Analysis Of Waiting For Superman

In 2010, Davis Guggenheim released one of the years most talked about documentaries, Waiting for Superman. His film was an eye opening, to many, look at the failings of the U.S. school system. The film follows five students across the U.S., who range in grade level from kindergarten to eighth grade, as they try and escape the public school system through a lottery for a chance admission to a charter school. Guggenheim lays the blame for the failing public education system at the feet of the various teachers unions, and makes a plea for the public in general to get involved in reforming the system. By analyzing Waiting for Superman through a sociological perspective, issues of inequality will be explained using the theoretical approach

Over the last few years public school systems have been slowly decreasing in their effectiveness, causing there to be many students, especially those whose families are struggling financially, to be left behind; while others, who have the ability to enter charter schools, are receiving a better education and are succeeding. The documentary Waiting for Superman, directed by David Guggenheim, is focused on this disheartening truth about the American Education System. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos, and music, it attracts the audience to the plot and leaves them with an unsettling feeling about schooling that will hopefully cause them to want to take

Educational systems in America are impaired, and the very educators that are meant to teach are the one’s pulling it down. That is the apparent message that Davis Guggenheim attempts to convey in his documentary “Waiting for Superman”. He uses many strategies to get his message across. Some of these include cartoons, children, and those reformers that are attempting to pull the system out of the ditch that it has found its way into. He makes his point very well, and uses facts and figures correctly. He does leave out some of the opinions of the opposing views, but it does not take away from his point that the educational system in America is in need of repair.

In Waiting for Superman, David Guggenheim’s documentary about America's school systems, he asks a multitude of very important questions that many people have been asking for a while now. Such as the question of if our teachers are essential to the well performance of a school, how can we, the everyday people, resolve poor performance within the school systems with an oftentimes uncritical view of teachers? In addition to that it raises the question on whether bad schools only exist in slums or other places as well. It also brings up the question can children excel in school if they are brought up in poverty.

Imagine being denied a basic education solely because your parents do not have a steady income, or being denied a basic education simply because you do not live in a place with access to a quality public school. For many, the lack of a satisfactory education is something that is not an issue, but one would be surprised to see how prevalent this problem actually is. The film, Waiting for Superman highlights the many issues that are indeed obvious when examining the United States’ education system. The film centers around failing schools in mainly urban areas where the problems seem to be the most abundant, but it does not deny the fact that these many problems do exist everywhere throughout the country. Director Davis Guggenheim generates, in the movie Waiting for Superman, the claim that our education system is failing, and highlights the idea that although there are some solutions that have shown effective there is still more that needs to be done. Guggenheim formulates his claim through his use of a shocking, sometimes sad tone as well as an effective narrative structure throughout the film.

After watching Waiting for Superman, I realize I haven’t given the schools I attended the credit they deserve when I have spoken of them before. I had no idea other schools in America could be failing worse than the elementary and high school I previously attended. Waiting for Superman gives a diverse view of how hard it is to actually get the free, public, education that every student is entitled to and deserving of. The documentary showcases five students along with their families trying to get into schools that guarantee them a better future. Because free, public, schools are failing the students by not giving them a proper education, these five students are left to look at private institutions with few spaces available.

education. The main subject, beyond the surface is the stereotypes ethnicities go through due to race or

Waiting for "Superman" was filmed by Davis Guggenheim. It was released back in 2009. It talks about the education system in different neighborhoods around the United States of America. It also shows the corruption in the education system. This movie shows how the bad the public education is, and how many people are struggling on a daily basis to get a great education no matter the sacrifices.

“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”, Superman. (“Quotes Said by Superman” np) Waiting For Superman encompasses the extensive struggle with the corruption of the public school system, challenging parents’ opinion on the education their children are receiving. As the narrator exposes the fraud in public schools, by interviewing children affected by it, the audience is persuaded to consolidate on not just wanting the best for their children, but all American children. Because of the sentimental use of pathos and the continual use of the sweeping generalization fallacy, Waiting For Superman is able to appeal to parents without questioning the quality of charter school education, and instilling distrust in public education by uncovering the copious amounts of fraud in the system, thus creating the Superman figure these children desperately need.

Setting a realistic tone to the film allows Guggenheim to showcase the actuality of the public schools and what is truly occurring inside the education system. For instance, Guggenheim contrasts the different sides of how some students are able to study in a private school with a compelling education system, while other students are forced into public schools due to poverty. He does so by stating, “But I am lucky. I have a choice. Other families pin their hopes to a bouncing ball,” (Waiting for “Superman”).

A proper education is one of the most important things in a child's life. In the powerful documentary, Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, the audience is given an insight on charter, public, and private/ boarding schools. While the underlying tones of the film are leaning towards the positives of these prestigious schools, the main principle is how important an education is, and the steps the country is taking to improve it. Throughout the film, a strong pull of emotion is presented by showing the hardships of everyday families struggling for the education their kids deserve, as well as the multitude of statistics about the failing school systems in the country, and the credited charter schools, along with the people

Linda Barry’s “The Sanctuary of School” explains in great detail of how the education system works today. Barry believes

It’s been a known fact that American education is going down the drain and no one knows how to fix it. It’s also a known fact that many people have ideas on how to fix education, but no one is sure what to implement. Some people have given suggestions on fixing education, and such as using different state tests and not letting the states decide what is passing. However, there is a bit of disagreement, as those who are giving advice cannot agree on whether standardized tests should be used, and who should be blamed for students falling behind.

Harlem Success Academy contains one of the most beneficial charter school programs in New York, where a majority of the public schools are failing. Over seven hundred applicants play the waiting game, trying to get in; however, more than six hundred and fifty students will be forced to return to the dreaded public school systems. Francisco, only in first grade, awaits one of the forty available spots for Harlem Success Academy. In Davis Guggenheim’s film, Waiting for “Superman”, five different families were documented in order to support his idea about the horrors of public education. Specifically, Anthony, Daisy, and Francisco’s families impacted the film the most. Guggenheim utilized emotional appeal throughout his film through these three families in hopes of triggering the audience’s feelings to match his own on public education.

After watching both “Waiting for Superman” at home and “Race to Nowhere” in class, a lot of conclusions can be made from both incredibly made documentaries. Both films offered their audience the opportunity to be informed about the problems and issues in contemporary American education, both clearly with two completely different points of view. “Waiting for Superman” and “Race to Nowhere” were both created in 2010, and here and now in 2015, major issues in the United States surrounding education include curriculum, funding, and control. In regards to both films, “Waiting for Superman” includes the issue of how much the education in America has declined in regards to public schools and “Race to Nowhere” is about the everyday stress factor of students that are in school. Both documentaries were completely different with the issues they chose to address in the films, but both also brought about the right message when it comes to an end.