{"id":7236,"date":"2017-04-14T00:14:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-14T04:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/?p=7236"},"modified":"2017-04-14T00:16:34","modified_gmt":"2017-04-14T04:16:34","slug":"waiting-for-superman-documentary-analysis-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/2017\/04\/waiting-for-superman-documentary-analysis-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting for “Superman” Documentary Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Guggenheim’s\u00a0Waiting for “Superman”\u00a0<\/em>looks at how the\u00a0American public school system is failing its students and displays how reformers have attempted to solve this problem. \u00a0Towards the end of the film, there is a segment that illustrates the charter school lottery as it takes place for different schools.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

The most influential scene during this segment is when one of the students, Bianca, and her mother, Nakia, wait for Bianca\u2019s name to be called as the lottery nears the end.\u00a0 The filmmakers made sure to film how Nakia becomes increasingly more anxious and concerned as time passes during the lottery, but fewer spots become available and her daughter\u2019s name has not been called (Guggenheim 1:32:49).\u00a0 As young as Bianca is, she too displays this look of defeat as her name is not called (Guggenheim 1:32:56).\u00a0 The film portrays the deep sadness that Bianca and her mother feel when Bianca is not accepted into the charter school as the two embrace one another at the end and Nakia dries her daughter\u2019s tears (Guggenheim 1:37:35).<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0The 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 school\u00a0that would not fail them.<\/p>\n

The film illustrates the problem of how American public schools are failing children, as it explicitly describes many public schools as \u201cdrop-out factories\u201d, in which over 40% of students do not graduate on time.\u00a0 In response to this problem, many reformers, including Geoffrey Canada, have tried to look for solutions.\u00a0 The film shows how Geoffrey Canada\u2019s 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, and\u00a0increase the number of students who attend college.\u00a0 However, the film shows how even charter schools leave some children behind, as those who are not chosen by the luck of the draw in the lottery system, are not able to attend the charter schools of their choice.\u00a0 Through the stories of five children who wanted to attend a charter school, the film shows how one child was accepted and another child was accepted from the wait list while three children were not accepted at all.\u00a0 \u00a0By showing its audience that even charter schools close their doors to some students, which them forces these students to attend\u00a0failing public schools, the video illustrates how\u00a0there are still flaws to the American public school system and challenges that need to be addressed.\u00a0 The goal of the film is to create a successful public education system filled with great schools\u00a0that leave no child behind, and\u00a0it calls for reform from all of us\u00a0in order to reach that goal. \u00a0At the end of the film, there is writing that states: “The problem is complex but the steps are simple. \u00a0It starts with teachers becoming the very best, leaders removing the barriers of change, neighbors committed to their school, you willing to act” (Guggenheim 1:45:05-1:45:28). \u00a0The film recognizes how the American public plays an important role in helping to accomplish the reform goal of making American public schools great.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Waiting for “Superman”<\/em> 1:32:49<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Waiting for “Superman”<\/em> 1:32:56<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Waiting for “Superman”<\/em> 1:37:35<\/p>\n

Bibliography:<\/p>\n

Guggenheim, Davis. Waiting for “Superman.”\u00a0<\/em>2010. Film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Guggenheim’s\u00a0Waiting for “Superman”\u00a0looks at how the\u00a0American public school system is failing its students and displays how reformers have attempted to solve this problem. \u00a0Towards the end of the film, there is a segment that illustrates the charter school lottery as it takes place for different schools.\u00a0 The film shows how the audience members, filled … Continue reading Waiting for “Superman” Documentary Analysis<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1716,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[112],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1716"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7236"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7242,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7236\/revisions\/7242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/edreform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}