Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
I never miss our very own Bill McGurn’s Tuesday column in the Wall Street Journal—and today is no exception. Today, Bill writes about a new documentary about America’s failing public schools. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the film is called “Waiting for ‘Superman.’” Guggenheim, a liberal, is the man behind Al Gore’s award winning "An Inconvenient Truth."
Though it premiered about a week ago, “Waiting for ‘Superman’” is already making waves. The main reason for this, as Bill lucidly explains, is that the failures of America's public school system have been documented by conservatives for years now. In this new film, though, "the indictment issues from an unrepentant liberal instead of the Heritage Foundation." Bill explains:
Guggenheim offers something that reams of foundation reports, endless pieces of bipartisan legislation and oceans of newspaper ink never have: a stunning liberal exposé of a system that consigns American children who most need a decent education to our most destructive public schools.
Nor does he exempt himself from this corrupt bargain. The man who produced both the Barack Obama short for the 2008 Democratic Convention and Al Gore's Academy Award-winning documentary about global warming offers an inconvenient truth of his own. Each morning, Mr. Guggenheim shows, he drives by three public schools until he gets to the nice private school where he deposits his own children. In so doing, he accuses himself of "betraying the ideals I thought I lived by."
I would quote Bill's entire column here--it's one of the best pieces I've read in a while--but it's behind a pay wall, and I don't want to get on the wrong side of Rupert Murdoch. If you don't have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, then be sure to pick up a copy of it today and read Bill's column. Then comment about it here, where Bill can chime in!
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Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Thanks, Emily. Honesty, not modesty, compels me to point out that the key here is that this is a fabulous film. I watched it in New York City with a group of Democrats for Education Reform, and the NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein (another hero of reform). You can get more info at WaitingforSuperman.com, and watch the trailer.
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Bill -- Your piece ends with the suggestion that even after all of that he still advocates working from within the unions to bring about reform. Is that in fact the message of the film? And if so, isn't it just more wasted breath?
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
I'm excited to watch the film!
Bill -- were their any union representatives at the film premiere? I'm curious about their reaction to the film.
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Bill, I would buy your modesty claim if your weekly column was not always a home run - as it is you have a credibility gap with your protestation.
I would suggest that Bill's piece be read along with Thomas Sowell's piece today on the political reasons behind the unfortunate electoral results in DC. For those of you who want to be truly deppressed.
For a supposedly intelligent species, we can be incredibly dumb.
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Emily, no union reps. But all the other people at the NYC showing were choked up, including Mr. Klein. It's that powerful.
I think no one beats the Wall Street Journal when it comes to beating the drum for education reform. But like Nixon to China, we need good liberals on this, because public education is largely a liberal dream. Too many are compromised. But a number are not, and many are fed up.
The other thing about this movie is that it intersperses a lot of facts and figures in a very compelling way, with interesting graphics.
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
This is a great point. A party or "movement" needs to find ways to get new people listening and even agreeing, at least on some issue. Education reform is both a vital need for the nation and a way to get many people who would not sit next to a Republican, let alone a tea partier, into conversation.
This is also a great way to demonstrate how a move to "less Federal involvement" can make things better and not be an abandonment, or attempt to ignore the problem. If people can see how "big government" solutions have failed in education, and how returning control back to local authorities and the citizens will work better, perhaps they can be led to the same conclusion on health care?
Jun '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
A good start would be to heed Milton Friedman and most recently James Lileks and eliminate the Dept. of Education from the federal government.
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
I trust that this is a good film Bill. But however well written, it would be hard-pressed to beat this movie line, uttered by Bob Hope (credit: @keder)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWpU8sX10_4
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Trace, Very nice. Won't spoil it for people who haven't yet watched. It's only 25 seconds.
GA Dean, Exactly. No reason that our system for public education has to remain the centralized government monolith we now have.
I really don't want to spoil it, but this film is about people and communities and an institution that is critical to their lives but also dysfunctional. We need to think of these rotten schools the way we do of some broken-down ex-Soviet factory dumping poison all over.
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Is the department of education more of the problem--or the unions? That's an honest, not a rhetorical, question.
Jun '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Precisely. The federal government has no constitutional authority in this area aside from the fact that a one size fits all solution from Washington (NCLB) cannot possibly address the range of complexities that exist at the local level. I'm rather certain that the bureaucrats who populate the Dept. of Education do not understand one simple fact: a school is a reflection of the community around it. Where you have a solid middle class community, you're likely to have a functioning public school that reflects middle class values. Where you have a dysfunctional community, such as an inner city ghetto or Indian reservation, you're going to see all the pathologies of the community dragged into the classroom. Such schools can't be improved by pandering to the norms of the dysfunctional community around them in the name of diversity and cultural sensitivity. Like a bad egg, some habits are better broken than kept. And some schools are better closed than reformed.
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Bill -- There is already a large contingent of moms from my childrens' progressive Quaker school that are forming a discussion party for next week after they've all had a chance to see the film. And I can already see their expectation forming. And it's one that I form from visiting the Website. And that is that the movie will conclude with the lesson that it's all about the money. That the solution involves spending more on education.
Is that the lesson? Or are these ladies in for a jarring surprise?
May '10
Re: Bill McGurn on the Inconvenient Truth of American Education
Rupert allows a non-subscriber to view the entire article, by it e-mailing to oneself (I use 2 different email addresses, but maybe it works with one.) You then receive a link good, I'm told, for a week. Because the honchos at News Corp allow non-subscribers to do this, I take it as permitted.