Waiting for Superman

Going into a documentary like this, you know from the start it's going to tug on your heartstrings.

There's also no surprise about what the message will be.

Education, in America in this case, but here in France as well, is in an abysmal state. We know this.

Barack Obama and other Americans like to quote French statistics on education spending, in order to show that they could be doing better.

The sentiment is commendable but the stats are wrong. We, in France, are also facing spending cuts, poor education in low-income areas, and what seems like a government unwilling to take the necessary steps.


This isn't news to anyone who takes even a passing interest in education. Still, the movie Waiting for Superman, while showing a certain bias, is a hard watch. Mainly, I believe, it shows that the education crisis really isn't a crisis at all. Or it shouldn't be. We know what the big issue is. We know what the goal is.

The problem is the players. The architects - a Guggenheim term - are acting, not in the best interests of the children or of the nation's future, and not, as it turns out, in their own best interests.

Unwilling to give up power and control, they're willing to sacrifice the future of the faceless mass to protect their interests. What Waiting for Superman did for me was give a face to the unimportant, then make me watch them fight for the priviledge of a proper education. The hardest thing was seeing focused and smart children be robbed of the opportunity to fulfil their dreams.