The Truth About The Collapsing Of The Education System
There's money to be made in education, argues Bob Bowdon, although merely if you cut away the unprofitable bits, like good quality teachers. In his documentary "The Cartel," Bowdon, a New Jersey TV news newsman, turns the camera upon the monumental degeneracy and misdirection that has led his state to squander more than any other on its students just with shoddy results. The numbers tell the tale: $17,000 spent per student, and at hand's but a 39% reading proficiency rate, it's distressing to contend that there's a crisis underway, but harder to agree on a solution.
On the one side is the monumental Jersey teachers union and shady school officials, who make certain that, as Bowdon points out in his picture, 90 cents of every tax dollar go for other expenses, including six figure incomes for school administrators and, in a staggering example, a school board secretary who makes $180,000. On the other side are the supporters of a charter education system, private schools in which parents can use tax vouchers to pay tuition and leave behind the public nightmare. One of Bowdon's principal criticisms is that a teacher, even a deficient one, basically can't be fired -- which provides zero effort to do much literal instruction.
"The movie examines lots of diverse aspects of public teaching, tenure, financing, patronage drops, corruption --meaning thievery -- 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 film started making the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut just about a year later, in spring 2010. The movie has started a lot of talk, which ought no doubt carry on with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "The two films attain common conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained position means arguments that watch the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is invariably on the people affected, in particular the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. A girl's tears upon hearing that she wasn't selected to attend a charter school, that she's stuck in her public school, portray the failure of a system as well as Bowdon's charts and interviews.
It's difficult to see a film about corruption in Jersey and not think of the mob, but it's also unmistakable that this is a national problem seen through a tight lens. A watcher anyplace in the country will discern similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and eagerness for a resolution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an upward struggle to recover control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 2361
On the one side is the monumental Jersey teachers union and shady school officials, who make certain that, as Bowdon points out in his picture, 90 cents of every tax dollar go for other expenses, including six figure incomes for school administrators and, in a staggering example, a school board secretary who makes $180,000. On the other side are the supporters of a charter education system, private schools in which parents can use tax vouchers to pay tuition and leave behind the public nightmare. One of Bowdon's principal criticisms is that a teacher, even a deficient one, basically can't be fired -- which provides zero effort to do much literal instruction.
"The movie examines lots of diverse aspects of public teaching, tenure, financing, patronage drops, corruption --meaning thievery -- 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 film started making the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut just about a year later, in spring 2010. The movie has started a lot of talk, which ought no doubt carry on with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest slant. "The two films attain common conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained position means arguments that watch the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is invariably on the people affected, in particular the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. A girl's tears upon hearing that she wasn't selected to attend a charter school, that she's stuck in her public school, portray the failure of a system as well as Bowdon's charts and interviews.
It's difficult to see a film about corruption in Jersey and not think of the mob, but it's also unmistakable that this is a national problem seen through a tight lens. A watcher anyplace in the country will discern similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and eagerness for a resolution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. Nevertheless he also knows it'll be an upward struggle to recover control from those who've worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few. - 2361
posted by Marcondes Allen at 12:33 AM
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