Dueling Movies--Or Not

There's been a big push at my school this year--someone (I've yet to find out who, but I only asked today) is advertising the heck out of a screening of the movie Race To Nowhere at our school. Here's what the movie's about, straight from its web site:

Director Vicki Abeles turns the personal political, igniting a national conversation in her new documentary about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in a system and culture obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

Sounds like there's a definite slant to it, no? Since it's being shown at school, and part of the cost of each ticket sold goes to a school-related organization (PTSA), I think we ought to have a little balance. I recommend Waiting For Superman:

When disaster strikes in America, heroes rush in. We've seen it time and again: when all seems lost, real-life supermen (and women) step up to save the day. But what if, right now, there is a hidden catastrophe spreading quietly, insidiously through our nation's cities, towns and communities--and yet we have the power to stop it? What if our children and their futures--were in peril? Who will become a hero now?

From Davis Guggenheim, the Academy Award-winning director of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, comes another stirring, must-see clarion call of our times: WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN", a deeply personal exploration of the current state of public education in the U.S. and how it is affecting our children.

School reform--definitely a different slant. Oprah seems to like it:

The operator of a Sacramento charter school received $1 million from Oprah Winfrey during a show that aired Monday.

Winfrey presented a check from her Angel Network to Aspire Public Schools CEO James Willcox along with five other public school organizations during a show dedicated to the documentary "Waiting for Superman," according to a press release.