WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” IS BASED ON A MYTH
The documentary Waiting for “Superman” is based on a false premise. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the film focuses on applicants for admission to charter schools who pin their hopes on being accepted so that their lives will be forever transformed. The film, scathingly reviewed by Diane Ravitch in the November 11, 2010, issue of the New York Review of Books, pretends that charter schools are the magic answer to save the country from failing schools. Whereas the film dramatizes those who wait for their names to be selected in lotteries, Ravich points out that student performance in charter schools is neither better nor worse on the average than in public schools. What is different is that administrators of charter schools, who are not always professional educators, have more autonomy than principals of public schools. Ravich also points out that charter schools are sometimes moneymaking scams. What does make a difference for students is the involvement of and encouragement by parents. MH