Waiting For Superman | Davis Guggenheim talks US (2010)

[MsJanetWood]

Do you think a POLICE OFFICER working in Oakland, Compton, Watts, or East L.A. has the SAME LEVEL of STRESS and PRESSURE, as cop in Beverly Hills?

Do you think WALKING along RODEO DRIVE is EQUAL to WALKING ALONG 54TH AND CRENSHAW?

A policeman friend of mine went to his wife's Back-to-School-Night. Imagine his surprise when he realized he had PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED half of the parents in attendance.

Stop blaming the teachers! Blame the loud, rude, disruptive students and their parents.

[rchinawoman]

Many TEACHERS give students excellent education while in SCHOOL. It is the PARENTS responsibility to REINFORCE education at HOME. Don't put all the burden on the teachers' shoulders. Some parents pass the blame on the teachers to cover their own irresponsibility on this matter.

[Fatima74]

You are clearly serving the interests of the wealthy elites who plan to exploit education by privatizing it. How much did they put in your pockets btw?

[Fatima74]

You are a self serving, greedy, dishonest manipulator of facts Mr. Guggenheim. If you really cared about the kids' future you would have challenged the unjust socio-economic system of exploitation that is robbing the people while making the rich more wealthy.

[brifrye]

@MondoBeno i'm with mpardueable. your story about the rare kid who escaped poverty missed the point. some parents are great, because they have the knowledge and the means to be great. for all those families who don't have the knowledge or the means to support their children, which is the majority in poor neighborhoods, there needs to be less blame. poverty isn't an excuse, it is a symptom. don't compare todays education system to your education from the 1950s because its a whole new ballgame

[GoDrex]

This guy doesn't make documentaries. He makes one sided propaganda.

[USASecretHistory]

@GoDrex That's true. He starts out with answer before actually investigating. The film actually does make some good points. But overall in hindsight it is an embarrassment. Former Superintendent Rhee's tenure has now proven to have been a fraud. The cheating scandals during her tehure now call into question the current craze for improving test scores. These people don't have any clue about what education actually means.

[icecream7yum1]

@CORRIGEEN71

You are racist, too ignorant, and backwards. You desperately need to take and PASS Genetics 101. Your pseudoscience stinks and is meaningless. 

[MondoBeno]

This movie was great, but not very fair on the teachers. We can spend all the money we want on paying teachers to do a great job, but what about the kids who never come to school?

When Bill Cosby made his "Pound Cake" speech, he was saying that money can't fix the damage of bad parenting, which is the cause of most of the problems in the schools.

[mpardueable]

@MondoBeno So, the failing education system is because the majority of American parents are bad parents? That is a lame response. It's not all about teachers, but do you even realize that most public schools are funded by property tax? which means poor kids go to understaffed, poor, overcrowded schools with lack of resources. When I hear people saying it's the parents fault, I know automatically they are wealthy and have no clue about the real world. you are living in a bubble. Wake up.

[MondoBeno]

@mpardueable My ancestors (and probably yours as well) grew up in poverty and went to underfunded schools. But the parents believed in education, and that's why my family succeeded while others didn't.

I had a student who was raised by his grandmother in dire poverty, yet he just graduated from Penn State. Back in 2003, I asked her what her "secret" was, and she said "I never let him near the TV until his HW is done!"

I don't want to hear anyone use poverty as an excuse.

[CORRIGEEN71]

black people dont have the same iq so you cant expect the same results as white kids

[nikiwonoto]

agreed. I also think that the most devastating problem is of how people tend to DEPEND (or wait) too much on whatever the "Top bureaucratic Institutions" are, eg: government, legislations, etc.

What's somewhat encouraging is when I see figures in the documentary like Michelle Rhee, Geoffrey Canada (despite their 'flaws'), that they take their OWN initiatives, instead of just WAITING for the "screwed Top institutions".

Take initiative, stand up & "BE the change you want to see" - Gandhi

[robertmike57]

@nikiwonoto Michelle Rhee has been exposed as a fraud.

[kesogago]

if this education system is bad... well what do you call the education in the PHILIPPINES.... 80-100 students in the classrooms of public school and guess what with only ONE TEACHER!

[ucandrinkmytea]

Again, I want to thank you Davis, because it would've been sooooooo easy for you to toe the liberal democrat line and support public schools VERBALLY, while sending your kids to PRIVATE SCHOOLS like the Obama's and the Clinton's did!

The mass media would have NEVER turned on you because you are ONE OF THEM; a LIBERAL!

You did the COURAGEOUS thing and most important thing by directing this film; you did the RIGHT thing!

[ucandrinkmytea]

As a conservative African-American who SUFFERED at the hands of PITIFUL ghetto public schools, THANKS A MILLION for being the one IMPORTANT THING Barack Obama is NOT as a liberal; HONEST! While it's NO SECRET the Obama's sent their OWN KIDS to PRIVATE schools all their lives, Barack KILLED the school voucher program in Washington, DC!

This was HYPOCRITICAL and DECEITFUL because he supports public schools for OTHER FOLK'S kids!

At least YOU as a LIBERAL, were HONEST!

God bless you Davis!

[Daniel44125]

The movie was great. Even if you think its going to be terrible watch it once. Then watch a video called Stupid In America right here on youtube

[216353dave]

I'M SO PLEASED THAT SOME ONE HAD THE GUTS TO LOOK AT THE REAL PROBLEM WITH TODAYS EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ALL THE CRAP WE HAVE TO FLOAT IN TO FIX IT. FOLKS THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND THE ONLY ONES LOSING IS THE STUDENTS.

AS A PRODUCT OF THE CHICAGO SCHOOL SYSTEM, THEN MOVED TO SMALL TOWN USA, I SAW FIRST HAND HOW UNFAIR IT IS. BEING POOR LIVING IN THE GETTO AND THEN AS SOON I COULD GET AWAY, HEADING TO THE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON STATE I FOUND OUT QUICKLY HOW UNFAIR MY EDUCATION WAS.

[MsJanetWood]

In foreign countries, there is no SOCIAL PROMOTION. If a student fails, he must repeat the entire year . . . AGAIN!

In America, it is literally impossible to "flunk" a student!

A teacher must attend a "special retention meeting", where she must present her case to a panel of experts.

Even, if the team agrees to retain the student, the parents can still veto their decision!

That is how you end up with junior high kids that don't know their time tables and read at a 2nd grade level!

[cohen11731]

@MsJanetWood

Not true. In the U.K, Australia and N.Z we don't hold kids back. 

[cohen11731]

@scoves9484

Oh my goodness, I couldn't agree more!

[edanielleh]

how can we put so much money into the public schools and get so little out?

[exposurejd]

@edanielleh Answer: Teachers Unions

[uralusr]

@edanielleh

3 parts to the responsibility puzzle 1. Schools 2. Student 3. Parent = Success

If parents in inner cities are not having school fundraisers and not sitting in front of their kids instead of american idol then the parent is not inspiring the student. Todays parents = Failure.

[tcampbellla]

It's the psychiatric influence!

How many kids took psyche drugs 30 years ago? I didn't know any.

Now, in many areas it's more than 50%. Think about it!

[zuzieqz]

@tcampbellla That's not the only issue...also many children are products of people using drugs......

[marleonetti5]

@Reveal1912 - if your numbers are correct than why are all the inventions of the 20th century made by white europeans , i.e.: radio , television , telephone , computer , automobile , airplane , not to mention electricity and the printing press years before that. All the east asians invented was gun powder and noodles. It was the europeans that invented the gun that can use the powder too. Asians are not smarter , just more disciplined and very afraid of failure.

[marleonetti5]

You cannot give everyone a : great education , great healthcare , great job , great housing , great retirement all for free especially in a country that has open borders and no control of it's numbers of people. This guy should be saying that we have too many people in the USA for us to help everyone and we have terrible immigration problems first and foremost. He sent his own kids to private school so why should he have any street cred with this film anyway !

[SUPERyoshi95]

@marleonetti5 Hey, can't give everyone that, but at least you can try. If you are concerned about issues on immigration then you are clearly not watching the right videos. And the reason why he is getting so much street cred, is because he is the first one to bring it up as a big issue. You ever thought about him actually caring about children who have to go through a crappy school education system?

[MsJanetWood]

Why hasn't anyone interviewed Michelle Rhee's former students? Ask them what kind of teacher she was?

HBO documentary: "Hard Times at Douglass High."

Suggested Reading:

"Bad Students, Not Bad Schools” by Robert Weissberg

"The Dumbest Generation” by Mark Bauerlein

[monkeydanny123]

Here’s another example. I remember those annoying tests that for every problem you get wrong, the teacher takes a big stick and hits you in the palm. It hurt like crap. When that happens, it’s always a long line of students waiting to be hit by the teacher. Do the parents go to school and yell at the teacher? No. The parents go to school to APOLOGIZE that their children created problems for the teacher.

[monkeydanny123]

As far as I know, not that many middle school students live like this in the US. A few years back, students needed to go to school on Saturdays too (they Westernized). And in your 3rd year of middle school, you are forced to stay in school to study for your exam till 8PM (I believe).

[cohen11731]

@monkeydanny123

It's not about quantity it's about quality. Making the school day longer isn't the answer. I'm a teacher in New Zealand. Our world ranking in literacy and numeracy is high because we have a quality education system and effective teaching practices. And our students are only in school from 9-3.

[isaacdandn23]

@cohen11731 ok new Zealand kids do good in school american kids grow up rule the world and over your new Zealand faggots

[cohen11731]

@isaacdandn23

Well as long as the rest of America doesn't grow up to be as immature as you then I can live with that.

Oh and by the way, the correct grammar is 'New Zealand kids do WELL' not 'New Zealand kids do good.

Perhaps you need to come over to N.Z. for some effective teaching and learning!

[tommy605]

@cohen11731 Out of curiosity, are the teachers in NZ part of a union, and if so, do they have tenure?

Thanks

[cohen11731]

@tommy605

Hi tommy. Union membership in N.Z is optional but almost all teachers choose to be union members. It's probably one of the biggest unions in the country. I don't know what 'tenure' is? Is it something to do with job security?

[tommy605]

@cohen11731 Yes, it does. Tenure makes it almost impossible to fire bad teachers. All they can really do is move them around. Kind of like passing a hot potato around. No one wants it for too long so they pass to the next one.

[cohen11731]

@tommy605

Oh dear! No we don't do that here but that doesn't mean we don't have bad teachers, of course we do. We have a different system here though. Teachers don't 'get moved around'. They apply for a job at a school and the school (an interview panel usually) makes the decision whether to give them the job or not. We don't have school boards or anything like that. Each school pretty much is in charge of itself (within govt guidelines of course). It's a good system and it works well.

[exposurejd]

@cohen11731 I'm sure parents play an important role as well. If they didn't, your job would be nothing more than "One step forward, two steps back". God bless you for being a teacher...You are tasked with the most important investment this world has...The leaders of tomorrow.

[kimmoraes]

@monkeydanny123-I agree completely. I live in the US and have chosen to educate my son at home. He is 8 and has a difficult time focusing. He was being sent home with lots of work that they couldn't get him to do in class. His discouragement was leading to behavioral problems, and it was my understand we had to wait two months for any sort of evaluation that might possibly allow my son some assistance. I said, "no way" to all of this. I am fortunate that I am able to homeschool.

[SIN4EVER14]

@cohen11731 i live in New Zealand... NCEA system sucks.. its a failing system

[cohen11731]

@SIN4EVER14

i teach primary level and that's what I what talking about. We have a good system and I think that NCEA in our High Schools is working well for most students. It's certainly still got some problems but I don't believe it's a failing system.

[monkeydanny123]

A good amount of middle school students from Taiwan live like this (this includes many many of my personal friends): they would go to school at 7:30AM. School ends at 5:00PM. Then they go to after-school school to improve in school (like a Kaplan except 60% of the students are forced to go by their parents), leave after-school school at 10PM. Then they have to finish after-school school homework, and then their real school homework, and then they go to bed.

[123arielariel123]

@monkeydanny123 si esto sucede las politicas tambien son malas y los resultados solo ocultan esto

[123arielariel123]

@monkeydanny123 if this happens too bad policies and the results just hide it

[peacad]

What is not told in this movie is the millions of dollars of private money invested in the Harlem Children's Zone. While it is great that the private can do this on a local scale, I very much doubt that corporations are willing to provide that level of investment across the USA in one foul swoop. The underfunding of American public schools continues.....

[MsJanetWood]

The IMPACT evaluations are BIASED and lead to FAVORITISM ! Mean-spirited and UNFAIR!

The majority of the teachers fired were OLDER, BLACK WOMEN who had a vested interest in the community. They were fully credentialled and had years of experience.

They were replaced with YOUNG, WHITE, inexperienced kids who were temporary "slumming" through the ghetto.

BLATANT DISCRIMINATION and OUTRIGHT RACISM!

Michelle Rhee has NO RESPECT for teachers, and often refers to them with disdain!

[nitchobass]

se this video:

Fox News "Waiting for Superman" Spin About Blaming Teachers' Unions Dishonest?

[nitchobass]

Davis is not blaming teachers, pay attention to it.

He is talking about bad education politcs.

Teachers are only pieces of this broken machine.

I live in Brazil, and I can tell you about a lame education system.

[fitnesschaser01]

@nitchobass When I was in the 11th grade, we had an exchange student from Brazil who could BARELY speak English. He was in my Biology II class, and he got 100% on all his exams! No lie. And the smartest student in our class, barely makes a B. Our teacher said we should all be ashamed of ourselves, because this kid rarely understands or even speaks English and does better than us. And she was right...

[DvineGaming]

@nitchobass The bad teachers are a big part of it though.

[MsJanetWood]

According to the Washington, DC Examiner, 2007 salaries for: Michelle Rhee, Chancellor: $275,000 Richard Nyankori, Special Assistant to the Chancellor: $140,000 Kaya Henderson, Deputy Chancellor: $200,000 Lisa Ruda, Chief of Staff: $200,000 Jesus Aguirre, Transition Assistant: $150,000 Jenny Abramson, Transition Team Leader: $140,000 John Davis, Transition Assistant (T.A.): $125,000 Anthony de Guzman,T.A.: $125,000 Billy Kearney,T.A.: $120,000 Ximena Hartsock, T.A.: $115,000

[MsJanetWood]

TYPO CORRECTION: INNER CITY

[ripple047]

I have been teaching for 13 years. I am currently making $39,000. This movie takes a glimpse at one area and assumes it represents our entire country.

[cohen11731]

@ripple047

OMG! I've been teaching 7 years and I make almost double that (I'm not in the U.S)

[SixCeroSix]

Why is it everyone just automatically assumes that this film is attacking teachers. Its not in fact one of the problems mentioned in the film is that its very hard to reward good teachers because its seen as unfair to pay one teacher more than another. If anything this film praises good teachers and is pointing out that they aren't receiving the rewards they deserve.

[MsJanetWood]

What happened to the young, white teachers hired by Michelle Rhee? Are they still teaching in Washington D.C.? No? Why did they leave?

Why is the new mayor thinking of rehiring the older, black teachers?

NOT SO EASY, TEACHING IN THE INTER CITY!

Cue Aretha Franklin's song "R-E-S-P-E-C-T . . . "

HA!

[joele3188]

@Brorot17: You say you went to a school with an excellent "eduacation," but your comment seems to be written by the most illiterate person here. Imagine a student who attends an underfunded, under served, but over populated school. If you think your "eduacation" is great, how good do you think there's will be?

[jtack19791]

I grew up in a bad neighborhood, I dropped out of school, finished a high school completion program, went into the army, fought in a war, came home, graduated from a community college and now Im a full time student in a state univeristy with a very good GPA. Moral of my story: You make your own success or your own failure. A teacher can only teach if students want to learn. We should not blame them for a world of circumstance beyond their classroom or control. 

[AgaMbadi]

@jtack19791 Honest words. Thank you for telling it like it is.

[MsJanetWood]

The kids that talk loud and laugh during the movie! The ones that throw popcorn at the screen! The ones that run up and down the movie aisles. The ones that keep getting up to go to the bathroom! Those kids!

Do you think those kids could sit down for a 45 minute Math Lesson?

They can't sit still during a movie! You think they are going to pay attention to their math teacher?

So, who do we blame? The teacher? The administrators? The parents? Or the kids?

[Brorot17]

this documentary sux.

nobody but retards talk about this

kids arent perfect

dont blame teachers

I hate this movie with a passion

I go to a school with an excellent eduacation

BUT it is like living in a hobo's mansion that wasnt destroyed because the hobo was still in there.

[kennarjl]

This is the most incredible documentary that I have ever seen. Sir, thank you for being an agent of change. I cannot wait to change the lives of my future students and I hope that in my lifetime I may aid in the repair of these broken school districts.

[12kTeacher]

@MsJanetWood Yeah, That's Paris Hilton....so what?

[AgaMbadi]

@MsJanetWood Hey, want to know something funny about Paris' sister Nicky? She was tutored in math by a colleague of mine, WHO TEACHES IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

[bilbosilbo]

This guy is a fucking clown.

[MushisCow]

@bilbosilbo No he wants to do something good. You fucking ignorant.

[MsJanetWood]

CORRECTION TO TYPOS: Tennessee

[MsJanetWood]

CORRECTION TO TYPOS: that teacher, Donald Wood . . .

[MsJanetWood]

He's kind of cute. Too bad he's such an a-$-$-h*le!

How dare he mess with my tenure!

I've got a good thing going here! Shhhhhhhh . . .

Taking naps . . . catching up on my reading . . . long summer vacations , , ,

Oops! Excuse me, I think I'm on vacation again!

P.S. You do know I am being sarcastic! Sometimes, writers exaggerate the truth to prove their point!

Anyways, be sure to view that video of the that teacher Donald Wood from Tennesse! No, I am not related to him!

[ImNeilPatrickHarris]

doouche

[UncleMilo]

@ImNeilPatrickHarris You're an idiot. Now stop playing with your mother's computer.

[moosiejac]

The reason a lot of our school are in the shape they are in is this Country being bias has still not realized that everyone should be educated that is a Citizen of this country not one group get a better education because they are who they are, but educate everyone to benefit us all. Once and for all realize that we all are not analytical and educate us the way we learn ( Visual, Analytical, Auditory)

[zeigifuss]

Also be sure to catch RACE TO NOWHERE, a controversial documentary that answers Waiting for Superman

[besheba]

We want the best of everything but we don't want to pay for it. It is what it is. Meanwhile, we force-feed kids medication to get them to sit still instead of giving them a reprieve to run around in the fresh air for 10 minutes, so that they can pass a test and we can prove how "smart" we are. Comparing America with other countries who hand-pick the kids with the test scores that they wish to present to the world is blatently wrong. There are lies, damn lies, and then there are statisics.

[MsJanetWood]

Do you think a POLICE OFFICER working in Oakland, Compton, Watts, or East L.A. has the SAME LEVEL of STRESS and PRESSURE, as cop in Beverly Hills?

Do you think WALKING along RODEO DRIVE is EQUAL to WALKING ALONG 54TH AND CRENSHAW?

A policeman friend of mine went to his wife's Back-to-School-Night. Imagine his surprise when he realized he had PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED half of the parents in attendance!

TIP FOR NEW TEACHERS IN THE INNER-CITY: "DUCK, those aren't FIRECRACKERS!"

[dsdeich]

We are all responsible for the school system, parents don’t get involve, they don’t question, and they don’t vote at local levels where it impacts us the most. Our children need us to change, there are good and bad teachers out there and the expectations need to be there. You can say the same about parents, we are just responsible, Schools who perform have standards and goals, parents who are actively involved, and teachers who compel the children to do their best. It take all of us!

[rwmcjazz]

Teachers are being used as the scapegoat; plain and simple. America! The chickens have come home to roost. Media, drugs, divorce, crime, corruption, and unsupervised access to every conceivable form of depravity for your youth’s viewing are your harvest. This is what your have created and this is what you will be reap. So please don’t expect teachers to cure the cancer you have created.

[zeigifuss]

@rwmcjazz thank you that someone is seeing and calling a spade a spade.

NO ONE PERSON IS GOIGN TO BE A PURGATIVE FOR ALL THAT & NO ONE CAN

"TAKE AWAY THEIR RIGHTS".

So with that in mind, don't expect a teacher to be a policman or babysitter.  If you give them the pill, phone , meds, whathave you, step up to the plate and take responsibility.

[cutis1000]

According to a piece in The Nation, "In the Finnish education system, much cited in the film as the best in the world, teachers are – gasp! – unionized and granted tenure, and families benefit from a cradle-to-grave social welfare system that includes universal daycare, preschool and health care, all of which are proven to help children achieve better results in school."

Guggenheim has got it WRONG! And his anti-union streak is disgraceful!

[nexusone1984]

The American Education system is broken, so is so many aspects why we are here.

You can lay blame a liberals, people just throwing money at the problem, people care more about Britney Spears then their Government not doing a good job.

Fact: Parent involvement is key, what happened when our Government made it so that we need two parents to work to make ends meet (Not saying that some is parents choice for both to work based on life style). or that they encouraged single parenthood.

[shdjkal]

maybe you should back to school in order to improve your listening skills

[cutis1000]

It's so easy to bash unions, isn't? I'll tell you right now, you can dismantle every single union in this country and you know what? You won't see public education in this country rebound at all. The public education debacle has SO MANY facets to it, and unions are only one component of it. How about dealing with rising tuition costs? How can students afford college, even if they graduate highschool? Colleges keep raising tuition every time government increases the amount of loans available.

[kinkside]

Mr. Guggenheim, you are a hypocrite. Listen to yourself here. Your are lucky because you have a choice - you found a great school for your kids at a great expense and you don't mind paying it. What about those of us that cannot pay for it? What about those of us working as teachers in public schools who are repeatedly told that funding will be less each year. I'm a teacher who makes a difference every day, and I do it with fewer resources every year. You missed the point of your own film.

[eatcloud]

@kinkside he said "I have a choice" and then preceded to talk about the kids that don't have a choice. You obviously didn't listen to anything he said after he spoke of sending his kids to a school that has a good education system. If your a teacher then you should know all your history before you start making claims.

Don't troll about a guy who made a documentary to help the world when you didn't even listen to everything he said.

[kinkside]

@eatcloud grow up. I listened to that clip 6 times and am responding to the fact that he states that he has a choice - to pay for his kids to go to private school a choice most Americans cannot afford. Harlem Zone - they just received $50million in private funding - $20million of that from Goldman Sachs. Great school - lucky to be funded. I buy notebooks and school supplies for half my class each year. That's how my kids are funded right now. Get the facts. Don't rely on the Hollywood version.

[PagingDrAsian]

@kinkside How is he a hyprocrite though? He knows he's lucky, because many others cannot afford what he can. The point he's is trying to make is that no students should have to require extra money to get a great education. That great education should be standard. Unlike other countries, the U.S. doesn't spend enough on education.

[AgaMbadi]

@PagingDrAsian If he is admitting that it takes the money that he has to get a great education for his kids then what does that tell you about education itself? Like it or not, talented people who work their asses off expect to be well paid for their services. Otherwise, they are going to look elsewhere for a paycheck.  He admits he has to pay a lot to get a great education for his kids. Then he proposes that we turn teachers into WalMart associates, subordinate to his pal Michelle Rhee.

[PagingDrAsian]

@AgaMbadi He suggested that in the movie? Didn't get to watch it yet. I know from the panel discussion that Geoffrey Canada definitely saw the importance of compensation and constantly brought up rewarding deserving teachers. Don't know if he and Davis has different views, but the film the latter made obviously gave a chance for Canada to voice his stance some more. Same for other reformers elsewhere.

[guitarlips1]

@AgaMbadi Teachers in DC public schools were offered the chance to make six figure incomes, is that what you mean by walmart associates. You didn't really watch the film did you?

[AgaMbadi]

@guitarlips1 Yes, teachers were offered the chance to make six-figure salaries, just like Wal-Mart associates are told that one day, they could be a manager, a regional manager, or even a CEO. That's the American corporate way. Lure the suckers in with promises of fame and fortune, and then, when they become too much of a financial liability, the majority of them get canned for no good official reason. I've seen first-hand the machinations of corporatists in the public sector. No thanks.

[dtn001]

kids take away from school what they want to. we try to blame "the system" all the time. thats getting so old. i went to shit schools my whole life, even the college i chose wasnt very legit. but i feel like i have a way better education than even the guys i went to law school with, probably because I WANTED IT. btw guggenheim seems like such a douchey liberal.

[AgaMbadi]

"I have a choice, I have found a way for my kids. I found a great education for them and at great EXPENSE and I don't mind PAYING IT."

Oh REALLY Davis?! How nice for you, that you can afford a great education for your children. Great education isn't free, and you won't attract dedicated, talented people to the field of education by forcing them into charter schools, giving them even shittier pay, and constantly threatening their jobs because of factors beyond their control. Fucking coward.

[lightsinthesky246]

clearly you got molested by your uncle and have only one scrotum,

make love to me please baby!

8=D O:

thats you + me (;

[AgaMbadi]

@lightsinthesky246 How did you manage to find your way out of that stain on your father's boxers and find your way into your old lady's oven exactly?

[AgaMbadi]

@lightsinthesky246 By the way, how many scrotums do the men in your family have? 2? 3? 12? Is it a genetic defect? Dipshit.

[LibertarianMatt34]

@AgaMbadi teachers unions negotiate those contracts that are giving them worse pay. They refuse to have pay based incentives and continue to prop up bad teachers instead of holding them accountable. That is why you are not seeing dedicated and talented people in the public arena. The government is just as much to blame with unfunded mandates and attachment to NEA lobbyists. School choice holds schools and teachers unions accountable. From the looks of your language you would be a union member.

[AgaMbadi]

@LibertarianMatt34 What exactly is meant by "accountable"? Who is held accountable? Are parents who are never present at home accountable?  Are administrators, who have never taught a day in their lives, who are constantly implementing wasteful education fads in the classroom, and who are beholden to corrupt school boards accountable? Are politicians and sanctimonious filmmakers held accountable? No, they are not, and neither of course, are you LibertarianMatt34. How was Glenn Beck's rally?

[LibertarianMatt34]

@AgaMbadi Teachers and the Administration would be held accountable based off of the performance with in the schools. Unions do nothing but defend the indefensible this idea that it is impossible to fire a bad teacher after they "earn" tenure is ridiculous. Administrators would be held accountable by the parents and the school board by having poor performance in the class room and in administrative duties. It would be like a regular job where if you are doing a bad job you would get fired.

[AgaMbadi]

@LibertarianMatt34 Tenure does not prevent bad teachers from being fired. If you had even rudimentary knowledge of the public school system, you'd know that. It ensures a fair hearing so that teachers may defend themselves from crazed parents, students, half-baked administrators with little to no real teaching experience, and fly-by-night board of ed. members with axes to grind. If you had taught in a public school and saw first-hand what teachers face on a daily basis, you might understand.

[LibertarianMatt34]

@AgaMbadi Further more, the film makers are huge leftists (This is the same guy that directed An Inconvienent Truth). Its not like it some sort of hardcore conservative demonizing Public Education. To think that our public education system is okay the way it is now is a testement to your density or your lack of knowledge of the situation at hand. I implore you to tell me what you think the problem is and then your solution to said problem. Funny story though, Glenn Beck is not a libertarian.

[AgaMbadi]

@LibertarianMatt34 There are dozens of issues that affect educational results. Parental involvement is the number one predictor of student achievement, yet no politician or filmmaker is going to address that issue because it would involve losing votes or ticket sales. When children are absent every other day, are insubordinate, and never lift a finger to take advantage of extra help that is offered to them daily, it makes it difficult to teach them trigonometry or physics.

[LibertarianMatt34]

@AgaMbadi That back handed insult you slung at me is neither relevant to this conversation nor is it an intelligent thing to say. Attempting to marginalize someone by their beliefs and or associations is the true sign of a feeble mind attempting to push their own ideology forward with out the background knowledge.

[AgaMbadi]

@LibertarianMatt34 When politicians pass legislation that is riddled with unfunded mandates which fail to take into account how educational funding is allocated by way of property taxes, they are to blame. When classrooms are set up with politically correct standards in mind that force students into a one-size-fits-all classroom model to appease the Davis Guggenheims of the world, thereby watering down the curriculum and shafting the highest performing students in the room, they are to blame.

[AgaMbadi]

@LibertarianMatt34 You are clearly a one-dimensional thinker if you believe that bad teachers are the sole reason why more than a dozen other industrialized nations hand us our ass each year in the realm of student achievement. Given that you're a libertarian, and likely think of public schools as in infringement upon your liberties, this is unsurprising. Try, for once in your life, thinking outside of the confines of the politically dogmatic box that you've built around yourself.

[Roxy21789]

As a future teacher, I have seen first hand what the public education system has become, and I am glad someone has finally decided to take action. I decided to become a teacher because I wanted to change the system, to be a great teacher and now in my final year of my bachelors in education, this movie has truly inspired me. SO for everyone who has left negative comments, you either do not know much about the education system or you do not care about the education your child receives.

[AgaMbadi]

@Roxy21789 As an 8-year veteran, I know plenty about the system, and Davis is defending the people whose actions are the primary reasons for its many failures. I hope that you get a good dose of reality in your first few years of teaching. Find out for yourself what happens when you offer countless hours of your free time to help the neediest of students, spend money out of your own pocket on them, and then get shit on by school boards and administrators because you didn't teach to the test.

[tristramshandy3]

@Roxy21789 what are you going to teach? We need people who can think critically teaching kids to think critically.

[thekush88]

this dude is a retard. films should be.... storys about people. YA NO SHIT. this guy is just trying to make a buck.

[thetunr]

@thekush88

'Storys'? Come on, that movie is about you.

[coffeescup]

@thekush88 It's pretty obvious the you didn't see the benefits of education, so he's talking about you...

[psikeyhackr]

Google +"computers as tutors" +vero

Find out about Vero Beach High School in Florida, 1987 and what our so called educators are not telling us about what can be done with computers. They have already wasted 20 years.

.

[XXwhoknowsXX81]

stop making about the damn government its also the parents job yes go figure a parents, that they are responsible for there child education and people its not just about all this he said she said bull shit that o this dosent work and nor dose that, its about the kids stop looking else where we need to get real as start asking how do we help, how can i help how can i change things, every person adds up one by one, its like my mom said count your pennies they add up to dollars

[XXwhoknowsXX81]

@XXwhoknowsXX81 I mean asking how can i help i mean heaven forbid that we as a whole as each individual may have to get off our lazy American butts and do something

[boston1807]

@XXwhoknowsXX81

Do you speak English? I see you try, but the result is as good as the American public education in a ghetto.

[catbuffalo]

Epic pr campaign they've been running today. They close down 23 public schools in DC and blame it squarely on teacher's unions. Spin it like a top!

[humblepieproductions]

When will our country stop paying most of the taxpayers' money on the military industrial complex and fund education? We are bleeding out here in the public schools and yet we go on killing children and citizens of other countries. Where is the outrage over this? Instead we blame the teachers who are some of the very few people in our society coming to the table for our children. Politicians carry on like they have real concern for our children and then cut funding that educates and feeds them.

[jonsconspiracy]

@humblepieproductions It's not really about money. Federal funding for education has grown at a higher rate than overall government spending over the past decade. Bush increased funding for education more than any other president in recent history. Local funding for school may be getting cut, but I would bet that in 99% of those cases other spending was cut even deeper. We have got to put an end to teacher's unions and their seniority and tenure crap so we can put the best teachers to work.

[tristramshandy3]

@jonsconspiracy and where, exactly, are these "best teachers" going to come from? There isn't exactly a large pool of intellectual capital just sitting around waiting to teach in this country ya know :()

[fashionista0709]

Michelle Rhee, who is praised in this film, has spoken publicly about covering her students' mouths with masking tape as a way to keep them quiet, while she was in Teach for America. She even laughed when she explained how some of the students bled when she removed the tape. This is truly disturbing.

[AgaMbadi]

Wow Davis, you are a brave man. Now let's see you stand up to the political system that keeps school districts underfunded, enforces mandates that are designed to drag all students down to the lowest levels of academic mastery, and that demonizes the very middle-class people spending tens of thousands of dollars that they don't have achieving the educations they need to apply for their thankless jobs. Another millionaire on a crusade to save America. If this is Superman, I'll take Lex Luthor.

[MicNashus]

See, the sad thing about a guy like you is in 50 years you're gonna staht doin some thinkin on your own and you're gonna come up with the fact that there are two certaintees in life. One, don't do that. And Two, you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a ... education you coulda got for a dollah fifty in late chahges at the public library ~Will, quote from Good Will Hunting.

[imascab]

@MicNashus Judging by your spelling and lack of a grasp on sentence structure you are also a victim of the American public school system.

[jan8919]

All of our governments in the states failed us all especially little kids middle school ,highschool /college they need great teachers to get a great education so we can continue to improve our school systems we are suffering as country right now ,cant see that happen in the late future so this the time to make that happen as people / parents / students it is our responsiblity !

[belathequeen]

@kesaonez That's false. Not all schools have uniforms. Discipline differs from school system to school system, you are generalizes and oversimplifying an issue.

[kesaonez]

Teachers have no power and children since the dawn of time dislike school, yet they have to do it cause it is their job to learn how to function in society. In the 1950's we were not failing oh why you say? Teachers were respected and children had disciple/Respect for themselves, teachers and society!!!!! That's why.

[HurricaneTBag]

@kesaonez Yeah, this is fucking stupid. I recall when I went to high school, there were three teachers who I looked at and thought to myself "they could be doing something better than working at this place." The rest were fucking incompetent losers. Most teachers simply don't deserve respect.

[CarlaMills]

I am looking forward to seeing this movie !!!!!

The Mills Connection Show...

[tabularasa66]

I applaud Mr. Guggenheim for taking the time to listen to his conscience to make the effort to tell a story that we need to hear and see. how many of you below, who criticize him, have stood up in the light of day for your beliefs in this life? how many of you realize that it is not a right, but a privilege to live on this planet? how many of you wake up and think about how YOU can help make the world a bit better, and then put your neck out to try and effect that change?

[orphand11]

Good work Guggenheim.

Might actually rehabilitate your rep with this one from the mess you made of it in Manbearpig's now cold pile of excrement, Inconvenient Truth.

Here's hoping.

[SunimZen]

@orphand11 gee, the way you communicate, you must be one of those christians I'm always reading about. very mature rhetoric. I'm sure your parents are proud of you

[ashleypoo1319]

@orphand11 I sense a south park libertarian! Inconvenient truth was definitely not flawless, although the general premise of it was correct. Things like incorrect information tend to tarnish the actual facts around them.