Waiting On Superman Summary

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The documentary, “Waiting on Superman” portrays teachers as both the solution and the problem to the education system in America. It shows the efforts of some teachers battling the bureaucracy which is the school administration and teachers unions. It shows that teachers unions are more for the protection or “right-to-work” of the teachers, regardless of whether the teacher is effective. Also, shows unions are against rewarding good teachers over their weaker counterparts. The documentary follows a few students as they prepare for a lottery system to hopefully to escape the failing school system. Charter schools have become the answer to bypassing the overly complicated federal school system. It offers students the ability to receive a good education from good teachers and the success rate of graduates is much higher than that of the public school system. I think charter schools are a great idea because it focuses…show more content…
But the unions have gained too much power. In some states, the union bars the school district from rewarding teachers that are great at their craft. They dictate that all of the teachers must be on an even pay level. This would discourage me from doing any more to help students, than the most ineffective teacher, if we were made to get paid the same. Unions have helped bridge the pay gap between male and female teachers, black and whites teachers, etc. I am a firm believer that teachers are under paid, but I also think teachers pay should be based on their effectiveness and ineffective teachers need to be fired or reeducated themselves, possibly put on a probationary status. But in some states, after two years of mediocre service, a teacher is branded as “tenured” and they have a job for life. This leads to problems of absenteeism, poor work ethic, failing America’s future economy, etc., because these teachers are protected by the
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