The new movie "Won't Back Down" hits theaters this weekend. Predictably, the film is getting very negative reviews. I love great movies and I intend to see this one, but I'll admit I'm not expecting much from this film and I'm not a big fan of Maggie Gyllenhaal (although she was interesting in "Crazy Heart" and "Sherry Baby".)
But it's not about whether this film is any good or not--it's about whether or not the film has the legs to get America talking about the NUMEROUS dysfunctional problems in our public schools today. I hope it does. I remember hoping that the Florida parent trigger bill would pass, only to watch the Republican Senate fall apart and let it die via a 20-20 tie--giving the status-quo, unions, and liberal education obstructionists a victory-essentially punting on the issue. (to the detriment of thousands of students in Florida stuck in failing schools.)
Already the unions nationally are sponsoring the picketing of theaters that are showing this movie, which isn't surprising and ought to be telling. They did not think much of 2010's "Waiting for Superman" either-although that film spotlighted some very troubling issues in American public education that continue to persist.
From an article in Reuters yesterday evening:
"Parent groups that support teachers' unions have organized protests outside some screenings. And they've been gleefully posting negative reviews of "Won't Back Down" on Facebook and Twitter....Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, has called it "egregiously misleading.."
Unions can spin it any way they want: Bottom line---- they fear a watering down of their influence as charters and choice spread throughout our nation. Charter schools are not beholden to unions and their restrictive labor contracts that put adults before kids. Therefore, unions unite to fight against school choice and conscript well-meaning but oftentimes naive parent groups to assist them-- even though the unions themselves know that their roadblocking efforts mean many students will be trapped in failing schools. They don't care, though; just keep the taxpayer money flowing and the more the better, is their mantra. Their priority is themselves, this has been proven and even stated by these unions and their representatives. I put KIDS and TAXPAYERS first, not special interest, left leaning political activist labor unions! That's why I love my job, I want to be on the front lines of reform, because things must change! ....and movies like "Won't Back Down" might just be the lightning rods to achieve these changes!
Jeff:
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the movie, but I enjoy Maggie’s work as an actress. Yes, there are many problems with the traditional public schooling system as a whole – uninspired teaching of an outdated curriculum being just one aspect. The saddest part for me, however, is how almost EVERYTHING is politicized. The assertion that public schools and the teachers working in them are "liberal" and charter schools are "conservative" does not appear to be helping. In fact, there are many charter school activists that are anything but conservative republicans, and likewise recognize the challenges facing our society. Further, I have hired and worked with many "conservative" teachers, and our foremost concern was taking care of students - not each other's political philosophy. I hope the blame game and labeling will end soon so we can all begin working together despite our self-imposed differences and subsequent fraternalism. Thanks for the forum.
The movie was better than I thought, which was a pleasant surprise. Ken, from the stuff I've seen in meetings and in executive sessions over the last six years on the school board--I agree with your assessment about these issues becoming politicized. Interesting phenomenon occurs, though, as it only gets identified when someone steps up and says "hey wait a minute, let's do this or this or this because it's in the best interests of KIDS! Then the silence hits the room or, worse yet, the muted chuckles as some administrator or other person familiar says. "the union won't go along with that"-- Ken, I'm sick of hearing that phrase. I'm going to continue to try to move the ball on some of these ridiculous practices that put highly partisan labor unions and their members ahead of kids and taxpayers!
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