The Student Affiliates of the College of Education's School
of Psychology hosted a viewing of "Waiting for Superman," the recent, thought
provoking and controversial documentary on the American public school system,
on Tuesday in Packard Auditorium.

The
film dealt with many of the issues facing the roughly 2,000 failing American
public schools, or "dropout factories", as the film referred to them.  It followed several middle school students,
and their families, mostly from urban areas, as they pursued the opportunity to
attend charter schools as opposed to the public school system in their
neighborhoods.  The charters, which
accept students on the basis of a lottery and geographical location, are
education institutions that are established independently of the normal school
system.  The objective is to remove the
school environment from the bureaucratic parameters that typically make school
reform difficult.  Charters are independent
but receive public funding and must be renewed periodically through the
authorization of the local school boards.

The
documentary cited several sobering statistics to back up its claim regarding
the failure of American public education.
Approximately 24 percent of eighth graders in California are proficient
in math. In Washington D.C., only
12 percent of eighth graders perform at acceptable reading levels

The
children exhibited in the documentary recounted heartrending tales of social
ailments, poverty and cultures of apathy.
Daisy, a young girl from Los Angeles, told the filmmakers that it is her
goal in life to become a veterinarian.
Her father is unemployed, and her mother dropped out of school.  Francisco from the Bronx showed promise in
math but said that he disliked school because other students made it difficult
for him to show that he enjoyed his studies.
And Anthony from New York, whose father died of a drug overdose, is
being raised by his grandmother and is hoping to be accepted to the only urban
boarding school in the country after entering his name into the lottery.

Through
all of these stories come a pictures of great struggle but also of great
determination from many living below the poverty line who are determined to get their children the
opportunities they never had. 

The
makers of "Waiting for Superman" spent much time interviewing Geoffrey Canada,
an education reformer and the founder of a charter school in the worst area of
Harlem.  He explains in the film how the
United States went from having the best public school system in the world in
the '70s to having a subpar system today.
This he attributes both to foreign competition and the adherence to
outdated education models.  He cites that
the United States is currently only 25th in student math rankings amongst the
top 29 developed nations of the world, and filmmakers point out that in several
decades there will be a market for 123 million high skilled, high paying
American jobs that only 53 million Americans will be qualified for.

Some of
the reformers that the film showcases are attempting to combat just that
problem by circumventing the entrenched and powerful education system that many
say is the cause for turning minority students from B students in the fourth grade
to D students by seventh grade.

One of
those was Michelle Rhee, who has recently garnered much national attention for
her dramatic showdown with the Washington D.C. area public school system, which
was described as a part of the "blob" of bureaucracy.  She is the Seventh Chancellor of
Washington D.C. schools in the last 10 years and has earned many enemies attempting to cut
waste and reduce the supposed stranglehold that the teachers' unions have on
the system. 

"It's
injustice to kids to keep harmony among adults at their expense," Rhee said in
the film.

Both Rhee and her detractors agree
though that the most important factor in turning out good students is having
good teachers.

The
film pointed out that one out of 57 doctors and one out of 97 lawyers end up losing
their licenses.  Teachers, however, lose
their licenses at a rate of one out of 2,500, a statistic that is said to be
indicative of the negative influence that the teachers' unions have in
protecting inept teachers, ultimately harming students.

The
film ends with the students hearing back from their respective charter school
lotteries, which they know offer the best chance to get ahead, even though only
one out of five charters are said to be "successful." Some of the applicant rates for these schools
are as high as 700 prospective students fighting for 35 spots, which are
randomly assigned.

Following
the showcasing, a question and answer session was held with moderator
Edward Shapiro, who has been at Lehigh for 30 years, along with three other panelists.  The panel was comprised of Floyd Beachum, who
is an urban education expert at Lehigh; Louise Donohue, a former superintendent
for 15 years at the Allentown-area Parkland School District; and Damian Romero,
who is the assistant principal at the Roberto Clemente Charter School in
Allentown.  Each panelist brought a
unique perspective and response to the film.

"Leaders need to empower, not show off their power," Beachum
said in reference to the issue of administrators and union leaders blocking
educational progress. "Good leadership can impact an effective school culture."

Romero
explained that his view of the charter system was entirely practical and that
his children were still in public school because the school they are in,
"currently works." 

"[Charters] present a reality that is very black and white" he said. "Charter
schools have flexibility that public schools might not."

As an
educator and administrator, Donohue discussed the importance of collaboration.

"What makes a good charter school makes a good public school as well," Donohue said. "A
school that gets the community involved is a good thing."

Shapiro also mentioned the recent
release of a film that was produced as a rebuttal to the pro-charter message of
"Waiting for Superman," titled "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for
Superman."

Katherine Buck, '11, a student of
the College of Education's School of Psychology, said of the film that it was
meant to "provide an interesting perspective and be a conversation
starter." 

She said that the School of
Psychology doesn't endorse or refute the message of the film but intended it
merely to serve as a platform for a greater discussion regarding the condition
of our public school system.

Shapiro said that the film often
evokes emotional reactions and further commended its ability to initiate a
larger discussion on education policy when it was first released in 2010.

The president, Seth Laracy, and
co-president, Kirra Guard, of the Student Affiliates of the School of Psychology were largely responsible for putting on
the event.  They encouraged
undergraduates, and particularly those involved with the undergraduate
psychology program, to connect with the Student Affiliates group and look out
for future events, including a field day.

Story by Brown and White news writer Eric Schmidt, '12