Documentary 'Waiting For Superman' Reveals America's Poor Public Education System

I belong to a local anti-prejudice group called Inclusive Alliance, that meets at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. The group tackles all kinds of issues, including homophobia, Islamophobia, racism. However, this week, we tackled something that disturbs my very being, as I lived through it--the current state of public education.

The discussion we had was born from watching clips from the documentary entitled Waiting for Superman. In these clips, we learned a statistic that 3 out of every 100 children will not graduate from high school. This cut me deep, as I went to a high school whose statistics were similar, if not on a larger scale. My graduating class, the class of 2003, decreased significantly as the year went on. I cannot recall how many of our class did not graduate, but it was a noticeable chunk. The statistics got even more sobering when we were informed that one child drops out of school every sixteen seconds.

These statistics don't just impact a high school and its students during high school times, obviously. Whatever the reason kids are dropping out or failing--teenage pregnancy, not understanding the material, teachers who aren't dedicated, prejudice, etc., these choices or circumstances will have an impact for years to come. These kids likely have a hard time finding jobs, struggle to make ends meet, have relationship trouble because of such, and are likely to pass on the sense of underachievement to their children--just to name a few.

Then, there are the other 97 out of 100 who do remain in school. However, the public school system, in several locations, are in shambles. It was disheartening to me in high school when the teachers were forced to teach out of a book, for fear of losing their jobs if they didn't stick to the protocol and drill kids in preparation for their standardized tests. For me, I am a very hands-on person and learn the best when I am able to do stuff--not just have a cornucopia of information thrown at me, and being expected to retain it all.

Another issue is a lack of passionate teachers. Again, in my experience, at my high school, I feel like they let anyone in off the street to teach. My senior year, we even had a narcoleptic teacher, who didn't teach when she was awake anyway. Instead, she would ask someone to turn the television on to Jerry Springer. No, I am not kidding.

My final point comes from the part in the documentary that highlights lotteries that parents of students who want better enter, hoping that they are chosen so they may be given a better chance. It is said that this is a fair and non-discriminatory way of choosing which kids are to get into very coveted spaces in better schools. To me, it's giving up trying to reform anything on our own. Straight up, it's a bad reputation we're placing on ourselves. It's reduced to being desperate and turning to gambling.

However, I made a statement earlier in Inclusive Alliance, that we're just mimicking what we see. Just last week, after the pending government shutdown was averted, I was watching ABC News. One of the White House correspondents commented that each "side" (in the failed two-party system), had their poker faces on during the budget crisis. Sadly, it seems that our government has also reduced itself to gambling. We're apparently a country ran by playing poker with the hands that we are dealt. We're expected to suck it up and take it as it comes. I'm not okay with this.

In conclusion, we need to do something. I'm not sure what at this point, but it's apparent that gambling on our kids and our country's future isn't working. Maybe it's our country's leaders. Maybe it's history repeating itself. Whatever it is, we need reform NOW!