Waiting for Superman

Children were being interviewed about how they like school and their teachers. Most of them said they liked school however, they were struggling in class. Parents were unable to go school because of financial reasons. Some parents can't afford the school tuition. A lot of students drop out of high school because their grade level is behind the state's standard. No Child Left Behind allowed states to hold standardized tests for students to test their reading comprehension level and math. The United States fell behind in standardized scores compared to the other countries. The students scored around a 20-40 percent proficiency level. However they scored highest in confidence level compared to any other country. 

A number of students drop out of high school because their grade level is behind. Many students that end up in prison are high school dropouts. It costs more to maintain a prisoner's lifestyle than to send them to years in a private school. In prison, meals, recreational time and housing must be supplied. 

Teacher unions are an obstacle in reforming schools. It's ironic how the things that were made to protect the educational system are the very things that keep schools from improving and changing. An example of this was Michelle Rhee's proposal regarding tenure. She proposed double-merit pay in exchange for tenure. The union found this threatening and did not even vote on this proposal. Michelle Rhee is the superintendent of Washington D.C.'s schools. In attempt to better the educational system, she fired a number of staff and closed down 23 schools. Many were unhappy with this decision. She continues to try and improve the system however it's is difficult because she keeps running into the system.

Tenure was first made to protect college professors from being fired due to unreasonable cause like political reasons. However now, public educators get tenure automatically after working a number of years. This keep them from getting fired. This poses a problem because bad teachers cannot get fired. Instead, schools do "dance of the lemons" where they exchange teachers between schools.