Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

guyadiangold This documentary was eye opening, and exposed the tragic circumstances of the underprivileged and their challenges to education. I too had my fingers crossed for the children in the lottery and cried at the end. I thought it was interesting that of all the kids featured, the one who has the most privilege got chosen. Then again, isn't that always the way! To me the doc proved that the "American Dream" is a racist dream created by those who have the most (rich and elites); and is intended for the "haves", not the "have nots".Though I am pro union, that teachers union gives unions a bad reputation and it is clear that their main interest is their members, whether or not they are good teachers. The inferior teachers' interest only seems to be in their cheque, so I suppose that means the teachers union's main interest is collecting their union dues and the power they lord over political parties. Sad and tragic!

v-92539 Everyday for five days out of the week children are sent to school to receive an education. The students and parents put faith into the school system hoping that it will provide their kids with a bright future and a successful life. Unfortunately for some families the school system has failed to satisfy to fulfill the faith and hopes of parents and students even after all the many years of what seems to be useless reforms. In the 2010 film Waiting for Superman directed by Davis Guggenheim multiple interviews are conducted to explore the educational system in America through interviews of San Diego students, Washington students, New York students, educational reformers, parents, and teachers. I would rate this film four stars out of five because it portrays the educational system for the way that it truly is while reaching out to the viewers that it is time for a change. The film begins by pointing out the biggest problems in the educational system- we lag behind globally in test scores, the achievement gap is growing, and reforms are failing. According to statistics, the top performers that scored the highest on math and reading test allowed the U.S to rank 25th among other countries. The movie puts emphasis on the fact that the schools are creating bad neighborhoods not that the neighborhoods are creating bad schools. If students are not building up successful individuals then they will not productively give back to the community. The achievement gap in America has been stagnant separating the wealthy from the poor. The poor usually struggle in school and go to schools labeled as "failure factories" because they have low graduation rates and usually teachers who either struggle to help students or teachers who could care less considering the fact that tenure is automatically granted to them. Low performing students in good wealthy public or private schools struggle to catch up so that they don't lag behind, but have a greater chance of graduating just because they go to a rare wealthy school. The reforms are failing starting with No Child Left Behind and all others that resemble it because ultimately they are measuring test scores instead of promoting learning. When watching this movie I was able to believe that it was interesting starting off , but sometimes the order that they explained events made me confused at times. Like sometimes the film would have interviews , then they would just have the narrator giving context and explaining statistics about the schools, or they will give mini history lessons and flashbacks about the system. I enjoyed the ending because it all ended with the lives of the students being explored just as they had explored their lives in the beginning of the film .I believe that this film is great because it sheds light on everything that is happening in the educational system. I even cried during this movie because the pressure that families feel from the school system and the barriers that they face almost seem impossible to overcome.I was appreciative that the movie provided more information on the complexity of the school system like teachers unions and other reforms. I was not happy that they movie did not show or give any possible solutions after proposing about two hours of issues. Ultimately the movie is worth watching because it will educate you and allow you to see things from a different perspective about the educational system in America.

Mountain-Storm I was disappointed by the one-sidedness of this movie. Without any comment from the teacher's unions, at least in the first hour the bias is palpable. I turned off the movie when I realised it was trying to blame teachers and unions for all the problems in our education system, an education system that in itself is fraudulent. As a former teacher, I know how difficult it can be to teach a classroom full of innercity kids - sometimes 35 to a class. Research shows that small class size helps with learning tremendously, and those teachers this movie is labelling 'bad' - are not being given a chance to speak. I'm sure they have valuable perspectives to add, and this movie would be more credible if it allowed those teachers to speak out.With the aim to reward 'good' teachers, what exactly do you measure what is good. A teacher should be a model of emotional intelligence, adept at peaceful conflict resolution, have excellent communication, compassion, understanding, positive enthusiasm as well as intelligence. A teacher should also care for the child's emotional well-being and whole self. It seems the producers of this movie are solely concerned with math and reading scores - which are such a superficial measurement for success in a teacher- student relationship. Unfortunately the education system has convinced the majority of parents that this is the measurement to use. The education system has been set up that way, and it is a fraud. I would like to see the teacher's unions come up with their own documentary - then let's see the OTHER side of the story.Viewers beware of this movie, but most of you won't will you, because you have bought into the system, you have allowed the programers to delude you into thinking the education system should all be about reading, writing and maths.

Tss5078 Waiting For "Superman" is an inside look at the problems with education in America. The film is extremely eye-opening, showing just how bad a state most of our education systems are in. They clearly illustrate that no matter the area, teachers are failing America's youth at an alarming rate. I found the film to be very biased though, as it only points out what's wrong with the system, and fails to mention any of the positives that still exist in education. It also fails to offer solutions for the problems. Guggenheim throws lots of facts and figures at us and repeats the same themes. It gets to a point where he's just beating us over the head with the same concepts. Many people saw this as an inspirational call to action, but me, I saw it as a guy complaining. Honestly, if you can't offer up a solution than why present the problem? I'm pretty sure that almost everyone in America knows how bad education has gotten, even if they don't have the exact figures in front of them