The school system might be made to be overly profitable, says Bob Bowdon, however just at the expense of things comparable to teachers and students. In his education docudrama "The Cartel," Bowdon, a TV news reporter in New Jersey, paints a notable ugly scene of the institutional depravation that has resulted in pretty much unbelievable wastes of taxpayer money. When $400,000 is spent per schoolroom, but reading proficiency is but 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is apparent, which doesn't signify it's not controversial.
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other cabal is the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can leave behind the power of the public school system and would assist inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more cautiously used. Bowdon makes much of the fact that it's virtually unimaginable for a teacher to be fired, a safety net that does little to encourage hard work in those teachers who comprehend they possess a career irrespective of how many of the three Rs they instruct -- if any.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinct aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, support drops, subversion --meaning thieving -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like boring squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" started fashioning the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut pretty much a year later, in spring 2010. The picture has started a lot of discussion, which ought no doubt go on with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "My picture is the left-brained edition, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
The left-brained manner means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is always on the people affected, particularly the inner-city students trapped in a wrecked system. One girl, crying after learning 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 while it may be effortless to assume the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the matter is that this is a vastly familiar situation. A watcher anyplace in the country will spot similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and avidness for a solution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an uphill conflict to regain control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 40726
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other cabal is the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can leave behind the power of the public school system and would assist inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more cautiously used. Bowdon makes much of the fact that it's virtually unimaginable for a teacher to be fired, a safety net that does little to encourage hard work in those teachers who comprehend they possess a career irrespective of how many of the three Rs they instruct -- if any.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinct aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, support drops, subversion --meaning thieving -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like boring squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" started fashioning the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut pretty much a year later, in spring 2010. The picture has started a lot of discussion, which ought no doubt go on with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "My picture is the left-brained edition, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
The left-brained manner means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is always on the people affected, particularly the inner-city students trapped in a wrecked system. One girl, crying after learning 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 while it may be effortless to assume the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the matter is that this is a vastly familiar situation. A watcher anyplace in the country will spot similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and avidness for a solution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an uphill conflict to regain control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 40726
