protested one of the documentary's showings, calling the film "complete nonsense", writing that "there is no teacher voice in the film. WEINGARTEN: Theres nothing wrong with what Geoffrey just said. It was not simply about education. When you have kids from Harlem going there with first grade reading proficiency and science proficiency and they leave three years later with 100 percent proficiency, it just -- at some point it becomes a moral issue. But I think that's false. WEINGARTEN: No one, you know, teachers in at least our union would be the first to tell you, we rail against this system in some ways as much as Geoff and Michelle. /T1_0 24 0 R /GS0 18 0 R 9 0 obj GUGGENHEIM: When the media asked me to make the film, I originally said no. Waiting for Superman.2010. Last Friday night I watched Davis Guggenheims new documentary, Teach, which was broadcast in on CBS.Guggenheim, you may recall, is the filmmaker who brought us Waiting For Superman, the shameless propaganda-fest that signaled the full-on nuclear stage of the corporate-driven war on public education (also known as the But the issue in terms of the election, went far further than education. In fact, those are the very areas where he has success. It matters who your local representative is. The filmmakers deliberately kept the camera on certain students and their families, like Nakia and Bianca, in order to show how those who did not get into charter schools felt extremely disappointed and emotional because they had hoped to be accepted into a schoolthat would not fail them. The film assumes that any student below proficient is "below grade level," but this claim is not supported by the NAEP data. << BRZEZINSKI: It was still painful. And that most of them are getting a really crappy education right now. David Guggenheims Waiting for Superman looks at how the American public school system is failing its students and displays how reformers have attempted to You are not exactly what some would consider to be a conservative filmmaker. /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageC ] SCARBOROUGH: No doubt about it. You don't come off well in this movie. But as long as we try to pretend that all teachers are the same, and that there are not great teachers and not so great teachers, then we are never going to be able to solve the problems. /Type /Pages BRZEZINSKI: Exactly. We're going to lose our nation. New York City on a bad day outpaced Washington on a great day. RHEE: What I think it comes down to, people underestimate we did from the school system side everything we need to do. GUGGENHEIM: And the stakes for them. DAISYS GATHER: Yes. And we have to have everyone, even parents, recommitted, you know, even school officials, district heads, superintendents, unions, all of us have to move off a position of self-interest like I do with my own kids, sending them to private school, like the unions do, I think, preserving the status quo. DAISYS FATHER: Come on, Daisy, cross your fingers. BRZEZINSKI: Randi, really quickly. WEINGARTEN: Look, what the unions actually talked about was as part of lifting the cap, as part of lifting the cap, they didn't fight against lifting the cap -- LEGEND: Yes, they did. /XObject << ?zBzD%YC1_PVu,fkGsM'2Hnm^]6_1W|qpff&,+y cWoM~UNxa*_EE}=}z/P__~:Y)z `'4Q!-ccE"?6HD6JW (b]Jl BP> I said what I if I made a different kind of movie from a parents' point of view? RHEE: I do. That was in the second grade, because my father had passed. But it's not just Harlem -- if my movie, I call it, they're breaking a sound barrier. SCARBOROUGH: Why would you spend a million dollars to defeat a mayor? Acquiring that good education is the daunting challenge they face. Because I know he's easily influenced to do things he shouldn't do. Tomorrow morning Joes going to be live from Learning Plaza. SCARBOROUGH: You mean against -- RHEE: Against Fenty, my boss. Statistical comparisons are made between the different types of primary or secondary educational institutions available: state school, private school, and charter school. >> We're feeling a real sense of commitment. Why is that? GUGGENHEIM: Absolutely. I get to meet all the wonderful teachers out there. LEGEND: My last thing I would say, we have to realize that these kids are our kids. /T1_0 24 0 R /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] WEINGARTEN: Theres lots of -- look. Coming up, right after we're finished here, MSNBC will re-air the two-hour town hall. << SCARBOROUGH: Thank you so much. In this incredible movie, "Waiting For Superman," Davis Guggenheim introduces to us some of the heroic parents who struggle to provide a better future for their children. /CropBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] BRZEZINSKI: Why didn't they add up? /MC0 31 0 R We need to have great curriculum. >> "[11] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, calling it "powerful, passionate, and potentially revolution-inducing. >> PG. /ArtBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] The film shows how the audience members, filled with prospective students and their families, all sit with apprehensive looks on their faces as they anxiously listen to the names and numbers of the children who are called and are therefore accepted into the charter school by luck of the draw. Throughout the documentary, different aspects of the American public education system are examined. By what name was Waiting for Superman (2010) officially released in India in English? >> You went into the lottery system for your daughter. I just heard a story, I met a teacher the other day. /GS1 17 0 R Is there any give here? The film also examines teacher's unions. And it's just -- it changes your perspective. This is why. /TrimBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] WEINGARTEN: Yeah, of course. We're seeing all this great success in Harlem, there were forces that were trying to make sure that that couldn't be replicated on a larger scale. Educational reception and allegations of inaccuracy. WebSummaries. /T1_1 20 0 R One of the most disheartening moments of the movie for me is when you were driving away from the meeting, your meeting, with the teachers, and it just showed your face. I want the system to be better. WEINGARTEN: The issue in terms of education is there's no turning back on reform in education in Washington, D.C. Our union is committed to it. So it's important to understand how this is locked down here in D.C. and in New York. I knew -- as Davis said, I knew what was going to happen before she knew what was going to happen. I think if we actually got to what constitutes a good teacher and had that kind of standard we'd all be in the same place on that and there are about 50 or 60 districts right now, I made a proposal in January about how to overhaul evaluation. Ravitch said that "cheating, teaching to bad tests, institutionalized fraud, dumbing down of tests, and a narrowed curriculum" were the true outcomes of Rhee's tenure in D.C. endobj I know you have to say your side of this and this is hard for all of us. I think what's happened in places like Washington and I saw it compared to New York City. Where has the union misstepped to help us get to where we are today? We even tolerate mediocre teachers. That was teachers talking to each other and talking to the world about what teachers needed. Waiting For "Superman" is an inside look at the problems with education in America. /Contents 30 0 R "Waiting for Superman" ( Superman & Lois), an episode of Superman & Lois. You think it was about -- let's be respectful. Some of us have spent our lives working on behalf of children and teachers who teach children. << Let me answer your question first. I went up to a school up there. But that isn't something that can't be, you know, worked out. /Type /Catalog [37] It criticizes some public figures featured in Waiting for "Superman", proposes different policies to improve education in the United States and counters the position taken by Guggenheim. And systems that actually help create continuous improvement. Now it's happening in Houston. << You tried to change things and chances are good, because of it, you're going to get fired. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daisys path to medical school begins with eighth grade algebra which she'll need to take when she moves up to Stevenson Middle School. The film recognizes how the American public plays an important role in helping to accomplish the reform goal of making American public schools great. Having said that, we have all done too much about focusing on bad teachers. Thats just one of the great things that we see. I think he actually wants to do the right thing. CANADA: Look, no business in America would be in existence if it ran like this. endobj But Id like -- I think there is a disconnect here that John Legend talks about. JOHN LEGEND, SONGWRITER: Well, it's an interesting story because I was making this album "Wake-Up." It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. These are our communities. /GS0 18 0 R GLORIA: Im just so afraid for him. SCARBOROUGH: Crying uncontrollably because it is unbelievable, some of the conditions that our kids are forced to learn in right now. An examination of the current state of education in America today. LESTE BELL, DAISYS TEACHER: She chose her college and she wrote a letter to the admissions and asking them to allow her to attend their college. Our guests will include Governor Chris Christie, Newark Mayor Corey Booker and U.S. secretary of education Arne Duncan. endobj << Be the first to contribute. >> There are core values we have to have. CANADA: Well you know what? Where does the union take some responsibility in this? But, Mondello WEINGARTEN: John. And that means get involved. Waiting for Superman exposes an array of complex, complicated, persistent, and multi-layered historical and societal problems. Yes, first or second grade skills. /Font << HdT]H|G?GdW{MND)>qOX3cL>NHjr5i:bSqu No one can go home and stick their head in the sand. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think she can do it? Are you feeling agreement? >> The film follows several families as they attempt to gain access to prominent charter schools for their children. /Im0 19 0 R SCARBOROUGH: Welcome back to our education nation special on "Waiting For Superman." endobj RHEE: First, I think I would be remiss if I did not point out to everybody that there's been a lot of talk about public schools, public schools. It's not about charter schools. SCARBOROUGH: Hes like Chuck Yager of the classroom. The issue is, and we saw it and heard it in the town hall today a lot, we need to have instruments like they do in every other business to effectively judge and assess teachers. You cannot say we want more resources to go to kids when in fact in this city, Joel Klein is spilling $100 million a year to pay for teachers you saw it in the movie, who aren't actually teaching. >> By the nature of who my family is. Randi we'll let you get a response in here and also, Mika, what we're going to do is figure out where everybody agrees. "[9] Scott Bowles of USA Today lauded the film for its focus on the students: "it's hard to deny the power of Guggenheim's lingering shots on these children. /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] It's a random selection. And I think seeing what's possible in this film is very inspiring. I'm just wondering. I want to ask you another really quick question and then go around to the rest of the panel. Its so interesting you say that because Mika, Chris, our EP, myself, everybody thats seen this movie says first of all, they break down and cry at the end of this movie and then when they go home and they look at their children, children who can go to really great schools, they look at their own children differently. You've done an amazing job there in Harlem. 100 percent of the kids pass the science regions. SCARBOROUGH: Right. Waiting for "Superman" is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott. GEOFFREY CANADA, PRES. SCARBOROUGH: Not a Bush apostle. How do you explain that to a child? We're also joined by Deborah Canny of the Harlem Village Academy. More importantly than our union, the new mayor is committed to it. That's not the case with all charter schools across America. "[7] On Metacritic it has a score of 81% based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". BRZEZINSKI: They were underperforming it. Waiting for "Superman," Davis Guggenheim's edifying and heartbreaking new documentary, says that our future depends on good teachers and that the coddling of bad teachers by their powerful unions virtually ensures mediocrity, at best, in both teachers and the students in their care. Teaching standards are called into question as there is often conflicting bureaucracy between teaching expectations at the school, state, or federal level. Because politically, these -- the things that we were doing, closing down schools, firing teachers, moving principals, those were not politically popular things to do. Davis, I want to go to you on this one. SCARBOROUGH: Really quickly. Film. /T1_1 24 0 R I've been amazed by what's possible. Eighth graders at Kipp L.A. Prep get triple the classroom time in math and science. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the cages up here. If I get in, they give me a better chance in life. I said I don't want to go up. Now, a couple of years ago, an independent group called Ed Sector actually surveyed a whole bunch of teachers and asked teachers the question about whether they needed or wanted a union. There's a lot of people in this country that aren't feeling what we feel. This documentary follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, and undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable What have you been able to do with them? He's a Grammy award winning songwriter. The film shows how Geoffrey Canadas solution to this problem was to create charter schools that would give children and their parents more options within the public school system and would hopefully raise academic performance, decrease dropout rates, andincrease the number of students who attend college. Ravitch says that a study by Stanford University economist Margaret Raymond of 5000 charter schools found that only 17% are superior in math test performance to a matched public school, and many perform badly, casting doubt on the film's claim that privately managed charter schools are the solution to bad public schools. SCARBOROUGH: The nation's capital. /T1_1 20 0 R They clearly illustrate that no matter the area, teachers are failing America's youth at an alarming rate.. (d acJ4@%Q8C/! We as a country have to get together and have a conversation like this and say how do we let every kid win? And it started to haunt me, the idea that kids in my own neighborhood, and I live in a pretty good neighborhood, aren't getting what my kids have. I said mommy wanted you to stay in your school and she finished my sentence. I mean, not all teachers are created equal. [31] (The film says, however, that it is focusing on the one in five superior charter schools, or close to 17%, that do outperform public schools.) "[30], Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education at New York University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, similarly criticizes the film's lack of accuracy. She was assigned in January. Don't make -- Im tired, man, I wake up at 3:30 in the morning. "[12] The Hollywood Reporter focused on Geoffrey Canada's performance as "both the most inspiring and a consistently entertaining speaker," while also noting it "isn't exhaustive in its critique. This scene is an important one because it highlights how the acceptance of students into charter schools is determined by the luck of the draw and how some students are not able to enter into the public school of their choice solely because luck was not on their side. & CEO, HARLEM CHILDRENS ZONE: I think the real important issue for us to face as Americans is if we don't fix this, we will not remain a great country. >> SCARBOROUGH: Davis? DAISY: I want to go to a medical college or a veterinarian college because I really want to become a surgeon. I think we all need to take more responsibility. Somebody who's fighting for kids like Daisy is John Legend. CANADA: Sure. SCARBOROUGH: Maybe next segment. LEGEND: We need to be clear, you know, sometimes it sounds like everybody is on the same team up here because we all sound like we agree. CANADA: Can I just tell you this? >> That's amazing. We can't have our school system running like this. Take a look. "[21] Melissa Anderson of The Village Voice was critical of the film for not including enough details of outlying socioeconomic issues, writing, "macroeconomic responses to Guggenheim's querygo unaddressed in Waiting for "Superman," which points out the vast disparity in resources for inner-city versus suburban schools only to ignore them. "[22] Anderson also opined that the animation clips were overused. WEINGARTEN: We need to help them do that for all of our kids. We're not attacking teachers. DAISYS FATHER: Go like this. Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools (the district with some of the worst-performing students at the time), is shown attempting to take on the union agreements that teachers are bound to, but suffers a backlash from the unions and the teachers themselves. It's going to be mommy's job to get you another school that's better. After half a year of teaching, I talked to her yesterday, she had brought her kids a year -- more than a year and a half ahead. SCARBOROUGH: Because we've been up to Harlem, we've seen what's happening up there. A reminder for everyone, coming up right after this program, MSNBC will re-air that teacher town hall that was hosted by Brian Williams, that's from 9:00 to 11:00 Eastern Time, right here on MSNBC. It's about figuring out what works in charter schools and exporting that across America. endobj [15] Deborah Kenny, CEO and founder of the Harlem Village Academies, made positive reference to the film in a The Wall Street Journal op-ed piece about education reform. We've been talking about the teacher town hall hosted by Brian Williams earlier today. We spruced up -- modernized the building. And that still scared the hell out of the Washington union. /MC0 62 0 R Rhee said that only a small number of teachers and principals cheated. BRZEZINSKI: No. I went up there, Jeff Zucker pushed me to go up there one day. [30] In Ayers' view, the "corporate powerhouses and the ideological opponents of all things public" have employed the film to "break the teacher's unions and to privatize education," while driving teachers' wages even lower and running "schools like little corporations. BRZEZINSKI: How old is she? The lottery in this movie is a metaphor. >> SCARBOROUGH: This is a civil rights issue? We can run the school the way we want, which is to give our teachers the power to teach. "Geraldo at Large." GUGGENHEIM: The dream of making a movie like this is conversations just like this, the fact that you and NBC and Viacom and Paramount and Get School bring a movie to the table and let people in this room have a real conversation about to fix our schools is essential. It took a little while to get the money straightened for this green light and 80 percent of the teachers voted for that agreement. Final words with our panel, next after a short break. This is a transcript of "Waiting for Superman". Why not? In fact you come off quite badly. Of course, Washington has problems going back decades. When I see from my own experience as a school teach are for six years when evaluations didn't work and less than 20 percent of them think that evaluations work right now. endobj You believe it, don't you, Michelle? E]D[JWlwH{,j73?Mazd. The superintendent wants her to say. BRZEZINSKI: These are compelling arguments that we all can agree on but, Randi, let me just put it to you this way. And I always -- Im at screenings all across the country. /Properties << And the audience in this room just finished watching an extraordinary powerful film called "Waiting For Superman" which opened just a few days ago. If I want something for her and I cant get it from there, I'm going to find an alternative. I don't care what I have to do, I don't care how many jobs I have to obtain but she will go to college. And I don't want to make this about the presumptive mayor. We're just saying --. NAKIA: The public schools in my neighborhood don't add up to what I want from her. S/p?G4lt(20}G(8!h-D! 5 Waiting for Superman. Let's do this right now and let's look at the best contract in the nation in terms of eliminating ineffective teachers and let's make that the standard across America. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next year, Anthonys class will move up to junior high.