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Finding Superman: Debating the Future of Public Education in America
In Finding Superman , some of the most prominent educational thinkers of our time examine the pressing issues of educational equity and excellence brought to light in Davis Guggenheim’s popular documentary, Waiting for “Superman” . The film’s portrayal of urban public schools as uniform failures and charter schools as the only viable alternative for our nation’s youth demands a closer look. Across the chapters of this important book, the contributors reveal the film’s untold stories. These include the many public schools that are doing an excellent job of educating students, as well as the many charter schools that are doing no better than most public schools, despite their monetary advantages. With chapters from educational luminaries that include Milton Chen, Linda Darling-Hammond, Dan Domenech, Ben Levin, Arthur Levine, Ann Lieberman, John Merrow, Diane Ravitch, Peter Smith, and Watson Scott Swail , Finding Superman demands a new perspective from readers on a topic of urgent importance to all of us. Achieving excellent schools for all children is not an easy task. As these authors remind us, it requires a more balanced dialogue and a fuller range of evidence to realize truly lasting change. “An essential supplement for everyone who saw the movie Waiting for ‘Superman’ .”
― Michael W. Kirst , Stanford University
“No one who hopes to participate in the contemporary conversation about better teachers, better schools, and better learning for students can afford to pass up this collection.”
― Stephen Joel Trachtenberg , The George Washington University
“Maps out reform strategies that will push our thinking into new realms.”
― Betsy Brand , American Youth Policy Forum
“ Finding Superman brings together a who's who of education reformers to probe the challenges and opportunities of educational quality in American public education. This volume shows that there are no simple solutions, no magic bullets that will fix our schools. Instead, the real Supermen (and women) can be found everywhere―in the poorest public schools, in charters, and in the homes of the very children whose success will determine our collective future as a nation.” ― Jamie P. Merisotis , President and Chief Executive Officer, Lumina Foundation
― Michael W. Kirst , Stanford University
“No one who hopes to participate in the contemporary conversation about better teachers, better schools, and better learning for students can afford to pass up this collection.”
― Stephen Joel Trachtenberg , The George Washington University
“Maps out reform strategies that will push our thinking into new realms.”
― Betsy Brand , American Youth Policy Forum
“ Finding Superman brings together a who's who of education reformers to probe the challenges and opportunities of educational quality in American public education. This volume shows that there are no simple solutions, no magic bullets that will fix our schools. Instead, the real Supermen (and women) can be found everywhere―in the poorest public schools, in charters, and in the homes of the very children whose success will determine our collective future as a nation.” ― Jamie P. Merisotis , President and Chief Executive Officer, Lumina Foundation
- GenresEducation
128 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 23, 2014
I read this book as part of an assignment for a class on public policy in education for my master's degree program. It consists of nine critical responses from various experts in the field of educational reform based on the authors' reactions to the documentary entitled Waiting for 'Superman.' Authors include such well-known names in educational policy as Diane Ravitch (author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System and former assistant secretary of education) and Linda Darling-Hammond.
First off, for anyone interested in reading this, it's almost essential that you watch the documentary first. Second, it's remarkable how scathing every single one of the nine responses is towards the documentary. The authors are affronted that Guggenheim (the creator of the documentary) would present such a biased presentation of public education - completely ignoring the many excellent public schools that we do have in this country - and assert that charters are the answer. In fact, I believe that every (or nearly every) essay in this collection cites the study that showed that "only 17% of the country's 5,000 charter schools outperform their public counterparts, while 37% significantly underperform comparable public schools" (93).
The authors also criticize the film's lack of involvement of teachers, its jab that teachers are the problem, and its lack of coverage of the role poverty plays in poor school achievement. Several authors argue that the results the film shows are skewed or possibly even false and that Guggenheim offers up examples like Finland, with high educational achievement, while conversely advocating for solutions that directly oppose the methods Finland has employed. Perhaps most shocking was John Merrow's assertion that "it later came out that Guggenheim staged scenes, an absolute no-no in the world of documentary films" (91).
While I expected criticism, I was surprised by the vehemence by such a large numbers of authors, however, on the other hand, I think there are two sides to every coin. Ongoing debate and passionate proponents of each side are in part why our educational system is such a tangled web now anyway. Although I find myself siding with the authors of this book, because I find their insistence that building up teachers and focusing on ameliorating the effects of poverty compelling (as well as their concrete data), I do commend the documentary for raising the conversation into the level of public discussion.
First off, for anyone interested in reading this, it's almost essential that you watch the documentary first. Second, it's remarkable how scathing every single one of the nine responses is towards the documentary. The authors are affronted that Guggenheim (the creator of the documentary) would present such a biased presentation of public education - completely ignoring the many excellent public schools that we do have in this country - and assert that charters are the answer. In fact, I believe that every (or nearly every) essay in this collection cites the study that showed that "only 17% of the country's 5,000 charter schools outperform their public counterparts, while 37% significantly underperform comparable public schools" (93).
The authors also criticize the film's lack of involvement of teachers, its jab that teachers are the problem, and its lack of coverage of the role poverty plays in poor school achievement. Several authors argue that the results the film shows are skewed or possibly even false and that Guggenheim offers up examples like Finland, with high educational achievement, while conversely advocating for solutions that directly oppose the methods Finland has employed. Perhaps most shocking was John Merrow's assertion that "it later came out that Guggenheim staged scenes, an absolute no-no in the world of documentary films" (91).
While I expected criticism, I was surprised by the vehemence by such a large numbers of authors, however, on the other hand, I think there are two sides to every coin. Ongoing debate and passionate proponents of each side are in part why our educational system is such a tangled web now anyway. Although I find myself siding with the authors of this book, because I find their insistence that building up teachers and focusing on ameliorating the effects of poverty compelling (as well as their concrete data), I do commend the documentary for raising the conversation into the level of public discussion.
April 3, 2015
I think the topic of education is very important and I wish the editor of this book had done a better job of monitoring the repetition and the tone of the opinions. The same studies and statistics were repeated by almost all of the contributors. Though valid and well supported, the repetition makes the book end up seeming like a rant.
I found Chapter 9, by Canadian Ben Levin, to be the most thought provoking. He pointed out that the U.S. approaches education very differently than high performing countries like Finland, Singapore, and Korea. Levin noted that unlike the US who focuses on charter schools, competition, testing, alternative certification, merit pay, and firing poor teachers, other high performing countries put their energy into helping teachers and principals improve their work, build a feeling of common purpose among all partners, and create a positive environment that focuses on continuous improvement and high morale. Levin says that other countries understand that education is complex and that there is a correlation between low levels of poverty and high levels of academic success.
I found Chapter 9, by Canadian Ben Levin, to be the most thought provoking. He pointed out that the U.S. approaches education very differently than high performing countries like Finland, Singapore, and Korea. Levin noted that unlike the US who focuses on charter schools, competition, testing, alternative certification, merit pay, and firing poor teachers, other high performing countries put their energy into helping teachers and principals improve their work, build a feeling of common purpose among all partners, and create a positive environment that focuses on continuous improvement and high morale. Levin says that other countries understand that education is complex and that there is a correlation between low levels of poverty and high levels of academic success.
March 13, 2013
These are some interesting essays in response to the movie "Waiting for Superman", but it's very inconsistent. Some essays are good thought exercises backed up with some data, some are simply thought exercises by someone who wrote a blog post sometime that the editor enjoyed. While it wasn't a bad book, I'm not sure that it added to or advanced the dialogue about public education unless the only exposure you've had to the debate is what you've heard on the news and seen in documentaries like "Waiting for Superman" and "The Lottery". Many of the essays do bring up the points that are glossed over in the documentary, like the fact that only 17% of these schools actually do better than matched public school counterparts and that nearly all of the successful ones are successful due to major sponsors and community buy-in.
June 26, 2013
A collection of essays by educators in response to the documentary Waiting for Superman. While I agreed with almost all of it, the essays were written independently and therefore there was a LOT of repetition. Better books on education reform are Educational Courage and The Life and Death of the Great American School System. Read those instead or watch the documentary The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman.
August 10, 2016
An interesting debate on the documentary. Some great plans mentioned and truths revealed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews