Superman

Public Schools Need a Change

This film has by far been the most interesting in my opinion. Waiting for Superman opened my eyes up to how much children are being let down by the school systems.  Also, it made me realize how difficult it can be to get into a better school system.  The statistics on graduation and drop out rates in the video and online truly astonished me leaving me worried. But Michelle Rhee really intrigued me, everything she has been doing for the school systems and the fact she isn’t afraid of anyone or anything, she takes charge. 

            To begin, until I saw this film I did not even know the name Michelle Rhee, it is not a household name, at least not in Florida.  Maybe it could be because my field of study is education and I want to be a teacher, but after viewing Waiting for Superman I wanted to learn more on Michelle.  In my opinion she is exactly what every school system needs; I admire everything she has done. After reading and listening to her story, she went straight to work. “She closed twenty-three underused schools.  She fired principals whose students did poorly on standardized tests. She cut through roadblocks that were keeping supplies from getting into classrooms. And she negotiated an agreement with teachers, making it possible to remove people who were unqualified or ineffective.”(The Mark of a Leader), she made all of this possible within three years after starting. So many parents do not realize that their children are not getting the great education that they deserve. For example, when a parent asks, “What did you do at school?” from experience most kids reply with, “I don’t know.” or “I don’t remember.” Most parents don’t even question it, but what if they really haven’t done anything and don’t want to say it. I think Michelle Rhee’s response to parents complaining about the schools closing, that they went to and grew up in said it all, “. . . Parents were not seeing that the schools they were getting so emotional about had been failing their children for decades, ensuring that 90% of them would never go on to higher education.”. Why would you want that for your child? She took on so much when filling this position in D.C., more than 47,000 students in 123 public schools. (Students First) Finishing up, “A mere two years later, academic achievement on standardized tests had improved significantly. Elementary school students’ proficiency in math had gone up 20%. DC was the country’s fastest-improving state for fourth-grade reading.”(The Mark of a Leader) The Duval County school system could use someone like Michelle Rhee to take over in my opinion.

            The lottery was brought to my attention and while I knew what it was before watching the film, I never understood the frustration that came along with it. Tears were brought to my eyes as we watched most of the children’s number not be called. When you want something so bad and it is in the hands of a computer system that randomizes names and numbers or on tiny bingo balls, it is scary and nerve-racking. Another fact I learned was the difference in applicants and spaces available in the schools is enormous, it isn’t just ten children have applied and there’s six spots available, it is a much larger number of applicants trying to get in the six spots. I researched the numbers from the video; the fifth grader in D.C. was one of sixty-one children trying to get in one of the twenty-four spots, the first grader in Bronx was one of the 792 applying for one of the forty spots, and the other fifth grader who is a girl was one of 135 trying for one of the ten spots available. (The Myth of Charter Schools) What really hit me was that for most of the students applying, for the better schools it wasn’t because the parents wanted them to go to these schools, the kids wanted it for themselves. Students and parents want schools that don’t have teachers who don’t put forth the effort students deserve, such as teachers in Charter schools; I believe that is why there are so many people that get in the lottery. 

            Graduation should be something that every student looks forward to and works towards, not dropping out. Dropouts are defined as individuals ages 16-24 who are not enrolled in school and have not completed or obtained a GED. (High School Dropout Rates) According to the article I read, from 1967 to 2010 the percentage of dropouts declined from 17% to 7%. That is a large decrease but the percentage in 2010 was still too high in my opinion. (High School Dropout Rates) In 2011 it was at 3.43% and dropped to 3.01% in 2012. Students dropped out most frequently in the tenth grade, then 9^th, followed by 11^th, and 12^th.  This year my neighbor entered 11^th grade and there were weeks when she would come home and someone she knew in 10^th or 11^th grade didn’t like Oakleaf, the school she attends, so they dropped out.  I personally know a large amount of students that were scheduled to graduate this May that will not be, because they don’t want to go to Oakleaf and can’t go to another school so they have dropped out.  I think this has to do more with the teachers and administration at Oakleaf, I say this because I know students at other Clay County schools and they aren’t having these problems, there aren’t a large amount of students dropping out.

            Michelle Rhee really left an impression on me and I admire her. She showed everyone that with hard work and determination, no matter how hard something is, you can make a huge difference. The dropout rates need to decrease, and students need to be excited about learning.  Also, we need the same enthusiasm from the teachers in Charter Schools in every school.  If these things change, the success rates in public school systems can greatly change for the better.