Last week I was offered a free pass by Perry Chen*** to see the premier of a documentary film by David Guggenheim, "Waiting for Superman." School reform is stonewalled by rigid, varied federal, state, city, district bureaucracies. "No Child Left Behind" only produces 20-30% of students competent at their grade level. It's virtually impossible to get rid of bad teachers due to strict union rules. And incompetent teachers hardly ever lose their licenses compared to lawyers or doctors. Keeping an inmate alive in prison for a year costs more than double than sending a child to a public school. 'Superman' is a disgraceful, macro-and-microscopic portrait of our broken school system.
***At 10, Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning entertainment critic, TV personality, Annie Awards presenter, filmmaker/animator, and radio host, reviewing movies and entertainment a child’s perspective. He has been interviewed by Katie Couric (CBS Evening News) and Liane Hansen (NPR). He has interviewed Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera, director & producer of Pixar's "Up." Perry is currently partnering with an Oscar-nominated animator, Bill Plympton, in a new animation about the Holocaust (2011 release).