Sylvia
June 20, 2010 7:17 PM
Why isn't the documentary playing in Chicago? It's the third largest market in the country.
And if not now, then when? It's June 20th.
And if not now, then when? It's June 20th.
Message Board
Post any thoughts you have on public education, education reform, the President's education policies, or what you would like to see change in education.
Karel
June 18, 2010 2:39 AM
Is the documentary coming to the Seattle area?
June 18, 2010 8:33 PM
Hi Karel,
We hope so! Call your local theater and ask that they book the film. They can do so by emailing dylan@variancefilms.com and cc'ing contact@thelotteryfilm.com.
Thanks
James
We hope so! Call your local theater and ask that they book the film. They can do so by emailing dylan@variancefilms.com and cc'ing contact@thelotteryfilm.com.
Thanks
James
Cynthia
June 18, 2010 12:26 AM
I hope this comes to the Charleston, SC area. It is very needed. I teach at a small college and I want a copy with permission to show it to my teacher education candidates. I worked in public schools for thirty years. I taught in a rural school, an inner city school, and in a middle-upper middle class school. I was also an administrator for awhile. Parents are a child's first teachers. It would be great if all could actively support their local schools. Many people have to work two-three jobs and cannot get to schools in person. Schools often have to reach out and make information accessible to parents.
Nancy
June 17, 2010 11:37 PM
We'd like to screen this movie at our theater. Who would I speak to about that? We are a small, digital only, 50 seat theater in Asbury Park.
Nancy
Nancy
June 18, 2010 8:31 PM
Hi Nancy,
Please reach out to Dylan Marchetti at Variance Films - dylan@variancefilms.com, and cc contact@thelotteryfilm.com.
Thanks,
James
Please reach out to Dylan Marchetti at Variance Films - dylan@variancefilms.com, and cc contact@thelotteryfilm.com.
Thanks,
James
Tara
June 15, 2010 1:39 PM
While I'm glad to see some parents take a true interest in their child's future I do not understand why everything is about white people having it better than everyone else. I'm sure this is an extraordinary film, but I am white, I lived in the projects, and I went to a public school. The school I went to was subpar, as most public schools tend to be, but I rose above that. The population of my school was about 60% white and 40% black. The whites and blacks sat in the SAME classroom with the SAME teachers and the SAME textbooks. We all got the SAME education. I truly believe that most children in this country (with the exception of largely populated urban areas) have the same opportunities as everyone else. No one took it upon themselves to tell me the value of an education. No one gave a crap about my education except ME. If a 12th grader has a reading level of an 8th grader (which I probably did at the time) it's because they are to lazy to learn. I'm so sick of excuses!! I understand that as a young child it is somewhat out of our hands but once we are in our teens it's our own fault. "I can't" just means "I'm lazy" or "I don't care". Everyone needs to stop pointing fingers and deal with it!!! I do, however, sympathize with those children in urban area schools. But please keep in mind that those urban areas make up but a small fraction of the schools in this country.
Vanessa
June 17, 2010 8:40 PM
Tara: You speak largely from personal experience. You were a tenacious and resilient student. Just because your peers had the same instruction it doesn't mean they started at the same place. A landmark study demonstrated the vocabulary gap that low-income students have compared to children of middle-income & high-income families. This places some students at an advantage. Perhaps, you participated in a pre-school or head start program. That gives some students an edge too. Please do some basic research before making blanketed statements.
Kristin
June 21, 2010 3:01 AM
I think what she was getting at is that not every white student starts from a position of advantage, just as every black student is not disadvantaged. We have poor white people and rich black people. What she was getting at is that any ethnicity can be disadvantaged, not just black people.
But, I do understand where the filmmaker was coming from... The majority of Harlem is black.
But, I do understand where the filmmaker was coming from... The majority of Harlem is black.
cathy kerr
June 15, 2010 2:18 AM
Will the film be shown in Boston?
June 15, 2010 7:27 PM
Hi - we hope soon! Please reach out to your local theaters and demand that they program the movie. They can email Variance Films at dylan@variancefilms.com to request the booking. Thanks!!
Kf
June 13, 2010 12:33 AM
I am tired of popular media and just about everyone in this country blaming all the problems of the educational system on teachers. I am sorry but all the problems it has cannot be because of teachers and unions alone. Being a teacher for 13 years I have taught in both affluent schools and inner city schools. I see problems with the laws handed down by politicians that do not help the system but actually make it worse. I see the districts who are more concerned about money than they are about helping teach the children. I have seen teachers, not all of them but some, who don't care about kids and are only in if for a very small paycheck(I love it when people argue about what to pay teachers like we make so much money already!) I also see a big problem, mostly in my inner city school from the parents. That is right, PARENTS. In the affluent school I taught at I had parents come into my class everyday to see what they could do to help their child succeed and in my current school in the inner city, I cannot get a hold of parents most of the time. When I do actually get a hold of a parent I usually get excuses as to why they cannot help me. I even had a parent tell me, "You deal with my son, that is why I send him to you every day so I can get a break!"
So stop blaming teachers! We are not the only problem! I am sick and tired of working my ass off everyday to help kids learn and then see documentaries like this one come out and basically blame teachers for the problem. All I can say for people who like to blame teachers is come into my class for just one day and see how you can handle what I hand every day!
I will not be seeing this movie or the movie "waiting for superman" because I think they are adding to the idea that all the problems with the educational system are the fault of teachers and teachers unions.
So stop blaming teachers! We are not the only problem! I am sick and tired of working my ass off everyday to help kids learn and then see documentaries like this one come out and basically blame teachers for the problem. All I can say for people who like to blame teachers is come into my class for just one day and see how you can handle what I hand every day!
I will not be seeing this movie or the movie "waiting for superman" because I think they are adding to the idea that all the problems with the educational system are the fault of teachers and teachers unions.
James G. Collins
June 13, 2010 9:09 PM
A huge part of the problem with public education is the horrible way we teach teachers, particularly "Ivory Towers" like Columbia University Teachers College. They're like the corporate offices at Coca-Cola: ALWAYS coming up with something "new" ("Diet Lime Coke"), that NOBODY wants, NOBODY needs, but that they use to justify their existance. As a result, eduation has become a mish-mash of trends and "methods" that confuse, parents, teachers, school systems and, mostly, children.
Like Coke, the education system should simply put the caramel-colored sugar syrup in the carbonated water. USE WHAT WORKS, period.
Speak to ANY teacher from overseas, and you will see that they are almost universally better educated than American teachers and that they almost always teach more students in their classrooms using methods that they've used for generations.
Like Coke, the education system should simply put the caramel-colored sugar syrup in the carbonated water. USE WHAT WORKS, period.
Speak to ANY teacher from overseas, and you will see that they are almost universally better educated than American teachers and that they almost always teach more students in their classrooms using methods that they've used for generations.
Kristin
June 21, 2010 3:05 AM
I love Diet Lime Coke... : )
Joe Burzell
June 15, 2010 1:44 PM
@KF: It's great to hear about your first-hand experience and the differences and challenges between public and private schools.
@ James: Have you been in an inner city public school classroom? Have you witnessed the lack of respect that teachers face and the lack of discipline? What methods do you suggest the teachers should employ in the classroom when they have to fight to keep order? What should they do when they give children homework and it doesn't get done at home? All the methods in the world, be they Euro or US, can't teach a child respect and discipline if it's not instilled in the home. And further, that shouldn't be the teacher's job anyway. They are hired to be teachers, not parents.
@ James: Have you been in an inner city public school classroom? Have you witnessed the lack of respect that teachers face and the lack of discipline? What methods do you suggest the teachers should employ in the classroom when they have to fight to keep order? What should they do when they give children homework and it doesn't get done at home? All the methods in the world, be they Euro or US, can't teach a child respect and discipline if it's not instilled in the home. And further, that shouldn't be the teacher's job anyway. They are hired to be teachers, not parents.
