Heilemann believes, as do I, that the film "Waiting for Superman" may be the catalyst that moves the needle toward reform.
One reason is that the film is creating such hope (and such angst) that the Los Angeles teachers union posted a flier on its website attacking the film even before its release and called for volunteers to appear in a TV ad to rebut it.
Another reason is that the director, Davis Guggenheim, is the director of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." This film credit gave him access to all the biggies in the school-reform movement, and his Hollywood heft and liberal credentials insulate him against charges of producing a right-wing hatchet job on teachers and their unions.
Guggenheim told me that we now know what to do to educate and advance every kid. He said, "In recent years, we've cracked the code. The high-performing charter schools, like KIPP and others, have figured out the system that works for kids in even the toughest neighborhoods."
I echo this. And my mantra is - it's a mystery? We know what to do. The only question is do we have the will to do it?
Guggenheim said he made the film for those parents who need something to cut through the blob of all the education issues that never seem to get resolved.
I think this film challenges all those who always spin out their arguments about what we can't do in schools rather than getting busy doing what can be done.
Guggenheim quotes Michelle Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington, D.C., Public Schools, who says, "The public schools are built for the harmony of adults."
He thinks this film will make that harmony uncomfortable and direct attention to schools serving the interests of kids.
