What Makes a School Great

What Makes a School Great

By clicking on the link above, you will see a cover story from a current issue of Time magazine. As an educator, who happens to adore her job, I always grab anything that is going to "reflect" the educational system in the United States. Usually I'm disappointed because people making policy or writing books or creating films or telling me how to do my job have never stepped foot into a real classroom to teach. This is why I stopped seeing teaching movies because they are all the same: idealistic white person who wants to change the world lands in the ghetto/barrio and sees that kids have rougher lives than trying to learn how to diagram a sentence. Not that I don't believe these type of children deserve quality teachers, but there is a large number of average kids who also deserve great teachers. Now, I'm not opposed to anyone who wants to make sure the focus of education is truly on the children; however, it's usually the same people who have no idea who my children are.

That brings us to Waiting for "Superman." It comes out in theaters soon, and I am debating seeing this film. All I know so far is what Time has written and what the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President has to say about it because I am a member of AFT. Actually, her letter about the movie was the first I heard about it. Read her letter here by clicking on "Where we Stand: Saving our Schools: 'Superman' or Real Solutions" on the webpage (it's a PDF file). This is the same AFT President painted as the antagonist in the Time article. This is another site that AFT has created regarding this movie.

One thing I always teach my students is to consider the source when looking into a solid argument. Unfortunately, like many of my students, I see a lot of gray area; therefore, black and white arguments are very difficult for me (as Obi-Wan would say, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes.") I also encourage my students to see/hear/read whatever they are going to judge so they know what it is that they agree or disagree with. So I guess if I'm going to set an example, I need to see Waiting for "Superman." I suppose my hesitation hovers around how angry this movie might make me. Perhaps I also fear enough parents and policy makers will see this movie and stop trying to build up the public school system (I think another post should be dedicated to my stance on private and charter schools). Teaching in the public school system, even though I love it, is hard enough without making more enemies.

I want to encourage anyone who reads this to look at the articles I've included (maybe even see the movie) and make the best decisions to support both the teacher and the student.

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