Waiting for Superman

Off Topic
1

Has anyone seen previews for this movie? I will be seeing it when it is released in my area. As a former high school math teacher I certainly have my own critique of the education system but I am curious to see where director Davis Guggenheim takes his. From what I have read he places the blame for the condition of America’s public education system on teachers and the teachers unions.
I must say that if that is his position than I can agree.

The official site can be found here:
http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/

2

Looks boring.

3

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
Looks boring.[/quote]
It may seem boring but it’s a huge problem in the U.S.

4

Yeah, I can’t wait until Lex Luthor comes out with his power armour and finally dukes it out with Superman. Maybe there will be a cameo from Wonder Woman?

5

So basically the movie will end and there’s still no Superman right?

6

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
Looks boring.[/quote]
It may seem boring but it’s a huge problem in the U.S.[/quote]
Nooo comment… Except for the one I just made.

7

Honestly there are bad teachers, bad parents and lazy kids and they all contribute. And the problem is different for each area.

8

What’s true is that the people that should be watching this will probably not watch it.

9

[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
What’s sad is that the people that should be watching this will probably not watch it.[/quote]

Fixed that for you.

10

I guess my reason for posting is to get feedback on what you all think is wrong with education in America. I have heard a lot of reasons from the teachers perspective, however I have no children in the education system so I am sure those who do have a different opinion of where we have gone wrong.

11

Pretty simple, it’s a combination of:

1)Selfish teachers/teacher’s unions

2)Kids who were raised with a sense of entitlement and believe any time they fail it MUST be someone else’s fault

3)Lazy parents that don’t give a rat’s ass about their children’s long-term well being to raise them properly

12

I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S

13

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S[/quote]
What level of school do you teach.

14

High School in NYC… where all the commotion is coming from (aside from Washington of course -lol)

S

15

Teaching to the lowest common denominator, standardized testing. And what has already been said, everybody wants to be a special fucking snowflake. Sorry little johnny is a spaz that will end up in an ER someday with anxiety issues and a fetish to be tied up and have someone throw oranges at him. Our best and brightest will be a low watt bulb someday.

16

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S[/quote]

I saw a lot of this when I emigrated to Canada. In the classes in High School in Toronto, if you performed well, you were encouraged to do more. If not, you were left alone.

I think it is an attitude thing. In the Indian schools, the kids with the best grades are the rock stars, not the folks on the sports teams.

17

That lottery… What the fuck is up with that?

18

[quote]enrac wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S[/quote]

I saw a lot of this when I emigrated to Canada. In the classes in High School in Toronto, if you performed well, you were encouraged to do more. If not, you were left alone.

I think it is an attitude thing. In the Indian schools, the kids with the best grades are the rock stars, not the folks on the sports teams.[/quote]
Well duh Indians suck at sports.

19

[quote]enrac wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S[/quote]

I saw a lot of this when I emigrated to Canada. In the classes in High School in Toronto, if you performed well, you were encouraged to do more. If not, you were left alone.

I think it is an attitude thing. In the Indian schools, the kids with the best grades are the rock stars, not the folks on the sports teams.[/quote]

I Went to high school in Canada (Toronto), and there aren’t these huge disparities between high schools here that you read about in the US. Yeah some schools perform better than others, but not the same sort of disparity.

Also in the end, the kids who want to do well, will do well anywhere they go.

20

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]enrac wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I agree that there are some serious issues with teachers who should not be in classrooms, but a lot of finger pointing should also be done at the children and their parents. I have kids this year who come to class, sit there with no paper, not pencils, (they have their Iphones though), and either try to sleep, or zone out all class. For some reason, the family these kids come from has not instilled any sense of importance on education.

These students are put in the same classrooms as the students who are determined to learn and someday make something of themselves. So the issue for the teacher is 1-ignore the kids who are adamant about not working and just let them fail or 2-slow the entire class down as you try to goad a few kids into ‘playing along’.

Also, the govt throws money and lesser performing schools, thereby hurting the school that have performed well, and would continue to push their students if they had proper funding… you’re constantly trying to address both ends of a spectrum, no matter what perspective you take.

I dont know about selfish teachers though,… I make a pretty crummy living, but honestly enjoy working with appreciative students.

S[/quote]

I saw a lot of this when I emigrated to Canada. In the classes in High School in Toronto, if you performed well, you were encouraged to do more. If not, you were left alone.

I think it is an attitude thing. In the Indian schools, the kids with the best grades are the rock stars, not the folks on the sports teams.[/quote]

I Went to high school in Canada (Toronto), and there aren’t these huge disparities between high schools here that you read about in the US. Yeah some schools perform better than others, but not the same sort of disparity.

Also in the end, the kids who want to do well, will do well anywhere they go.[/quote]

I was in Toronto too.