I recently saw and was inspired by the film Waiting for Superman. If you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly encourage you to head to your local theater and get a glimpse into why our public schools are failing so many of our children and why intelligent efforts at reform are being stymied. Just as importantly, the film offers simple and effective steps for all of us to take to support efforts at reforming our public schools and giving our children the world class education that each one of them deserves.
The film does a wonderful job of telling us what it’s like in our public schools through the eyes of five students who, along with their parents, are determined to escape their dysfunctional public schools and enroll in charter schools that have track records of academic success. While it’s heartbreaking to watch the children and their families sit through the lottery proceedings (all the schools have many times more applicants than enrollment slots), it’s heartening to hear the stories of Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee, and other school reform leaders who are undaunted by the challenges and are taking courageous steps to transform the schools under their charge. The children and these reformers give us hope that reform IS within reach, that our children are not destined to fall further behind other countries’ children when it comes to literacy and knowledge of math and science.
I encourage all of you to check out the film’s Take Action Checklist and take an active role in encouraging reform where it’s most important: at your local schools. If all of us could take the following simple steps to help our local schools, then a real groundswell of reform could take root at every level in the country:
1. Encourage your local school board to hire, support, and reward great teachers.
2. Get involved in your local school’s PTA, volunteer at a local school, and/or donate school supplies.
3. Demand that your governor support and implement the Common Core Standards that set world-class standards for all students.
Rather than be discouraged by the dismal statistics of standardized test scores or our high school graduation rates, let’s be encouraged by the stories of Daisy, Anthony, and the other kids in Waiting for Superman who rise above their oppressive circumstances and do their best to create a more hopeful and beautiful world for themselves. As the film shows us, there are important, effective, and simple steps that each one of us can take to help the Daisys and Anthonys of our country experience a world class education. I encourage all of us to take the first step today.
We just need a bit of determination to change ourselves to real Supermen (and Wonder Women as well!) and concretely take action in order to improve what we don’t like about public schools.
By rightly and sincerely demanding that kids have skilled and competent teachers, by actively participating in PTAs or volunteering activities, and by enthusiastically requesting the Common Core Standards, each and everyone of us, genuine everyday people, can (superheroically!) pave the way for a better public education system, which will prepare the children of today to be the future leaders of tomorrow.
If we truly want to change something, we need to change ourselves before: all we need to do is to get more involved and take such simple steps as the ones mentioned above. It’s so much worth it because it’s about the future of our children and the future of our world.
Let’s start now to improve the tomorrow of us all and give every child a better and brighter life opportunity.