Whether it?s this post or Oprah, today may be the first time you hear of the movie ?Waiting for Superman? but it won?t be the last. A flood of pissed-off parents, Charter Schools and reformers and deep-pocketed billionaires and millionaires will make sure of that.
But the other reason you?ll keep hearing about this documentary on the state of America?s public education system is that it?s just a really great documentary.
I?ve never quite understood how the public school system of the wealthiest country in the world--one where every President pledges to ?fix? education and one where education spending continually goes up--could be so intractably horrible. The problem seems too big, bloated, complex and confusing to even have a smart debate around, much less try to fix. Fortunately, since I'm not a parent, it?s an issue where I can just throw up my hands, assume any politician saying they?ll fix it is lying, and start saving for the private school I?ll one day need when I do have kids.
But the brilliance of ?Waiting for Superman? is in how it breaks the problem with education down into mostly one simple problem: Bad teachers can?t be fired, good teachers can?t get rewarded for being good, whether that?s promotions or merit-based raises.
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