Last night I had the opportunity to see Waiting for Superman at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY. I was really excited to have the opportunity because this movie is on limited engagement across the country. You could tell others were feeling the same way because the theater lobby was packed before the doors even opened, and there were few empty seats in the audience. Clearly the topic of this movie, our education system in the U.S., was of great interest to many people. And why should it not be?

After viewing the film, my first reaction was that they were spot on with their message. I very much appreciated that they took a chance on making a feature length documentary on the issues plaguing our education system. They were right. There is something wrong with it, and it needs to be addressed immediately. Throughout the movie I was inspired by the individuals they included, such as Geoffrey Canada from Harlem Children's Zone in New York City, and Mike Feinberg, and David Levin, of KIPP schools. Their words, and their vision are spot on with the kind of change-making we need to see in our educational system. If anyone has "defied gravity" they have, or at least seemingly.

I also appreciate that they featured Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of DC Public schools. Her efforts, though fervently debated, are ones that we too should hold up with gratitude. You may consider her a novice, and/or perhaps a little evil as some have portrayed her, but what I commend her for is looking at a broken system and trying, JUST TRYING to make change with limited resources. I definitely do not agree with some of the things she's proposed, but I do commend her for being brave and daring. Someone has to be. Finally, I want to say, that I appreciated the look at education in the U.S. from a systems level. This is so important, and the only way we can even begin to imagine substantive change.

Rather than writing about what I didn't appreciate about the movie, I want to write about what I would have liked to have seen in an ideal world. This will not be exhaustive, and is only meant to include some suggestions. First, our educational system is very complex. The graphics they used in this movie were both amazing, and very well used. I would use these to in the very beginning try to help people understand the complexity of this system. The audience needs to understand accurately how it is setup, governed and what role they play in it. My goal would be to have the audience leaving with an understanding of the system, their complicit role in it, and how they can affect change within it.

Next, I feel if the context of the movie is going to maintain a broad scope, especially using the tag line, "The fate of our country won't be decided on a battlefield, it will be determined in a classroom," then we must include students from more metropolitan areas, from more suburban areas and definitely rural schools as well. Their cases, and their voices are equally important, and represent the full complement of schools in the system. Each type could have it's own issues highlighted, and in doing so, the movie could still maintain the message that at a fundamental systems level, our educational system in the U.S. needs to be addressed while at the same time maintaining the broad scope of the message as well.

As the movie closes the audience, some of the major messages of the movie are summed up in short statements that are written with animations across the screen. The story of the movie is retold in simple form, and repeated to cement the ideas in our heads. We're also given some actions to take to take for fixing this issue. In an ideal world, I would convey these messages through success stories of people who have made changes within the public school system, and success stories, not just of teachers and educators who have made change, but parents, and regular citizens. The audience needs to leave with a concrete action they can take, and some inspiration from others, just like themselves who they can model after.

So all in all, I am very grateful for having had the chance to see this movie. There are some things I would have done differently, but I will suggest that this is only Waiting for "Superman" I, and that a sequel, or many other sequels are on their way to continue the story, and continue sharing stories of hope and inspiration.