waiting for superman documentary transcript waiting for superman documentary transcript

SCARBOROUGH: Crying uncontrollably because it is unbelievable, some of the conditions that our kids are forced to learn in right now. /Rotate 0 In some ways when we fought for sources for kids like my union did, we were fighting to help kids get what they needed. And the idea that we now can do it means that we have a very moment right now to say let's take those things, let's take those ingredients and bring them into mainstream schools. Michelle and I love great teachers. What happened there? We're in a crisis. I am the first one to say, that charter schools are not the answer. We love good teachers. WebThe documentary Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, is a film that shows how school systems are today. There are core values we have to have. They do allow us to figure out what's working and we should replicate it and what's not and we should close those charter schools that arent working so that we actually develop a science in our business about what works in what kinds of environments and in what kinds of communities. Let's give five extra hours for all the teachers in America to help kids right now and have the unions lead this charge of saying this is an emergency, we need to help these kids. (END VIDEO CLIP) BRZEZINSKI: And there are kids that don't make it. Having said that, we have all done too much about focusing on bad teachers. They couldn't add basic first grade skills, they couldn't have it. But, Mondello You said OK we're not going to penalize bad teachers. PG. SCARBOROUGH: Maybe next segment. You don't have all sorts of external rules. I think they put the money into this mayoral campaign because it was a symbol of reform in this country. LEGEND: Well, you know, there are plenty of constituencies that usually align with the union, for instance. Sept. 23, 2010. Like around here, I mean, I want my kids to have better than what I had. LEGEND: Well, it's been quite a learning experience because I get to meet great educators. And what the teachers wanted in Washington were the tools and conditions for them to do their jobs. Be the first to contribute. CANADA: Well you know what? GUGGENHEIM: Those parents don't care. And when you say that, people say you're attacking teachers. It's a random selection. So people keep talking about accountability just in terms of firing teachers but what I think people need to understand is how accountability allows you to unleash teacher passion by setting on fire all the teachers in the school because you're allowed to give them the freedom to teach the way they see fit. RHEE: You know what, heres the thing. That's why -- SCARBOROUGH: To John's point, though -- WEINGARTEN: So we never -- SCARBOROUGH: Unions fought like hell against these successful charter schools being able to expand in New York State. Since charter schools do not operate with the same restrictions as public institutions, they are depicted as having a more experimental approach to educating students. So let me say, because I get told a lot that Im teacher bashing. I said what I if I made a different kind of movie from a parents' point of view? How do we spread that from Harlem across America? << /Contents 30 0 R But when I saw you after the film, and I would -- being macho, hey, Davis, how you doing, man? /Rotate 0 NAKIA: Shes 7 now. GUGGENHEIM: Ive seen the movie hundreds of times. WEINGARTEN: Yeah, of course. I support public schools. You cannot say -- you can't say, well, the problem with charter schools is they only serve some of the kids when in fact you are advocating for caps on those effective charter schools. Waiting For "Superman" is an inside look at the problems with education in America. Geoffrey Canada: I was like what do you mean he's not real. /GS1 17 0 R [1], The film has earned both praise and negative criticism from commentators, reformers, and educators. /T1_0 52 0 R WebWaiting For "Superman" has helped launch a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a WebWaiting for Superman/Transcript. ?zBzD%YC1_PVu,fkGsM'2Hnm^]6_1W|qpff&,+y cWoM~UNxa*_EE}=}z/P__~:Y)z `'4Q!-ccE"?6HD6JW (b]Jl BP> There are also comparisons made between schools in affluent neighborhoods versus schools in poorer ones. BRZEZINSKI: Its worked for you and for hundreds of kids in Harlem. You have to live in the district. I mean I think that's what this whole debate is about in many ways. Last Friday night I watched Davis Guggenheims new documentary, Teach, which was broadcast in on CBS.Guggenheim, you may recall, is the filmmaker who brought us Waiting For Superman, the shameless propaganda-fest that signaled the full-on nuclear stage of the corporate-driven war on public education (also known as the /Parent 1 0 R One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist, the /MC0 62 0 R You believe it. I went up and I saw a revolution, a revolution that you helped start. Wouldn't that have been better? WebShop for waiting for superman documentary transcript filetype:lua at Best Buy. Cross your fingers. Make sure the tenure is not ever construed as a job for life. BEGIN VIDEO CLIP: NAKIA: I grew up in the public school system. Explain to me how that is good for children. The film shows how the audience members, filled with prospective students and their families, all sit with apprehensive looks on their faces as they anxiously listen to the names and numbers of the children who are called and are therefore accepted into the charter school by luck of the draw. 4 0 obj Where has the union misstepped to help us get to where we are today? Your last really big film was "Inconvenient Truth." You try to make reforms and it causes a problem. WEINGARTEN: The issue in terms of education is there's no turning back on reform in education in Washington, D.C. Our union is committed to it. In this incredible movie, "Waiting For Superman," Davis Guggenheim introduces to us some of the heroic parents who struggle to provide a better future for their children. /Resources << SCARBOROUGH: Okay. >> WEINGARTEN: Im just -- that's why there was a cap from the early -- SCARBOROUGH: We have a lot of people that want get involved here. "[23], Author and academic Rick Ayers lambasted the accuracy of the film, describing it as "a slick marketing piece full of half-truths and distortions" and criticizing its focus on standardized testing. endobj /Type /Page We've been talking about the teacher town hall hosted by Brian Williams earlier today. But I think that's false. >> The site's consensus states: "Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for "Superman" is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim. The goal of the film is to create a successful public education system filled with great schoolsthat leave no child behind, andit calls for reform from all of usin order to reach that goal. I think if we actually got to what constitutes a good teacher and had that kind of standard we'd all be in the same place on that and there are about 50 or 60 districts right now, I made a proposal in January about how to overhaul evaluation. BRZEZINSKI: Randi, really quickly. NAKIA: She felt it wasn't fair that other children were being picked and she was just as smart as they were and why not her. That was teachers talking to each other and talking to the world about what teachers needed. WEINGARTEN: John. And it started to haunt me, the idea that kids in my own neighborhood, and I live in a pretty good neighborhood, aren't getting what my kids have. BRZEZINSKI: You can hear the distrust here. I'm feeling it. Because you would think that the parents of those children that Michelle was in there shaking up the system to save those children, if those parents would have rallied, but we have gotten so used to failure, we tolerate failure in places like D.C. and central Harlem and Detroit, we just tolerate that failure and we've got to say to this nation, no more. You could fail those kids for another 20 years, everybody keeps their job, nobody gets the go. 1h 51m. BRZEZINSKI: What was wrong with what she was doing? /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] GUGGENHEIM: And the stakes for them. Film. I just think -- SCARBOROUGH: Do you really think he wants to the right thing? I said that's right, but that was mommy's choice to put you in that school. If I get in, they give me a better chance in life. Even during the MSNBC town hall today, there were teachers who say I don't care about tenure. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] You said, you still cry every time you see it. IE 11 is not supported. Compute answers using Wolfram's breakthrough technology & knowledgebase, relied on by millions of students & professionals. I want to talk about New York for one second. Now it's happening in Houston. Davis, I want to go to you on this one. We'll be right back. SCARBOROUGH: No doubt about it. /Resources << WEINGARTEN: A collaboration issue was where we disagreed at times. We have to fix this thing and it means the adults have to take leadership. Most will go to John Phillip Souza, which the "Washington Post" called an academic sink hole. Where you tried to focus on good teachers in Washington. BRZEZINSKI: What happens to these kids? And the city of Indianapolis said you're the most effective ninth grade reading teacher in our city and we're going to give you a great reward, five days later they had to fire her because the contract said she's the youngest teacher and she has to go Now, there's no one -- bad person in the process. /ExtGState << CANADA: This is why I think this is such an important movie. We have to go to break. WEINGARTEN: Theres nothing wrong with what Geoffrey just said. It's going to be mommy's job to get you another school that's better. Because I know he's easily influenced to do things he shouldn't do. endobj >> LEGEND: This is a civil rights issue. Obviously at the end most people watching this movie teared up. SCARBOROUGH: All right, Davis, Davis, you said at the beginning you didn't want to get involved in this project. By the time they finish eighth grade, they will have doubled their math and reading scores. 40 years later we're still fighting for equality and one of the biggest barriers to achieving quality is the fact that so many kids in our country can't get a great education. And we need to have good evaluation systems. /Font << Final words with our panel, next after a short break. I cry for him sometimes. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] What have you been able to do with them? SCARBOROUGH: Thank you so much. NAKIA: Yes. BRZEZINSKI: Why not inspire them with pay? Statistical comparisons are made between the different types of primary or secondary educational institutions available: state school, private school, and charter school. DAISY: I want to go to a medical college or a veterinarian college because I really want to become a surgeon. But it's not just Harlem -- if my movie, I call it, they're breaking a sound barrier. BRZEZINSKI: Is that a fair shot, Randi? /T1_1 20 0 R It's not about charter schools. Why did you pick this topic? >> Waiting for Superman: Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education statistics have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose The film assumes that any student below proficient is "below grade level," but this claim is not supported by the NAEP data. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] SCARBOROUGH: And you also, your movie talks about how what's happening in some of these schools is demolished a lie, a bigoted lie that some kids are incapable of learning. << It's about figuring out what works in charter schools and exporting that across America. So the kids who came to us in 8 plus 3 they would couldn't the like this. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next year, Anthonys class will move up to junior high. /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] /GS1 17 0 R Throughout the documentary, different aspects of the American public education system are examined. What were your thoughts when the number did not come up? We actually have to change the political environment. No one wants lousy teachers. Didn't get an answer on that. When you hear, well, I get paid whether or not you learn or not, it sticks with you. /Contents [ 9 0 R 10 0 R 11 0 R 12 0 R 13 0 R 14 0 R 15 0 R 16 0 R ] Eighth graders at Kipp L.A. Prep get triple the classroom time in math and science. /GS1 17 0 R He wrote "Shine," the theme song for "Waiting For Superman." It matters who your local representative is. We can't have our school system running like this. RHEE: First, I think I would be remiss if I did not point out to everybody that there's been a lot of talk about public schools, public schools. We increased attendance rates. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the cages up here. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vergosa, Andrew. The good guys/heroes are low-income American parents, hoping to provide a good education for their children. What have you learned as somebody who isn't a professional educator on what we need to do? BRZEZINSKI: These are compelling arguments that we all can agree on but, Randi, let me just put it to you this way. WEINGARTEN: We need to help them do that for all of our kids. /BleedBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] The union leaderships could take this on as a platform and say this is something we're going to commit to and give our membership behind this so we can show progress in taking on these issues. You do not come off as the hero of this movie. BRZEZINSKI: Youre outnumbered. I think that we've all I mean Davis said it when he said he passed three public schools. It is impossible and we can fix it and I think that's what this movie gets to. /MC0 28 0 R This film follows five children and documents them to see what their lives and schools are like. Its so interesting you say that because Mika, Chris, our EP, myself, everybody thats seen this movie says first of all, they break down and cry at the end of this movie and then when they go home and they look at their children, children who can go to really great schools, they look at their own children differently. Waiting for Superman exposes an array of complex, complicated, persistent, and multi-layered historical and societal problems. << Take a moment. In a documentary called Waiting for Superman, contemporary education issues that the U.S. has been facing for several decades are addressed. Where does the union take some responsibility in this? These high-performing charters are going in and they're reaching every kid and they're sending 90 percent of their kids to college. WEINGARTEN: Look, what the unions actually talked about was as part of lifting the cap, as part of lifting the cap, they didn't fight against lifting the cap -- LEGEND: Yes, they did. It was not simply about education. It's the school that Deborah Kenny runs. I think we all have to look in the mirror and say, what have we done wrong up until now and what do we need to do better? BRZEZINSKI: Its very hard to watch this movie. /GS0 47 0 R 8 0 obj KENNY: Right. [32][33][34][35][36], A teacher-backed group called the Grassroots Education Movement produced a rebuttal documentary titled The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, which was released in 2011. SCARBOROUGH: If you're going to lock kids in Harlem out of that process and let a few see the light and see the -- that seems to me to be immoral. You get to the nation's capital, the nation's capital, only 16 percent of students are proficient in math. And I think seeing what's possible in this film is very inspiring. This scene is an important one because it highlights how the acceptance of students into charter schools is determined by the luck of the draw and how some students are not able to enter into the public school of their choice solely because luck was not on their side. Tomorrow morning Joes going to be live from Learning Plaza. These are your schools, your communities. WEINGARTEN: Michelle and I may disagree on the particulars of this, but there are about 50 or 60 districts that are using the proposal that we made and ultimately we think if we do that, if we fix teacher evaluations so it's about teacher development and evaluation, we can fix this problem. >> Because we talked to Randi before. We're just saying --. /Length 868 SCARBOROUGH: As far as -- well -- LEGEND: Why is there a cap? /T1_0 20 0 R You tried to change things and chances are good, because of it, you're going to get fired. /ExtGState << RHEE: I'm just wondering, if the AFT was putting a million dollars into mayoral campaigns all across the country just based on who the teachers liked, I would buy that argument. It is must-see TV, from 9:00 to 11:00 Eastern Time right here on MSNBC. The film portrays the deep sadness that Bianca and her mother feel when Bianca is not accepted into the charter school as the two embrace one another at the end and Nakia dries her daughters tears (Guggenheim 1:37:35). There are answers and people want to say the answer is this. The only disagreement that I think our union has had in terms of the way in which things have gone, is that our folks have desperately wanted to have a voice in how to do reform. Geoffrey Canada. "[30], Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education at New York University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, similarly criticizes the film's lack of accuracy. It affects good teachers, too. [37] It criticizes some public figures featured in Waiting for "Superman", proposes different policies to improve education in the United States and counters the position taken by Guggenheim. Of course, Washington has problems going back decades. When you have kids from Harlem going there with first grade reading proficiency and science proficiency and they leave three years later with 100 percent proficiency, it just -- at some point it becomes a moral issue. GUGGENHEIM: Weve won the lottery. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. /Rotate 0 That's amazing. Kids coming into middle school and fifth grade with first grade reading abilities, leaving in eighth grade with a 100 percent proficiency, outscoring kids in Scarsdale, New York. By the end of the year she only had half a year of teaching. /T1_0 24 0 R The answer is we need great public education for all of our schools. As young as Bianca is, she too displays this look of defeat as her name is not called (Guggenheim 1:32:56). This is a transcript of "Waiting for Superman". In New York City, a group of local teachers protested one of the documentary's showings, calling the film "complete nonsense", writing that "there is no teacher voice in the film. /TrimBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] You went into the lottery system for your daughter. Why were you frightened to send her to school. RHEE: Thats correct. WebFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. That's what our union has been trying to do for the last two years. >> SCARBOROUGH: First and foremost -- LEGEND: If we care about justice, if we care about equality in this country, we have to care about fixing education. endobj It's about those kids. BRZEZINSKI: They were underperforming it. What are your thoughts? We'll hear from the audience as well. According to Waiting for Superman, from 1971 to today, America has gone from spending an average of $4,300 per student to $9,000 per student, (adjusting for inflation). /ExtGState << So there are teachers who are having this debate within the spectrum of your organization. We all have to move off self-interest. CANADA: Look, no business in America would be in existence if it ran like this. I know they are. "[20], The film also received negative criticism. /Resources << By Stephen Holden. One of them is Nakia. E]D[JWlwH{,j73?Mazd. We increased student achievement levels. Seventy-eight percent of them, this is not our survey, this was their survey, said a union was absolutely essential to them to try and stop school politics or principal abuses. 10 Video Games That Need a Live Action Adaptation, 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. I love teachers. We're going to do it with a man who made this film and some of the people who were in it. WEINGARTEN: Let me -- SCARBOROUGH: If it wasn't about education, I mean, what was it about? Let me answer your question first. endobj That is the problem. Judith and Jose have decided to enter Daisy into the Kipp lottery. SCARBOROUGH: Why would you spend a million dollars to defeat a mayor? BRZEZINSKI: On Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. from this very stage, General Colin Powell and his wife on "MORNING JOE." Educational reception and allegations of inaccuracy. One of the things we were thinking about, we were covering songs from the civil rights era, from the '60s and '70s and people who fought for justice and equality. Randi said something that was fascinating. Nakia joins us here tonight. American schools face frequent budget cuts, but its not all about the money. We have to go to break right now. And at the same time, have some due process so that we guard against our arbitrariness. But Id like -- I think there is a disconnect here that John Legend talks about. Waiting for Superman.2010. Teachers in this country want to make a difference in the lives of kids. But you did. Weve seen some innovation spread more than one place. /MediaBox [ 0 0 595.27600 841.89000 ] BRZEZINSKI: What are you saying, Randi, what is he saying? Geoffrey Canada: One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist. Waiting for "Superman" is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott. One of these amazing children is a boy named Anthony. But the issue in terms of the election, went far further than education. /T1_1 24 0 R Is there any give here? SCARBOROUGH: Randi said the teachers wanted the tools to get the job done. That's so important to help level the playing field for kids who may be disadvantaged. It's shameful. "[11] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, calling it "powerful, passionate, and potentially revolution-inducing. That youre not going to look American with our 15,000 school system and say we're going to charter them, that's just not going to happen in my lifetime. WEINGARTEN: No one, you know, teachers in at least our union would be the first to tell you, we rail against this system in some ways as much as Geoff and Michelle. When I see from my own experience as a school teach are for six years when evaluations didn't work and less than 20 percent of them think that evaluations work right now. These people are the ones making the decisions. END VIDEO CLIP BRZEZINSKI: All right. SCARBOROUGH: Really quickly. She was assigned in January. /Font << In response to this problem, many reformers, including Geoffrey Canada, have tried to look for solutions. SCARBOROUGH: Do you think he's going to do the right thing now that the teachers union is giving him a million dollars? SCARBOROUGH: OK. You talked about it. But that isn't something that can't be, you know, worked out. We're turning to you now.