Waiting for Superman

In the last five years, there has been a spate of popular Indian films on the failing nature of public education in the country. Taare zameen par tells the story of a dyslexic child lost in the system until a single teacher takes note of him and revolutionizes his school experience. Last year, 3 Idiots was released to house-full shows. Students, parents, educators and even administrators gave the movie a big nod. It called attention to the industrial, mechanical nature of higher education. One line from the movie sticks out for me even today — "if you chase excellence and not success, success will automatically chase you" (translated from Hindi).

As I watched 3 Idiots again a few weeks ago, I began to wonder if it wasn't time we saw a cinematic statement on the nature of public education in the United States. Public education in the U.S. faces numerous problems — the achievement gap, standardized tests, soaring high school drop-out rates and more. Having visited a number of public schools in the last couple of years, I have been touched by the hard work done by teachers in individual classrooms. My heart has melted upon witnessing truly magical moments between students and teachers. As a system though, and if I may add, one that is about as economically focused and politically driven as any can be, public education in the U.S. has has more problems than accolades to rest upon in recent years. This is true of many education systems around the world — India for sure.

Waiting for Superman that is being released this Fall holds the promise of delivering a message that might be heard more clearly than has been before. I got a chance to see its trailer last night. It seems promising as it provides factual evidence for the failing nature of the public education system. I look forward to seeing the film and wonder about the local action groups that might arise because of it.