The minute I saw the Oprah episode about “Waiting For Superman” I knew I had to see it and the sooner the better. Teachers and Education have been on my mind and for 2 reasons….
I just ended a Back To School Campaign with 8 other bloggers called “Fill the Backpack” and even though our efforts might not have been as grand as Oprah’s Angel Network, which gave away $10 million dollars to some very successful and very deserving charter schools. We worked hard and did what we could. We gave away 16 Backpacks filled with $300 worth of back-to-school goodies and held a for teachers! 2 very deserving teachers won $500 to ClassWish.org.
The #1 most requested item from teachers were SmartBoards and we dreamed of giving every teacher who entered our contest one of these interactive white boards, but we’re not Oprah;) Reading the entries from these hard working teachers made us all a little sad and concerned. These teachers were also asking for basic items that you would think came standard to most schools and classrooms. Clearly something is wrong. Our teachers don’t even have some of the basic tools to succeed.
Another reason why this movie hit home, is because of how the educational system is effecting my family and my community. Yes, even in Pasadena our public schools are in jeopardy. With the 23 million dollar budget cuts in our district alone we are losing great teachers, class sizes are increasing, teachers are overwhelmed and our country is falling behind.
Waiting for Superman is not a movie, it is a harsh reality and one that I found heartbreaking. Imagine sitting in a auditorium with your son or daughter waiting for a chance at a good education and desperately wanting an opportunity for a better future. Their hopes and your fears determined by pure luck. The emptiness and heartbreak if their name is not called. How do you look them in the eye and explain to them that they just weren’t lucky that day. What kind of message does that send to a child?
Every mother is the same, we only want the best for our children, but when the best is only available to the wealthy and the lucky what happens to the rest?
Please take the pledge to see Waiting for Superman
Comments
Your Ivillage video was awesome!
It is so sad that in a state with such vast resources like ours, California ranks 47 out of the 50 on per pupil spending. Numerous studies have shown that parental involvement is the #1 indicator of student success.
I saw it in Sherman Oaks and I’m thrilled to say that a) the theater was full and b) the audience gasped and sighed in all the right places. This documentary has the potential to raise the collective awareness so far that the government won’t be able to let it just be pushed off for another generation.
I hope.
Andrea-
Thank you for bringing this movie to my attention- I am going with a few Mom-friends to see it tonight, and I’ve already looked into the website and ordered the book. It is so easy to get caught up in what is going on locally in our own school districts, and take our eye off of the big picture- the state of education throughout our country. I hope that this documentary causes as large of an “awakening” as An Inconvenient Truth did for global warming.
Your video was fantastic!