waiting for superman (2010). directed by davis guggenheim.

the other day on twitter, me and a friend got into a discussion about lousy education systems and predictably, she said malaysia is the worst. may be because we went through the system, and despite being able to go to uni via that system, get a job and earn a reasonably comfortable living, we forget of inherent factors that make or break that system. year in, year out, the education minister reports increasing number of students passing with higher and higher marks in national exams that we are often fooled of the real situation. 

what about the majority that didn't do so well? what will happened to them? why couldn't they do any better? is it fair to say that some kids just can't learn? is there anything we can do about it? is the system at fault? what are the factors that contribute to kids not learning what they are supposed to learn?

these are hard questions that the film is trying to answer, something we all should be worried about too. 

i think whatever plagued the american education system, if looked close enough, we will find an eerie similarity with what is happening in our country. those good marks are nothing but a mask. that is the  topic of interest in waiting for superman, a documentary that follows a father's search and countless other parents for a good school for their kids. i must say, this film is much more suspenseful, engaging and puts you on the edge at the precarious decline of the public school system in america than a lot of action flicks playing out there. it's heartbreaking seeing single mothers working 3 jobs trying to pay for private schools, hardworking children from poor neighbourhoods putting their hopes on lotteries in order to gain entry into a good school. the film explores the issues that turn american public schools into a sinkhole (increasing drop out rates, no improvement in reading and math skills) - a powerful teacher's union that makes it impossible to fire bad teachers (and there are lots of them on the payroll and not doing their job) and complicated management of the school system that makes it inefficient.  the real losers - kids. 

this is a powerful film that educators and parents should watch and understand - for nothing is more impactful to the future generation than quality education. 

food for thought!