Documentary
KEY PEOPLE
Educator Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Success Academy
Daisy Esparza, fifth grader living in Los Angeles, CA
Anthony Black, fifth grader living in Washington, D.C.
Six-year-old Bianca Hill living in the Bronx, NYC
First grader Francisco living in Harlem, NYC
Emily, eighth grader living in Redwood City, CA
Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of Schools in Washington, D.C.
REVIEW
By following five students the film highlights some of the reasons for the failure of the public education system in the United States. Graphs and charts are used to show where the country ranks in terms of key subjects like math and reading. Interviews with the students and their parents bring the personal side of the problem to light. Another aspect of the problem that is presented is the strong stand on tenure held by the teacher’s union.
The producers present a compelling argument that so-called 'dropout factories' are the main reason why some neighbourhoods are in such an economic mess, and not the other way around. If nothing else the film adds another dimension to an old problem that will not go away.
CLASSIFICATION
for mild language and images of incidental smoking.
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