Interesting thoughts from the movie:
- The U.S. averages 20-35% of students proficient in reading and scores are low in math too
- A dropout factory is a school that has less than 40% of students graduate on time
- There are over 2,000 dropout factories in the U.S.
- Failing elementary/middle schools feed into high schools where students are years behind
- Dropouts often end up in jail, where it costs the government $33,000/year
- Private school costs $8,300/year
- $33,000 x 4 years (average time in prison) = $132,000
- $8,300 x 13 years (years spent in school) = $107,900
- Paying for private schools is extremely difficult for single parent families in an urban setting
- Enrollment for boarding/charter schools works like a lottery system, all the names are placed in a drawing and only 10/135 applicants will get to attend that school
Argument for charter schools:
- Higher reading/math scores
- Better graduation rate
- Freedom to hire/fire teachers (they aren't tenured)
- Parents are more involved since they had to work to get their student in
Argument against charter schools:
- Opportunity is not obtainable by every student
- Less than half of the charter schools out-perform private schools, and that is in a state where charter schools are good
- High teacher turnover rates, which can be confusing
- Don't have to meet state curriculum requirements
- Spend more time preparing for tests results in less well-rounded students
- Not a good place for special education or ELL (students learning English)
Questions:
- Would it make more sense to spend more on education so we could spend less on prison?
- Did you go to a charter school?
- Are charter schools beneficial or are they only a band-aid to the problem?
- What should be done to correct the broken education system?
Citations:
Waiting for "superman". Dir. David Guggenheim . Perf. Anthony. Paramount Home Video, 2011. Film.
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