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The public school system in America is not working. The data shows we are lagging behind other leading industrialized nations. According to documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for Superman, the blame for this debacle can be placed directly upon teacher unions and a bloated web of bureaucracies.

Waiting for Superman begins with Guggenheim revealing a guilt he feels each time he drives past three dilapidated public schools as he takes his children to a private one. He admits his luck but his guilt is what drives him to dissect in detail why public education here is failing.

To do this, Guggenheim follows five young students – four are minorities and one is white. The minority students come from poor urban areas in cities like Washington, D.C. and New York while the white student comes from a prosperous, middle class L.A. suburb.

In their eyes we see their unbridled optimism for a better future, yet we discover that their dreams are hinged upon whether or not they win a lottery for a coveted spot in a charter or boarding school. So how can our children’s future be so dependent on random chance?

Guggenheim answers this by lightly chastising past American presidents for proclaiming to be the next “education president” but not accomplishing real change. With an almost monotone narration, he explains in detail how federal, state, and local governments, and thousands of school boards have squandered resources as spending per student in America has doubled since 1971 while reading and math proficiencies have steadily declined.

He links these bureaucratic failures with the political power of teacher unions, specifically the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) whose president, Randi Weingarten, is depicted as an evil empress who boasts about their ability as a lobby. Guggenheim breaks down how the AFT defiantly protects the right to immediate tenure for its teachers. As such, bad teachers are almost impossible to remove and it is equally hard to fully reward the best ones.

Guggenheim also presents heroes like Geoffrey Canada’s groundbreaking attempts in Harlem to work with children from birth to college enrollment. There is also the valiant Michelle Rhee, Washington, D.C.’s chancellor of schools who butts heads with the AFT when they refuse to accept a performance-based pay option in their contract.

Obviously there are other issues negatively affecting America’s public school systems that Guggenheim doesn’t touch upon. However, right or wrong, Guggenheim sticks to his guns with his message and pounds away at it with a steady hand. While it may not have the potent wake-up call An Inconvenient Truth had, it’s hard not to walk away with a sense of sadness and frustration about the quality of public education all American children are receiving.

On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, Waiting for Superman receives a B.

Waiting for Superman is rated PG and has a running time of 111 minutes.

Now showing through October 21 @
Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com or call 913-642-4404 for more information.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.

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