The education mode in America is working swell, says Bob Bowdon, however simply for some -- and those few surely aren't the students. In his docudrama "The Cartel," New Jersey television news reporter Bowdon shines a light on the putrefaction and greed that has resulted in the disappearing of so much taxpayer money in that state. When $400,000 is exhausted per classroom, but reading proficiency is only 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is unmistakable, which doesn't mean it's not controversial.
There are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are reasonably clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and toward incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other faction are the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can get away from the authority of the public school system and would aid inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more sensibly used. One of Bowdon's primary criticisms is that a teacher, even a bad one, fundamentally can't be fired -- which provides zero ambition to do much actual instruction.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of different aspects of public education, tenure, funding, patronage drops, subversion --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The phrase education documentary can sound to some like uninteresting squared, but in fact the film itself betrays an fervid passion for the plight of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. It consequently proceeds the more-recently released, while higher profile, education docudrama "Waiting for Superman," directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"). Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking different approaches to the identical dilemma, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" centering on the human-interest aspects. "The two films reach equivalent conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained approach means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. He follows the money to represent conclusions about how crooked the Jersey school system is, but his picture features moments of great emotion and heartbreak. One girl, crying after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And whilst it may be simple to admit the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the matter is that this is an extremely familiar situation. Any spectator will realize the failings of their own state's education system and the battle for control. The one he seems to be most behind is the charter schools, which take the reins from the unions and give them back to the taxpayer. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an upward battle to get back control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 40726
There are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are reasonably clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and toward incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other faction are the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can get away from the authority of the public school system and would aid inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more sensibly used. One of Bowdon's primary criticisms is that a teacher, even a bad one, fundamentally can't be fired -- which provides zero ambition to do much actual instruction.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of different aspects of public education, tenure, funding, patronage drops, subversion --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The phrase education documentary can sound to some like uninteresting squared, but in fact the film itself betrays an fervid passion for the plight of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. It consequently proceeds the more-recently released, while higher profile, education docudrama "Waiting for Superman," directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"). Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking different approaches to the identical dilemma, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" centering on the human-interest aspects. "The two films reach equivalent conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained approach means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. He follows the money to represent conclusions about how crooked the Jersey school system is, but his picture features moments of great emotion and heartbreak. One girl, crying after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And whilst it may be simple to admit the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the matter is that this is an extremely familiar situation. Any spectator will realize the failings of their own state's education system and the battle for control. The one he seems to be most behind is the charter schools, which take the reins from the unions and give them back to the taxpayer. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an upward battle to get back control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 40726
No comments:
Post a Comment