Recent studies of the American educational system reveals that the country is slowly being left behind by other highly developed countries in the math and science categories. Most people blame these phenomena on the limited budget the United States government is allocating for the education of its younger generation of citizens.
However, there is a growing group of people who argue that there is so much room for improvement in the country's educational system without increasing the budget. A Former TV reporter and current movie director for one, believes that the school system is much to blame for most of its woes. A former school superintendent that he interviewed for his movie believes that the widespread, persistent and institutionalized dishonesty in the preparation and implementation of the educational budget as the foremost problem. He also blames the profoundly deep-rooted, self-serving teacher's union as the one responsible for the country's twisted educational system.
Teachers unions are also being made answerable for thinking only of itself to the detriment of the students. The tenure system is being pointed in particular as the reason why at least 40% of the teachers, according to one estimate, are not good mentors. Union officials are quick to point out that they are only protecting their members from being dismissed by capricious education officials and politicians. They claim there are enough provisions to remove bad and unqualified teachers from their ranks.
The director used the gamut of his television reporting craft in making the movie. His information packed condemnation was presented like in-depth news by using his selection of full headshot and side street interviews, stilted B roll, and special graphic effects. Shifting naturally from one viewpoint to another he efficiently denounced the tenure system while defending his proposed voucher system and the stonewalling of charter schools. Factual information have compensated for the movie's deficiency in method and construction.
Scenes of a high ranking school official riding on chauffeur driven limo to attend a school budget meeting and a school parking area full of luxury vehicles effectively drives the point that the movie wants to impart. Patience and logic were used to present the need for a state and system change.
Critics are quick to counter that the movie contradicts its basic claim that reforms can be made without changing the total amount of the budget. High performing elite urban schools have a high per-head budget. Only the cash strapped religious charter schools can afford to run in the current budget. Implementing the proposed solution of tapping chartered schools will only drive students to the church basements or rented spaces of religious schools. They also predict that the voucher system, with additional funds from the parents will only be able to enroll the students in more expensive private schools who only have the same test ratings as the traditional schools that they came from in the first place.
Available slots in high performing public schools are very limited and the amount that the affluent suburban schools spend on each student remains very high. School officials argue that the chartered school proposal will only drive students to the folds of the under resourced charter or religious private schools. New Jersey children will only receive vouchers at amounts that will be enough for them to enter suburban religious private schools that badly need additional funding.
New Jersey school officials and other opponents of the theory argue that the documentary focused only on a few extreme examples and does not represent the true nature of the country's educational condition in general and the New Jersey educational system in particular. Sadly, the true state affairs could be somewhere in between and the real solution is too important to be left to movie directors and politicians to decide.
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