Waiting on Superman, is his name Mike Miles?

Recently I watched a documentary titled "Waiting on Superman." This documentary begins by addressing the major pitfalls of the public education system in hopes to suggest the changes that should be made. The film caught my attention originally due to statistics on average high school drop out rates in Washington DC. In one inner city high school over 50 percent of student drop out before graduation. A woman named Michelle Rhee, known for being a business woman, was appointed as the superintendent of the district and began enforcing serious reforms. The documentary takes us through all the positive changes and controversial strategies she used to turn her district in a positive direction. The documentary then show a failing school district in New York where children wait amongst hundreds of others to be admitted into a charter school.
I was absolutely crushed as I watched second and third grades cry over their "lack of a future" if they were not admitted. They introduce us to 6 different kids who had a hope for higher education to peruse their dreams but many were denied this. By the end of the documentary I was infuriated. How can the kids futures be based on a raffle? (this is how they are admitted to charter schools) Why is it that their public schools could not offer them the same opportunities? And are we institutionalizing poverty?
This really got me thinking and I felt it was absolutely necessary to learn more. I began reading "the Death and Life of The American School System,"at the moment I have only finished the first chapter, but I plan on continuing blogging about it. The first chapter, much like the introduction of the documentary, gives you statics and facts catching the readers immediate attention. It also addresses the fact that superintendents have a lot of power of the success of the district.
This hit home, just this year DISD has received a new superintended. This hardly goes unnoticed as policies in the class room have changed. All the doors must remain open, all the lights must be on, we must respond with thumbs up, down, or sideways, all teachers must stand outside their door... its these things that change a class room dynamic. So as a student I question, is Mike Miles pulling a Michelle Rhee? Will all of these curriculum and policy changes help the schools progress? In Booker T. maybe not, as we a fairly wealthy and successful school, but what is this doing to other DISD schools? At the moment all I see changing is the level of noise in the hallways, or maybe the number of rules we are breaking.
Personally I do believe the harder you push student, curriculum wise, the more they learn. Push me! Challenge me! But this doesn't mean treat me like a third grader, THUMBS UP! None the less as I continue reading and observing the dramatic changes in DISD I will report back to this blog and update you! until then
- Renata D.