<p>Wow. This is a perfect example of what is so common in conversations about education. As someone who has been in virtually every role there is in education (truly: student, teacher, private, public, parent, professor, school board chair, politician…) I have witnessed the pain and fear involved in conversations about education many times over. And now I get invitations to see WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and invitations to boycott the movie as well. If it can put a spotlight on the lack of success in reform then it will have done a real service, which I think is the goal. My fear is that it will perpetuate a blame game that focuses on the current players while ignoring the societal context that fosters a Darwinian education system. I will refrain from further opinion till I’ve seen it 
And next week “The Social Network” opens. Oh won’t we have lots to talk about!!!</p>
<p>Wcmom-may I ask what groups are asking you to boycott the movie? Whenever I hear of one group boycotting anything I fear that there is something they dont want us to hear.</p>
<p>I think concerned parents should want to see a movie about education and make up their own mind.</p>
<p>Example: when I was pregnant with d I ran across a book that said why parents should NOT teach their kids to read. I didnt know what to make of the subject, being a college instructor and not a primary grade teacher. I read the book and learned that the basis for their argument was that the average parent will do it wrong, thus hurt the student and make the teacher’s job to 100 times more difficult. </p>
<p>Long story short, I had no choice, d started reading at 2.5 and I was the only teacher at that point, she is fine. But I read the book and understood it take on the matter, but totally disagreed.</p>
<p>Hi Alex :). Not surprisingly, it’s various education groups that are asking for the boycott. I can understand their fear of being painted with a broad brush. I know some amazing public teachers and classrooms that are better than many privates. I’ve also been on the taxpayer side of the bargaining table and faced mind-blowing entrenchment. I will see the movie, and hope that it initiates constructive debate. Parenting in this education environment has become much like parenting in the medical environment. You have to be your own advocate. Oh what a mixed blessing that is!</p>
<p>I know this is off topic, but since wcmom1958 mentioned it, if you take note of the wintry Harvard scenes in the Social Network, you may recognize an often mentioned BS. Last year’s parents’ weekend attendees will probably remember seeing the set for themselves.</p>
<p>I just saw it today. I can see why some teacher union groups might want to boycott it. The film really slammed them. Anyone else see it yet? Interestingly, there is only ONE theater in all of Atlanta showing this film. Why do you suppose that is?</p>
<p>one of the filming locations for exteriors was definitely andover.</p>
<p>teacher unions mean well but they are a major impediment to improving public school education. in the real world, people are promoted/demoted/dismissed/etc based on their performance. teacher unions basically argue that this would create opportunities for unfair treatment of teachers. well, guess what? life is not always fair. by being over-protective of ALL teachers, no matter good or bad, the unions are condemning most public school students to mediocre educations at best. end of rant.</p>
<p>Have you folks seen this thread (which is actually the merging of 2 threads) <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1001642-waiting-superman-must-see-movie-all-discussions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1001642-waiting-superman-must-see-movie-all-discussions.html</a></p>
<p>Ok–have to give my 2 cents here as a person who has spent her career in public schools (except for the years I homeschooled my kids) and is now a grateful member of a teacher’s union. </p>
<p>I felt the same way about unions when I first started teaching. Then I began doing adjunct work in a non-unionized community college where we were all paid $1100/course, with no benefits. Adjunct faculty far outnumbered full-time faculty, for obvious reasons–and many were teaching 24 credit loads per semester on 3 different campuses each semester to make ends meet. Our pay literally doubled when we moved from a non-unionized to a unionized state. Mind you, we’re still not rich–we qualify for generous financial aid–but we can afford to raise a family and stay in our vocations.</p>
<p>So I now teach in a unionized state where all teachers are paid fairly for their work. Do we have some lousy teachers, just waiting out their retirement? You bet…but that’s the fault of the administration which generally does not want to put the time into observing, evaluating, warning, documenting…taking the necessary steps to get a teacher fired. I’ve seen it happen though, with motivated enough leaders. Bad teachers make lousy colleagues–we don’t want them there either. But please…unions are not the enemy…I’ve taught at plenty of non-unionized schools where bad teachers droned on for years. </p>
<p>(And most of the charter schools I’ve seen pride themselves on the fact that they don’t hire unionized faculty–haven’t seen Superman though.)</p>
<p>Why did I homeschool? It has nothing to do with teachers and everything to do with a factory-worker model of education that encourages mindless adherence to rules and mediocrity. It’s hard to fight that, no matter how idealistic and hard-working you are (and it’s a big reason why I moved from high school to community college teaching)</p>
<p>I agree,</p>
<p>I have made friends with teachers I adore, and have met teachers I think are a waste of the skin they wear. But as much as I am bothered by teachers unions, I know why they exist.</p>
<p>Teachers are underpaid for what they do - grossly underpaid. I can’t understand why the government insists on massive pay raises for their own ranks (claiming they can’t attract talent) but then treat teachers as if they are doing it for the “love of their art.”</p>
<p>My daughter’s first decent English teacher left the profession after the district decided to consolidate schools and increase class size in the high school to state maximum (33 per class). She estimated that it left her with 10 minutes per week per child for instruction and no time to help those who were behind catch up because PS classes are filled by grade level, not ability level. </p>
<p>If teachers were paid more, it would make it easier to weed out the ones that jam up the system because more people with skills could be compensated at the same level as their current jobs.</p>
<p>But it’s not just teachers - it’s lousy school boards, inept state education rules, etc. It’s parents who take no ownership in their children’s behavior. It’s a complex problem driven primarily by people who - themselves - were raised in the same lousy environment hence a vicious circle.</p>
<p>Waiting for Superman is extraordinary only because a single individual with a vision created a charter school that worked. Many don’t.</p>
<p>Perhaps the nation could fix the problem if it would stop using one-size-fits all descriptions. Not all teachers are bad, not all parents are bad, not all students from poor environments are lazy and unmotivated, not all rich students are well behaved and/or smart, not all unions are bad, and not all charter schools are good (most are worse than their nearby district run equivalents.)</p>