educational movie review

David Guggenhiem’s methodical approach to addressing the American public educational system and its teachers can be seen through his insightful documentaries as he interviews teachers, administrators, parents, and students.  In “Waiting for Superman,” Guggenhiem devoted an entire school year following a set of parents in their attempts to enroll their children in a charter school that would afford them the education they so desperately needed. Guggenhiem’s “Teach” documentary follows similar methodical approaches, as he spends yet another school year following a set of teachers as they restructured their teaching strategies in order to improve students’ learning outcomes. Through interviews, Guggenhiem was able to create these documentaries and follow their intended content.

Guggenhiem’s “Waiting for Superman” focuses on the public education system and addresses the political implications regarding teachers and their position of power. It was said that it has become extremely easy for teachers to become tenured. Teachers need to work in the school site for two years before tenure is awarded. This creates a problem because tenure makes it difficult to reprimand and/or fire teachers. In the event that a tenured teacher is an ineffective educator, the students are the ones to suffer. In this documentary, Guggenhiem follows a set of parents as they take part in a lottery to hopefully enroll into a charter school. Because charter schools are free and few in between, the demand is greater than the availability of spaces. “Waiting for Superman” illustrates the struggle of many parents as they attempt to seek a better education for their children while it appears as though all odds are against them.

In contrast, the “Teach” documentary focused on four different teachers and their approach to teaching. This documentary follows the teachers’ efforts to address the students’ problem areas in order to move towards improvement. The documentary revealed that changing teaching strategies was key. For instance, one teacher made the shift from direct instruction to student driven teaching “where a teacher encourages students to ask questions and drive the conversation, the ideas and information travel in both directions so a teacher can know where his students stand at all time.” This change proved to be effective as the students became more involved in the learning process. The underlining idea in “Teach” was that every student learns differently and as a teacher, one must learn how to reach out to all of his/her students. As teacher Joel Laguna stated, “At first I was angry at the students and then I think I was angry at myself” he made the realization that the blame (for low performance) should not be placed on the students but instead, the teacher should take accountability and refrain from giving up on his/her students.

It’s interesting to note the issues that these documentaries have raised. “Waiting for Superman” shines light into the injustices that occur in an educational setting; students are limited to what school they can attend and the teachers available might not have the students’ best interested in mind. “Teach” on the other hand, was an insightful documentary that focuses on the teachers’ efforts to adapt their teaching methods in order to reach out to all their students. “Teach” begins by asking, “What is a teacher?” which serves as a question to think about as we follow four teachers in their attempts to make a difference. This documentary solidified the idea that teachers have to power inspire and create change. On one hand, “Waiting for Superman” addresses the issue of having ineffective teachers whereas “Teach” showcases the heartfelt efforts of a handful of teachers who are motivated to educate by all means necessary. It’s unfortunate that there is a handful of educators are not willing to go the extra mile to teach their students, if this weren’t the case, there would be no need to wait for “Superman.”

In regards to issues in education today, it is said that expectations for children in urban areas is too low. Sarah Tully’s article, “Black, Latino Parents Say Expectations for Poor Children Too Low in Public Schools” expresses the idea that this must change. As research states, “about 90 percent of the poll’s participants said expectations for low-income children should be high or higher than for other students.” It’s unfortunate that this happens as it creates a cycle and a general idea that low income areas are doomed and/or incapable of measuring up to their more privileged peers.  This way of thinking is what causes teachers to lose motivation and can essentially leads to giving up on their students.  This creates some implications as some teachers take advantage of tenure and become less proactive and/or refuse to adapt/restructure their teaching practices. These documentaries have pointed out the importance of having proactive teachers who prioritize their students as teachers have the power to shape and motivate students from all walks of life.