The school system might be made to be really profitable, says Bob Bowdon, however merely at the expense of things equal to teachers and students. In his documentary "The Cartel," New Jersey TV news reporter Bowdon shines a light on the corruption and rapacity that has resulted in the disappearance of so much taxpayer money in that state. It's not operose for Bowdon to illustrate that something's frightfully awry with a state that pays $17,000 per student but can only wield a 39% reading proficiency rate -- that there's a crisis is undeniable, how to deal with it is different question entirely.
On the one aspect is the monolithic Jersey teachers union and umbrageous school officials, who see to it that that, as Bowdon points out in his film, 90 cents of every tax dollar go for other expenses, including six figure incomes for school administrators and, in a horrendous example, a school board secretary who makes $180,000. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools that can maneuver outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those broken public schools, Bowdon points out, it's very nearly unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a mediocre one has a career for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of uncommon aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, patronage drops, subversion --meaning larceny -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "And as such it sort of serves as a swift-moving primer on all of the raging topics amongst the education-reform cause."
Bowdon's docudrama started touring the festival circuit in summer of 2009 and made its theatrical debut in April 2010. Hopefully it will get a rise, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documentary "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "My film is the left-brained version, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
It is undoubtedly analytical, couching its arguments in an appraisal of how the money is being spent, or misspent. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is continually on the people affected, chiefly the inner-city students trapped in a shattered system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a place at a charter school makes its own intense argument for the disappointing failure of a state's education system.
It's hard to observe a movie about corruption in Jersey and not think of the mob, but it's also unambiguous that this is a national predicament seen through a tight lens. Any watcher will acknowledge the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon comes out in favor of the charter school plan, of taxpayers being able to choose their own schools, to get out from under the state's control. But "The Cartel" also shows us how difficult it's going to be to get that control back from those who've found it so profitable. - 40726
On the one aspect is the monolithic Jersey teachers union and umbrageous school officials, who see to it that that, as Bowdon points out in his film, 90 cents of every tax dollar go for other expenses, including six figure incomes for school administrators and, in a horrendous example, a school board secretary who makes $180,000. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools that can maneuver outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those broken public schools, Bowdon points out, it's very nearly unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a mediocre one has a career for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of uncommon aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, patronage drops, subversion --meaning larceny -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "And as such it sort of serves as a swift-moving primer on all of the raging topics amongst the education-reform cause."
Bowdon's docudrama started touring the festival circuit in summer of 2009 and made its theatrical debut in April 2010. Hopefully it will get a rise, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documentary "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "My film is the left-brained version, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
It is undoubtedly analytical, couching its arguments in an appraisal of how the money is being spent, or misspent. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is continually on the people affected, chiefly the inner-city students trapped in a shattered system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a place at a charter school makes its own intense argument for the disappointing failure of a state's education system.
It's hard to observe a movie about corruption in Jersey and not think of the mob, but it's also unambiguous that this is a national predicament seen through a tight lens. Any watcher will acknowledge the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon comes out in favor of the charter school plan, of taxpayers being able to choose their own schools, to get out from under the state's control. But "The Cartel" also shows us how difficult it's going to be to get that control back from those who've found it so profitable. - 40726
No comments:
Post a Comment