waiting for superman documentary transcript

I want the system to be better. "[14] Geraldo Rivera praised the film for promoting discussion of educational issues. BRZEZINSKI: Why not inspire them with pay? WEINGARTEN: I think look, again, we had a moment in time where we actually got to an agreement. Having said that, we have all done too much about focusing on bad teachers. Thats just one of the great things that we see. NAKIA: The public schools in my neighborhood don't add up to what I want from her. /ArtBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] 9 0 obj We're going to do it with a man who made this film and some of the people who were in it. /ExtGState << What happened there? Judith and Jose have decided to enter Daisy into the Kipp lottery. As young as Bianca is, she too displays this look of defeat as her name is not called (Guggenheim 1:32:56). "[10] Joe Morgenstern, writing for The Wall Street Journal, gave the film a positive review writing, "when the future of public education is being debated with unprecedented intensity," the film "makes an invaluable addition to the debate. It is impossible and we can fix it and I think that's what this movie gets to. Yes, there should be fairness. Where you tried to focus on good teachers in Washington. DAISYS FATHER: Go like this. Waiting for "Superman" premiered in the US on September 24, 2010, in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, with a rolling wider release that began on October 1, 2010. /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] Some of us have spent our lives working on behalf of children and teachers who teach children. But it's also frustrating when you know what's possible can't be replicated because there are barriers in the way. SCARBOROUGH: Maybe next segment. Feb 22, 2013. You say no one wants lousy teachers but there are a lot of really lousy teachers who are protected by this current system. Davis, I want to go to you on this one. In fact you come off quite badly. Connecticut and Hartford education policy resources, Creating a Dual-Language Magnet School for Hartford Region, Sources on Trinity student protests since 2007, Jack Dougherty and Trinity College Educ 300 students, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, An Uncommon Critique: How A Charter Networks Success Safeguards Student Experiences, The Evolution of Gender Inequality At Trinity College: A Study Through Different Publications, Higher Education for Dreamers After the Failed DREAM Act. The film criticizes the American public education system by following several students as they strive to be accepted into competitive charter schools such as KIPP LA Schools, Harlem Success Academy and Summit Preparatory Charter High School. It is a revolution. And at the same time, have some due process so that we guard against our arbitrariness. By Stephen Holden. I like to follow the evidence. It is about working together to create problem solving contracts and ultimately, Michelle, it's not about you or I. BRZEZINSKI: What was wrong with what she was doing? So look, all of us on this stage, whether it's Geoffrey or Michelle or Davis, myself, the two of you, we all care passionately about the children. /TrimBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] Michelle, you have been on the wrong side of the debate over here. /Contents 36 0 R SCARBOROUGH: Fantastic. You've done an amazing job there in Harlem. There are people who have figured out systems of improving education and the mayor was very aggressive in bringing those folk into New York City and saying to them, we're going to remove the obstacles for you all to do your work. [32][33][34][35][36], A teacher-backed group called the Grassroots Education Movement produced a rebuttal documentary titled The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, which was released in 2011. 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. The only disagreement that I think our union has had in terms of the way in which things have gone, is that our folks have desperately wanted to have a voice in how to do reform. Seventy-eight percent of them, this is not our survey, this was their survey, said a union was absolutely essential to them to try and stop school politics or principal abuses. SCARBOROUGH: Davis, let's begin with you. SCARBOROUGH: Were back with our panel, Michelle, one of the stunning parts of many stunning parts in this documentary, in this film, was when Davis showed the proficiency numbers state by state. Why is that? GEOFFREY CANADA, PRES. E]D[JWlwH{,j73?Mazd. It's about places that have failed for 30, 40, 50 years, we can't do the same thing this year that we did last year. I said that's right, but that was mommy's choice to put you in that school. /Type /Page /CropBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] I said I don't want to go up. Randi was talking about instead of focusing on bad teachers, focusing on good teachers. Were here to talk about the movie, to talk about education. WebFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. CANADA: Look, no business in America would be in existence if it ran like this. GUGGENHEIM: Absolutely. I mean, not all teachers are created equal. PG. Though money doubled, reading and math scores have flat-lined. BRZEZINSKI: You also knew that a little girl like Daisy can be a vet or a doctor or anything she wants to be if she's given the tools to do it. Wouldn't that have been better? You get to the nation's capital, the nation's capital, only 16 percent of students are proficient in math. >> But can we really get Geoffrey Canadas in every public high school across America? You can't do it with the district rules and the union contracts as they are in most districts. 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. BRZEZINSKI: When the number came down, what was that telling your daughter, what was that telling you? We applaud everybody for joining us on this stage. /Resources << Teaching standards are called into question as there is often conflicting bureaucracy between teaching expectations at the school, state, or federal level. 6 0 obj There's a cap in New York State because ultimately when George Pataki and I and others started to work on having charter schools in this state, there was an issue in terms of the economics and what would happen with moneys in terms of other districts. SCARBOROUGH: Not a Bush apostle. So the kids who came to us in 8 plus 3 they would couldn't the like this. ]o m P:giwgRG+g;)Y 'J[+AH@f6=D.Ga5&0RL[?Xt6MU*/-waUN And the city of Indianapolis said you're the most effective ninth grade reading teacher in our city and we're going to give you a great reward, five days later they had to fire her because the contract said she's the youngest teacher and she has to go Now, there's no one -- bad person in the process. (END VIDEO CLIP) BRZEZINSKI: And there are kids that don't make it. /ArtBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] I want to be a doctor and I want to be a veterinarian. Have your mom and dad told you about the lottery? GUGGENHEIM: And fight for these kids. SCARBOROUGH: Thanks a lot, Davis, way to go, man. We all have to move off self-interest. We've been talking about the teacher town hall hosted by Brian Williams earlier today. /Properties << SCARBOROUGH: 15 seconds. >> /ArtBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] As part of lifting the cap they wanted to make sure that there was accountability for everyone. SCARBOROUGH: You mean against -- RHEE: Against Fenty, my boss. The film is extremely eye-opening, showing just how bad a state most of our education systems are in. The second thing is, I think the frustrating thing to me about panels like this, when we get going we have to stop. There are a couple of things leaders, in which we all are, could do. Thank you so much. LEGEND: Yes. There is a perception out there that is the union that is standing in the way of principals firing bad teachers. What have you been able to do with them? We're not attacking teachers. /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageC ] 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. There was, as Geoff said, a sense that failure was tolerable, as opposed to a focus on success. GUGGENHEIM: Those kids can't learn. First, I loved that town hall today. WEINGARTEN: I live in New York -- RHEE: You put $1 million into a mayoral campaign. He wrote "Shine," the theme song for "Waiting For Superman." I know they are. BRZEZINSKI: Its very hard to watch this movie. Geoffrey Canada: One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist. Davis Guggenheims Documentary, Waiting for Superman explores the corrupt American School system. Waiting for Superman. 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. DEBORAH KENNY, HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY: Well its what we're doing and a lot of the schools around the country are doing when they're given the freedom, which is what the charter gives you to accomplish these results. You have to live in the district. It reveals that the two major problems We're here at the site of our education nation summit launching today at NBC News and MSNBC. But Id like -- I think there is a disconnect here that John Legend talks about. 8 0 obj It was not simply about education. GUGGENHEIM: Whats really -- people -- when I hear this conversation, I want to bring it back to parents. By the nature of who my family is. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education "statistics" have names: >> SCARBOROUGH: Why is it -- [ applause ] why is it that you have an area like Washington, D.C. that is 12 percent proficient in math? WEINGARTEN: Yes. [2] The film criticizes the American public education system by following several students as they strive to be accepted into competitive charter schools such as KIPP LA Schools, Harlem Success Academy and Summit Preparatory Charter High School. Waiting for "Superman" is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott. And we need to have good evaluation systems. They clearly illustrate that no matter the area, teachers are failing America's youth at an alarming rate.. Come on out. And I think seeing what's possible in this film is very inspiring. Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for Superman is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth /Contents [ 39 0 R 40 0 R 41 0 R 42 0 R 43 0 R 44 0 R 45 0 R 46 0 R ] There are winners and losers. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] SCARBOROUGH: Okay. [8], Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "What struck me most of all was Geoffrey Canada's confidence that a charter school run on his model can make virtually any first-grader a high school graduate who's accepted to college. >> /Properties << [38] The documentary was directed, filmed, and edited by Julie Cavanagh, Darren Marelli, Norm Scott, Mollie Bruhn, and Lisa Donlan. >> You cannot say -- you can't say, well, the problem with charter schools is they only serve some of the kids when in fact you are advocating for caps on those effective charter schools. Theres a lot of schools that I want to take you to Davis, great public schools where we are breaking the sound barrier, too. I was really tired. No one wants lousy teachers. (d acJ4@%Q8C/! The answer is no. You tried to change things and chances are good, because of it, you're going to get fired. You said OK we're not going to penalize bad teachers. RHEE: Heres the thing. Thanks to all of our guests. That means in the midterms. /Im0 19 0 R >> You don't have all sorts of external rules. endobj My kids have won the lottery. BRZEZINSKI: Why didn't they add up? More importantly than our union, the new mayor is committed to it. That is the problem. endobj 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. /Count 5 I'm feeling it. The bottom line is, you cannot say that you support removing ineffective teachers when then I fire ineffective teachers and you slap me with lawsuits and you slap me with the grievances. One of these amazing children is a boy named Anthony. The fact that there are currently not enough spaces in American schools should also be viewed as one of the primary factors defining their failure to meet the needs of students (Guggenheim). Broadcast: Saturday, September 25, 2010. "[18] Kyle Smith, for the New York Post, gave the film 4.5 stars, calling it an "invaluable learning experience. SCARBOROUGH: Michelle, let me ask you this. GUGGENHEIM: Ive seen the movie hundreds of times. BRZEZINSKI: Is there a possibility? SCARBOROUGH: Because we've been up to Harlem, we've seen what's happening up there. And when you say that, people say you're attacking teachers. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. The film illustrates the problem of how American public schools are failing children, as it explicitly describes many public schools as drop-out factories, in which over 40% of students do not graduate on time. LEGEND: This is a civil rights issue. BRZEZINSKI: When the results came down, we watched you respond, we watched her respond. That's amazing. It is must-see TV, from 9:00 to 11:00 Eastern Time right here on MSNBC. Things such as the ease in which a public school teacher achieves tenure, the inability to fire a teacher who is tenured, and how the system attempts to reprimand poorly performing teachers are shown to affect the educational environment. CANADA: There are two things. Statistical comparisons are made between the different types of primary or secondary educational institutions available: state school, private school, and charter school. /T1_1 20 0 R SCARBOROUGH: Thank you so much. Geoffrey Canada: I was like what do you mean he's not real. "[22] Anderson also opined that the animation clips were overused. There are answers and people want to say the answer is this. WEINGARTEN: Look, we have schools in New York, like the school that Steve Barr and I run, which has a union contract, we're 100 percent of the kids path the math regions. 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. >> So people keep talking about accountability just in terms of firing teachers but what I think people need to understand is how accountability allows you to unleash teacher passion by setting on fire all the teachers in the school because you're allowed to give them the freedom to teach the way they see fit. [31] Ravitch served as a board member with the NAEP and says that "the NAEP doesn't measure performance in terms of grade-level achievement," as claimed in the film, but only as "advanced," "proficient," and "basic." But when I saw you after the film, and I would -- being macho, hey, Davis, how you doing, man? But I think it's quite frankly a little disingenuous for the union president to stand up and say we liked what Michelle was doing, we wanted it to continue to happen, when the national AFT poured $1 million into the campaign in Washington, D.C. a million dollars in a local mayoral race you know clearly sends a message that they didn't want things to continue as they were. NAKIA: The schools in my area don't measure up as far as the reading is concerned, the math is concerned. They asked Rhee whether the pressure on teachers led them to cheat. BRZEZINSKI: Okay. I have a good feeling about this. >> /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text ] NAKIA: Yes. /GS0 18 0 R I just heard a story, I met a teacher the other day. LEGEND: Who your state senator is. 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. KENNY: Right. "Waiting for Superman," a fascinating new documentary, is drawing attention to the state of our public school, directed by Davis Guggenheim, who brought us [16], The film has also garnered praise from a number of conservative critics. BRZEZINSKI: They were picked off the street in a lottery. }>=Uw2cS=V. I9kZJw^EAOd j]Y[wl-e06E#/mlyTbE9f}@8 a/ ^} You all have your numbers, right? According to Waiting for Superman, from 1971 to today, America has gone from spending an average of $4,300 per student to $9,000 per student, (adjusting for inflation). Obviously at the end most people watching this movie teared up. RHEE: I'm just wondering, if the AFT was putting a million dollars into mayoral campaigns all across the country just based on who the teachers liked, I would buy that argument. 5 0 obj GUGGENHEIM: And the stakes for them. 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. /Font << Ravitch also writes that many charter schools are involved in "unsavory real estate deals" [31], In 2011, many news media reported on a testing score "cheating scandal" at Rhee's schools, because the test answer sheets contained a suspiciously high number of erasures that changed wrong answers to right answers. endobj RHEE: Yes, that's right. BRZEZINSKI: How old is she? And that still scared the hell out of the Washington union.