WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”

CAROLINE: Waiting for “Superman” is one of the most buzzed about, if not the most buzzed about, documentaries of the year, and with good reason. This movie is already starting a political discourse here in NYC.

RYAN: It’s directed by the guy who won the Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth, who is married to one Elisabeth Shue, and it raises some really interesting and important questions about the public education system in America.

CAROLINE: Some people might think, “Well, I don’t have kids, so this movie won’t mean anything to me.” But – hello – since almost all of us went to school at some point in our lives, it’s completely relatable. It’s fascinating to learn about teachers’ unions in America and tenure in public education. As a childless person, I found it incredibly entertaining and informative.

RYAN: I also don’t have kids, but this movie simultaneously angered and inspired me because of how it shows the decline of American public education and how our system rates against other modernized countries. This is something we all should worry about.

CAROLINE: It’s pretty astonishing stuff. America’s public education has plummeted over the last few decades.

RYAN: It’s scary to think that the new generations of kids won’t be reading at the same level we did, or be able to do the kind of math we did. Although I must confess that I don’t really know how to do math anymore myself.

CAROLINE: [laughs’ Yeah, I won’t be solving any calc problem sets any time soon either. But this movie does a great job of illustrating the problems with education through fun graphics and animation along with interesting interviews. I loved that one guy Geoffrey Canada who works with Harlem Children’s Zone.

RYAN: I really liked learning more about Michelle Rhee, who’s the Washington D.C. schools chancellor, and the good that she’s trying to do in one of the worst school systems in the country. It’s our nation’s capital, people, and the schools suck!

CAROLINE: This is not the kind of movie that will play everywhere. It’s only getting a limited release, but it’s worth checking out if you can. Otherwise watch it on DVD later because it’s a real eye opener.

RYAN: Honestly, it’s as entertaining as any documentary I’ve seen, on the level of a Michael Moore film. It’s great to be entertained and informed at the same time. The only part I didn’t love was the ending, when the kids entered the lottery to see if they got into a charter school. I thought it was a little manipulative.

CAROLINE: Oh, I totally wept. That was hard to watch.

RYAN: The way they drew out the drama was a little much for me. I think it did a disservice to the documentary. It could have been more factual and straightforward, and not so heavy-handed.

CAROLINE: I disagree. I wanted to see that, even though it was painful and sad. I think it’s important to see what heartbreak these kids go through when they can’t get into a good charter school. It reminds us how much these kids really want to learn.

— BOTTOM LINE —

CAROLINE: This is a well made and important documentary that everyone should see. It really illustrates the changes that need to happen in our public education system. Even if we only take baby steps, it’ll be an improvement.

RYAN: Oprah dedicated two episodes of her show to this documentary last week, so you know it’s important, people. She also had on the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who is giving $100 million to Newark public schools. And Target just pledged to raise $500 million for education over the next five years… so maybe this movie is making an impact already.

— RATING —