The public school system could be made exceptionally profitable, although exclusively at the expense of things like teachers and students. In his education documentary "The Cartel," Bowdon, a TV news reporter in New Jersey, paints a reasonably ugly impression of the institutional putridness that has resulted in pretty much incredible wastes of taxpayer money. As $400,000 is spent per classroom, but reading proficiency is alone 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is unmistakable, which doesn't indicate it's not controversial.
The two sides of this feud meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon's picture: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to allocate 90 cents of every taxpayer buck into everything but teachers' salaries -- although several school administrators make upwards of $100,000. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools which can operate outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those impoverished public schools, Bowdon points out, it's practically unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a meager one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of diverse aspects of public teaching, tenure, financing, support drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "And as such it kind of serves as a swift-moving primer on all of the red-hot topics within the education-reform movement."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. The film has started a lot of talk, which ought no doubt continue with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking dissimilar approaches to the similar predicament, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" focusing on the human-interest aspects. "The two films make parallel conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained method means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is invariably on the people affected, specially the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a spot at a charter school makes its own potent argument for the unsatisfactory failure of a state's education system.
And whilst it may be straightforward to acknowledge the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is an extremely familiar condition. Any watcher will discern the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight.
The two sides of this feud meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon's picture: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to allocate 90 cents of every taxpayer buck into everything but teachers' salaries -- although several school administrators make upwards of $100,000. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools which can operate outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those impoverished public schools, Bowdon points out, it's practically unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a meager one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of diverse aspects of public teaching, tenure, financing, support drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "And as such it kind of serves as a swift-moving primer on all of the red-hot topics within the education-reform movement."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. The film has started a lot of talk, which ought no doubt continue with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking dissimilar approaches to the similar predicament, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" focusing on the human-interest aspects. "The two films make parallel conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained method means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is invariably on the people affected, specially the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a spot at a charter school makes its own potent argument for the unsatisfactory failure of a state's education system.
And whilst it may be straightforward to acknowledge the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is an extremely familiar condition. Any watcher will discern the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight.
No comments:
Post a Comment