On September 10, The Oprah Winfrey Show will be screening the new documentary about education - "Waiting For Superman" - and discussing it as part of a show. According to Oprah's ticket reservation site, if you are a parent or teacher who has strong opinions about our nation's public schools and are available September 10, 2010, you could be picked to be a part of the audience.
To be in the running, answer a few questions by clicking here and then stay tuned in case you are called.
Opening in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles on September 24 and in other theaters beginning in October, this long awaited documentary is said to "examine the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories-from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system."
In addition to the movie, a companion book and viewer's guide will be handed out with the film, which will both feature an excerpt of Parenting Magazines "Lesson Plan for Change" that was developed by the 2010 Mom Congress delegates.
Pledges are still being accepted to have the movie shown in your area. More than 50,000 have joined the movement with Los Angeles leading the pack. Commit to see the film now and 5 books will be given to kids in need. Have you made your pledge?
Comments
This is wonderful that Oprah is getting involved to help with education.
Winona Cooking Examiner / Winona Home and Living Examiner
It is so very hard to be a teacher in America. Everyone knows our business, everyone can do it better than us. I am so proud of the teachers I work with; they work everyday adjusting to the needs of each child they serve. Oprah thinks students deserve better. Hmmm...if she knew what I know, if she saw what I see each day. At the end of the day I am proud of the work I have done, it is important, I am a teacher.
YOU ARE APPRECIATED.
There are so many good teachers but so many poor children are trapped in terrible schools with sometimes bad teachers that can't get fired because of the teachers unions. They don't care at all about children. All they are about is union dues - money. Search out the truth for yourself, this is the truth even though the hundreds of millions of dollars of the teachers unions try to hide it.
I'm sure there are just as many bad teachers as bad employees in any other industry - but I'd be willing to bet that there are way more "bad parents" that think that their role in their child's education ends when they send them out the door to go to school. Then factor in the many well-intentioned single parents that may be forced to choose to focus on paying rent and putting food on the table rather than helping with homework.
I'm not a teacher, nor do I have one in my immediate family - but it seems that so much focus is put on the "bad teachers" - yes I think it should not be as hard to fire a bad teacher, yet look at the metrics that are used to determine if a teacher is a "bad teacher". Test scores? I bet that in most cases the students with low test scores this year with their "bad teacher" also had low test scores last year too - so are all the previous teachers bad too? Maybe the parents could have something to do with it? Maybe kids in low income areas have poorer test scores for some of the same reasons - admittedly varied - that their parent(s) aren't wealthy and are living in lower income areas.
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