Waiting for Superman Article Critique

Running head: ARTICLE CRITIQUE PAPER

Article Critique Paper

04/03/2011

Article Critique Paper
     
Waiting for Superman is a documentary film written by Davis Guggenheim in 2010 about the public education system in the United States.   The film seeks to expose and analyze deficiencies and failures within the American public school system and show on the flipside, the successes experienced by alternative charter school programs.   Guggenheim follows a group of five students from different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds through their neighborhoods and school systems as they try to enroll in a better performing charter school and are required to enter a lottery system.
      The picture Guggenheim paints of the education system in the U.S. is grim in that no one can seem to pinpoint a comprehensive reason as to why the school system is failing.   Add to that the ideas surrounding what constitutes a "good" school varies as there are over 14 thousand autonomous school boards that all operate within their own system of rules and set their own conflicting standards. (Guggenheim)     Therefore, not only can the school systems not come together and work in unison but also our schools often called, Failure Factories are failing to produce results with our kids being able to perform at or above grade level in core subjects.
     
What was once prominent and regarded the best school system in the world according to the film, the United States started to see a decline in the 1970's with the overall performance of the schools and the preparation of its students as global competition increased. (Guggenheim)   Since that time, the amount spent per student annually has increased on average from $4.3k to $9k, yet we have not produced better results and our scores in reading and math have seemingly flat lined.   As it stands today, out of 30 industrialized countries, the US rank 25th in math and 21st in science and 28th overall according to the films website....