Waiting for Superman: A Look at a Failing Education System

Director of An Inconvenient Truth reveals the facts about U.S. education system.

Having always dreamed of being a Hollywood director, Davis Guggenheim has made his mark in the film industry as a director of several documentaries, including An Inconvenient Truth (2006). His latest film, Waiting for Superman is Guggenheim’s second documentary about education, and is an insightful and raw look into the reality behind the failing education system in the United States. So why another documentary about education?

“The roots of all our problems, the roots of all our great successes come out of education,” declares Guggenheim, who growing up was lucky enough to have a handful of great teachers, one of whom was his dad. Now, having children of his own, Guggenheim sees how much change is needed to a broken system that’s been hiding its problems for years.

The film follows five children and their families who are being affected by the failing public school system. In addition to the broken education system, these families also face another obstacle when attempting to put their kids into a better school – admission into these better schools is determined by a lottery draw. Hanging in the balance are the kids’ dreams and entire futures.

Having spent time with the five families to really understand their stories and directing a film based on a topic that he’s so openly passionate about, Guggenheim admits that there is a fine line between being too caught up in the story and being objective at the same time. “Part of what drives me as a filmmaker is emotion. When I feel passionate about something is when I want to make a movie about it. In the absence of passion, I’m going to stay away. So you have to feel deeply about it and you have to care about the people in your movie and you have to find a way to get the people in the audience to care as much as you do.”

Having watched the film, it is hard not to care for the children and their families. One situation that is especially heartbreaking and that challenged the director’s sense of objectivity is when one of the children is being held back from attending her kindergarten graduation because her mother couldn’t make a payment to the school. “We’d be thinking, let’s go to the bank and give her some money [for the graduation], but that would be crossing the line… and that’s heartbreaking because you’re making the movie to help these people, yet you’re not allowed to out of principle,” says Guggenheim. It is finding this balance of emotion and objectivity that has created some debate about the fairness of the film.

Some have felt that the documentary crosses the line because it doesn’t focus on the good parts of the education system and singles out some teachers as bad teachers. However, Guggenheim understands how difficult of a profession teaching is and he, as well as other teachers who have watched a screening of the movie, feels that a change in the education system and how it is structured is what is failing the students and creating bad teachers. “I think every teacher becomes a teacher because they want to affect the lives of kids. They’re not enticed by money or fame. And I think having screened the movie in a lot of cities now, that they [the teachers] feel more than anybody how hard it is to work within the system.”

It’s no secret that parents today are under a lot of pressure with increased class sizes and a number of resources being cut. Unfortunately, the solution is not as easy as some may believe. “We want more money, we want better teachers and we all want our schools to be better, but the system seems to be crushing everybody. And that was the idea, to show these kids just wanting a great school, and the system that we’ve built makes it so hard and unless we deal with some of those hidden forces that want the status quo to stay, we’re never going to fix our schools,” remarks Guggenheim.

The early buzz around this film is indicating that it will have an impact on the status quo and ignite a discussion on the current state of the education system and for Guggenheim that is what he is hoping for. “Movies cannot teach a kid, or make a law, but movies can lift discussions and push leaders to makes decisions,” and it seems Waiting for Superman is doing just that.

Taking that first step towards change is crucial, and watching this educational and informative documentary is a step in the right direction. Waiting for Superman opens in theatres in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton on October 15th, 2010.