Waiting for Superman

I have to respond to the statements I read on practicaltheory.org. First, teachers have awaited a moment of education reform that actually responds to the needs of the teachers and the students. I hope everyone welcomes education reform on a national level with open arms. But after reading a detailed description of the basis of Waiting for Superman, I see that yet again the teachers are ultimately blamed for the entire steaming heap of unsuccessful initiatives and programs that are forced down our throats (and just as quickly discarded) at an alarming rate. The standards for hiring and keeping teachers should be high and I agree that all students should be privy to the same worthy education. However, the state tests that teachers are forced to teach to have absolutely no basis in reality. They neither account for or accomodate for the diversity of learners in even one single classroom. We are supposed to integrate, modify, associate and diversify learning to extremes. Yet the tests we are preparing these kids for (the same tests that judge us so harshly as "good" or "bad" educators) don't reflect in any way on the actual learning process. They don't account for the ESL students who have just been assimilated into the classroom and don't understand half of what you're saying. They don't account for the special education students who have suddenly been "released" from sheltered learning environments and are expected to instantly learn in a completely altered classroom environment. The tests that are so close now to being the deciding factor as to whether or not a teacher is valuable or dedicated offer no glimpse into the real, working world of a passionate and challenging profession. Nor do they offer true feedback as to the level of learning that is actually occurring in a classroom. I hope that what I've heard about this documentary is untrue, and that Weinstein does not portray teachers as the weak link in the educational chain by spotlighting a few of the burnt out or dispassionate teachers. From what I've read, this does seem to be where he's gone with this film. I hope he remembers a teacher he had somewhere along the way that cared enough to provide the best education for him that was possible. And I look forward to the possibility that his film has any accurate portrayal at all of any of the hard-working and dedicated educators I am familiar with.