The film “Waiting for Superman” changed the education conversation forever. Former Mayor Fenty and Michelle Rhee played a huge role in the debate and for their stance and courage one got sacked, the other fled. Enter the conservative and the Tea Party factor after the midterms and what you’ve got is a new education normal. The status quo has been blown to bits.
I’m a union girl, but I also know that in some companies they don’t work, but still keep non-union places honest. I know from my own life that a great teacher can change a student’s life and that our failing system isn’t their fault. I’m also in favor of charter schools. None of this should surprise anyone. I’m a modern feminist, but I don’t belong to NOW, NARAL or Planned Parenthood. The fact is our education system has failed and it’s time to put all means on deck. This includes the teachers unions, business, public and private efforts, and teachers, doing whatever it takes to bring education back in America.
Lawrence O’Donnell has stated he’s on the board of a charter school; Alec Baldwin raved about “Waiting for Superman” on Huffington Post; with charter schools now supported by liberals who have long been allies of teachers unions and remain so, but champion any method or model that can work. Not all teachers are good; not all charter schools are either.
Political battles are won before the main stage battle begins. In politics, nothing matters if you can engage people’s emotions. That’s exactly what’s happened with “Waiting for Superman.” The teachers unions got outflanked.
Critics of the film say teachers are being demonized. I just didn’t see it. Anywhere. In fact, I don’t understand the defensiveness of teachers in the press, whether traditional or new media. As for the teachers unions, they’re on the defensive for good reason. They missed their own “Waiting for Superman” marketing moment.
Geoffrey Canada talks about teacher tenure as easy to get as breathing in “Waiting for Superman.” You can’t be much more alienating than that, but he also states unequivocally that he loves his teachers and needs them to be great. I also agree that if you make a great school the community will change, because it becomes the hub, the nucleus of life’s thinking and creating revolution.
Couple the film with the new conservative politics coming to Washington, which Obama helped plant, and the rise of people like Gov. Chris Christie, and what you’ve got is a powerful push from the Right, nothing the Democrats ever planned or imagined.
Just one of the many critical pieces on the film, the Nation offered this in “Grading ‘Waiting for Superman’:
[...] The movie, though, does not attempt any such balancing act. It presents Rhee as a heroine whose hands are tied by the union. Yet in April, after Rhee’s administration finally collaborated with education experts and the union to create a new, detailed teacher evaluation system tied to the district’s curriculum, the Washington Teachers Union and AFT agreed to a contract that includes many of Rhee’s priorities, including her merit-pay plan and an unprecedented weakening of tenure protections.
The film doesn’t acknowledge that Bill Gates, who began his philanthropic career deeply skeptical of teachers unions, has lately embraced them as essential players in the fight for school improvement. His foundation finances a program in Boston called Turnaround Teacher Teams, which works with the district and its teachers union to move cohorts of experienced, highly rated instructors into high-needs schools, while giving them extra training and support.
In July Gates spoke at the American Federation of Teachers convention in Seattle, saying, “If reforms aren’t shaped by teachers’ knowledge and experience, they’re not going to succeed.” A few protesters booed, but he received several standing ovations. Members of the Gates Foundation staff later met with AFT executives, and the two teams discussed ways to collaborate, despite lingering differences on issues like teacher pensions.
When I spoke with Weingarten in late August at her office on Capitol Hill, she was livid about Waiting for Superman, referring to its charter school triumphalism as an example of “magic dust.” “There’s always pressure to find the one thing that’s going to be the shortcut,” she said. But she was ecstatic about improved relations with Gates and angry that, in her view, the mainstream media have ignored the news of their rapprochement. “The media want conflict,” she said. “They don’t let us tell our story.”
Younger teachers are often the driving force behind union-backed reforms. In Denver in 2008, a group of them launched Denver Teachers for Change, which grew into a 350-member coalition dedicated to supporting performance pay and other student achievement–focused reforms while preserving organized labor’s voice at the negotiating table. In Colorado earlier this year, the AFT state affiliate signed on to the state’s Race to the Top application, which promised to make student achievement data count for up to 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation score, potentially totally reforming the process by which tenure is granted. …
Ms. Weingarten’s “magic dust” comment is as offensive as Mr. Canada’s “breathing” baloney. This is also not about “triumphalism.”
At least the teachers unions don’t have Michelle Rhee to kick around any longer. However, Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray has promised that reforms launched by Ms. Rhee will continue saying, “We cannot and will not return to the days of incrementalism.”
Pres. Obama is a supporter of what was done by Fenty and Rhee in D.C., as well as what has been done by Canada. With new conservative and Tea Party energy in Washington he will have allies, so that education may become an issue where agreement can be found.
It will leave another part of the once powerful Democratic coalition, the teachers unions, feeling a cold wind.
Political battles are won by those who incite the strongest emotional response. “Waiting for Superman” has become the catalyst for change in America at a time of dire national challenge. Pres. Obama, along with the help of the conservative tide his Democratic policy and message failures have ushered in, will do the rest.
“Political battles are won by those who incite the strongest emotional response.”
Could not be better stated.
I would add, and those who control the message.
The Democrats may have a voice, but it is a very weak and tentative one.
Heya Ramsgate.
As I report on the political climate, the teachers unions and their righteous advocates continue to ignore it, though at least their voice isn’t tentative.
But with Dem senators up for reelection in 2012, you can bet if Obama can compromise on education he will.
That’s what I fear and I think you’re right. Between that and Social Security, I am so disappointed.
This could get really ugly between the dems and teachers unions. But I agree, something has to be done about this countrys educational system. We are falling behind and could for along time to come if we don’t get our act together. You can put over 50 kids in one classroom with one teacher and expect them to learn. There needs to be smaller classes so teachers can do one on one with their students, so their students can learn more. Also, their are school boards and other personal who are taking chunks of money and the schools are not getting their fair share. There has been so many schools closings and putting kids in schools far from their home, and those kids sometimes had to take a 30 minute or longer bus rides home. I hope your right Taylor, and both sides can come together to try to fix the educational system. I don’t no if the teachers unions will go for somethings though. I guess we will have to see what happens.
American education hasn’t failed. That’s what the privatizers want us to believe, however. The research shows that test scores are indicative of socio-economic status more than anything else. The wealthier/suburban districts have higher test scores than the inner city, and that’s due to less poverty. That’s a function of society failing. You could switch the inner city school teachers with the suburban teachers and the scores would reverse for both groups of teachers – I really think that should be done as an experiment to once and for all put to rest the notion of test scores being a function of teacher quality. That’s not to say we shouldn’t use data, but the way in which it is used is important, and it should not be abused for certain agendas. The problem is we have business people and politicians making the decisions with little effort to involve the practitioners, i.e. the educators. That’s why Michelle Rhee and Mayor Fenty lost their positions. The new mayor said he would be more inclusive, which Rhee and Fenty were not. As for “reform”, we are going the opposite way of countries with the highest scores and we are ignoring all the evidence while we do so. If we are going to truly make progress, we cannot ignore the educational research (which is not emotion based) as Diane Ravitch clearly states.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/11/myth-charter-schools/?pagination=false
Thanks for the link. I’m still trying to tease out the facts on charter schools and what’s working and what’s not.
Here’s another rebuttal of the charter school push that touches on some concerns that have crossed my mind — it’s from BAR (the Black Agenda Report):
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/obama-and-%E2%80%9Csuperman%E2%80%9D-school-predators
btw, I do wonder/worry that the charter school push may be a predatory thing in disguise, but I’m not yet sure what to make of it either. It’s a big old question mark for me so far. My only dog in this is that I see education as the great equalizer, and I don’t want to see it surreptitiously privatized away. I do want to see more of what works for students, parents, and educators. If that’s charter schools for some people, then that’s great and I have nothing against that. I’m not yet sold on it being the solution for the bulk of people though. I am open to what the evidence points to. Wish we had genuine leadership on the Democratic side actually pushing from the left though, because either way I think a real debate would help us tease out the truth and let the best solutions win.
“Wish we had genuine leadership on the Democratic side actually pushing from the left though, because either way I think a real debate would help us tease out the truth and let the best solutions win.”
I think a real debate would be good, too. The problem is the MSM isn’t really giving people like Diane Ravitch air time. They had Randi Weingarten on but the questions were loaded one way pretty much. I think other researchers like Linda Darling Hammond should be heard as well. There is basically one point of view being sold.
The BAR piece made a big impression when I read it earlier.
I know I need to learn more about charter schools, but I don’t think the privatization of education is THE answer.
Thanks for the Ravitch link, lynette. And for your very important thoughts.
The reality remains that the political climate has shifted. How Weingarten, teachers unions and others respond and react will matter.
Politically, having the conservatives & Tea Party rising the next two years, as they work on Obama, will obliterate any push back.
The other reality is 23 or so Dems up for reelection in the Senate, many of whom are from moderate or now conservative states.
I’ve read Ravitch, but there remains the fact that charter schools are here to stay.
@Wonk – Good for you for taking it on. It’s a critical subject where the Left is losing. The teachers unions have been outplayed for now.
“Charter schools are here to stay” – I think that’s correct. And it’s certainly the case that the rise of the Right is a huge factor — they’ve been working toward privatization of education for a long time, and / or control of school boards in public schools.
I’d guess Obama and the Dems in general will follow them.
I haven’t seen the movie but as someone who lives in a conservative state I can tell you what conservatives can do to schools is scary. I see it everyday down here in Ga. They have no idea what they are doing and think that teaching professionals have literally nothing to add to the conversation. They get some whacked out ideas from the Cato Institute and think that they can apply them to children. Our test scores are continually going down and it’s not like they’ve ever been really good.
Well, as an inner city teacher and staff development facilitator with an admisitrative degree as well, I can tell you what we need to “reform” the system with a lot less hoopla than the elites are giving us. They don’t want to listen to people like me who work everyday in the trenches because they would have to come up with some REAL solutions to some very challenging problems. We need to invest in our schools and our teachers. 1) Schools need to be updated and renovated in many parts of the country – many are in terrible physical condition. I taught in one. They need to be updated and fitted for new technologies, too. 2) We need more teachers to lower class size so that students can receive more attention. It does make a difference. 3) More high quality staff development so that teachers can continually update their skills AND be given the time to collaborate with other teachers in implementing new strategies, etc. in learning communities 4) Guaranteed resources, materials, etc. for every classroom 5) “Wrap around” services like the Harlem Children’s Zone has, especially in the inner cities, to address students’ non-academic needs 6) probably a longer school year with some type of enrichment program during the summer (at least in the inner city) 7) parent involvement/support with an emphasis on the birth to 5 years research
addressing some real discipline and behavioral issues in the schools (that go beyond classroom management) so that teachers can actually teach 9) a well rounded curriculum that includes the arts and other non-core courses in schools (music and math. are highly correlated) and 10) a culture that values education, children, and educators. Those are just off the top of my head. I have to go and do more planning so bye for now.
Forgive my typos please: “administrative” and I don’t know how the smiley face got stuck in there, but I’ll add one here.
Oh, I see, the smiley face should have been an 8. Sorry.
Love the John Legend pick.
I am concerned that if the rightwing track we’re on goes unabated, the only public school left one day will be in prison.
Sorry Taylor but the film is a fraud. It includes a scene that not only didn’t happen but couldn’t happen. It was staged pure and simple. (See last Thursday or Friday’s NY Times)
The deal with this and the rest of the reform stuff is simply a sham to prevent us from having to face the real problem – poverty in our society. Since its easier and cheaper to bash teachers than to deal with the real problem bash away they will.
The movie and this whole movement was a setup from the get go – the movie and movement are both fetid products of a process that started with the publication of a report called – A Nation at Risk – from the wonderful and impartial Regan Administration whose goal was to do what needed to be done to get vouchers approved now matter how much they had to lie or distort data to achieve their goal.
You don’t need to apologize to me for the film being “a fraud.” It doesn’t matter practically, because it’s had the impact that was intended.
The politics remain as I wrote above and in my comment to lynnette’s always appreciated input.
I just try to give people some more information to consider. I realize there are different views on education but I think the readers should hear from someone actually in the trenches. We tend to get drowned out by the high profile people who don’t actually teach.
All I can hear emanating from the corporate hucksters of “Waiting for Superman” is a big sucking sound intent on draining what’s left of resources needed for public schools.
Have you seen the film?
Taylor, thought I’d let you know I was inspired to write a piece on this topic after reading yours. I’ve linked to you and quoted you some and there’s a hattip to Lynette on the Ravitch link as well.
Reading your piece now, Wonk, with appreciation.
I get tired of people blaming poverty for the problems with our schools. By all available measures, the poverty rate is LOWER in America than it was in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. People who blame our issues on poverty pretend as if poverty is some new issue, or as if it is worse now than it was before when neither is the case. It was during the 1990s, when unemployment dropped to 4.0%, that public schools were forced to start allowing high school kids to use calculators because they couldn’t do simple arithmetic.
The main reason why charter schools are so attractive is because a lot of the ideologically driven public education types are unwilling to admit that most of their reforms have failed. People are going to charter schools in order to escape A) social promotion, B) zero tolerance policies and C) environments were discipline is impossible because teachers and administrators are terrified of lawsuits (civil rights and other). Many of the charter schools with the longest waiting lists are those who promise to return to the pre-education reform curriculums and disciplinary approaches.
Incidentally, I am not a supporter of charter schools. They were invented by conservatives as an indirect way to attack teacher’s unions, and for many were resorted to when conservatives were frustrated by their losing school voucher battles in court. But I do not blame any parent who views a charter school as a way to escape schools who socially promote functionally illiterate kids, and where teachers and administrators have no control over classrooms. That’s precisely why support for charter schools is higher among blacks than whites, and this is despite (or perhaps because of?) the fact that most black educated professionals are public school teachers and members of the educator unions.
The hunger and poverty jump from 2007 to 2008 alone was troubling:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR83/
49.1 million people, including 16.7 million children — struggled to feed their families. Children in more than half a million homes faced “very low food security” in 2008. No it’s not a “new” problem, but it’s a problem trending in a wrong direction. And, when families are struggling with basics like food, healthcare for themselves or their sick children, and how to keep/find a job and keep a roof over their family’s heads, let alone other safety and stability issues, you can have a really great teacher and a kid who underachieves no matter how much that teacher invests in that kid. Of course, it only makes things worse when a kid under these circumstance has poor teachers and underfunded schools on top of everything else. As with a lot of various societal problems and threats we face, poverty is often like putting gasoline on the problem, rather than necessarily being a singular source of the problem itself.
Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) point to the difference that just having the basics makes — from the Economist:
http://www.economist.com/node/16693323
GeraldBall,
I will agree with you that charter schools offer parents a way to escape behavioral issues in some public schools because there really are some disciplinary issues that basically go unaddressed; sometimes it’s actually overwhelming in certain schools – rude and disrespectful behavior. I’ve heard kindergarten teachers say some of the kindergartners are telling them to go “F*** Off” when asked to follow the school rules. They have emotional issues and come to school angry. I think that’s why teacher turnover is so high is some areas because of the stress. The public doesn’t know what kinds of behaviors actually go on in some schools and the teachers are left to deal with it all if there is a weak administration and no parental support. I’ve seen it happen. As for the poverty, I just had a student come back after being absent for 3 weeks – she was homeless and staying in hotels with her family. When she came back to school I could tell she had been through a lot – she just seemed so tired and down, came to school with her old, dirty stuffed animals that she’s had since she was a baby. It broke my heart. Come to find out she’s not the only one. I also have several students whose mothers have issues and didn’t want them and they have been in and out of foster care. These kids have a hard life and these kinds of instances are on the rise. What I am amazed at is that they are still willing to come to school and try, so naturally I feel that I must do all that I can for them. However, I can only do so much as I am one person.
Thanks so much lynnette and Wonk and mwfolsom for your discussion points. I have a killer cold and can’t think straight enough to chime in here other than to say that Michelle Rhee is no damn victim,she lies and it bugs me a great deal that someone like Taylor who I admire for her tough smarts can be taken in by her.
LL, hope you feel better soon!
I should add that I went to a magnet school for a couple years actually, and I wouldn’t trade the experience.
I’m not against the charter schools that are making a difference. What makes me wary is the marketing that makes out charter schools to be a one-size-fits-all type solution.
Feel better, LL. I’m with you.