Reflection Paper-Waiting For Superman

                                                                                                            April Juarez

                                                                                                            ED615: Diversity in Education
                                                                                                            February 2, 2013
                                                                                                           Reflection Paper - Waiting For Superman

 

                My first experience with the documentary of Waiting for Superman was back in 2011. I had heard many opinions of the documentary and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  After watching the documentary, I had come to understand why it was the topic in our faculty lounge for many weeks.  Most were opinionated while other discussions were supported through test scores and student academic levels within our school. In my opinion, if it was worth discussing, it had to have been close to home.

                Being a product of our public school system, and now an educator who has faith in it, I appreciate the truth this documentary lays out. Diversity stems anywhere from being of another race or ethnicity, society level, to the different learning styles a child can possess.  In most cases, diversity is to blame for the low academic level of a child.  However, in my opinion, diversity can be the exact opposite should we be knowledgeable, aware and appreciative of each other’s culture and inheritance.  Diversity has been documented as promoting a personal growth in what we wish in a healthy society. It also may strengthen communities and enrich educational experiences though shared experiences, beliefs and perspectives.  In the documentary, Waiting for Superman, diversity is depicted in the form of poverty playing a major role in the success of a child’s academic success. The documentary suggest that reform programs, in which does not seem to be offered to those not able to afford them, other than through lottery,  are the key to a child’s academic success and extent of a successful future.  In my opinion, that should not be the case.  Every child should be allowed to experience an adequate education, without weighing so heavily on these reform schools.   I am aware that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act was set for this purpose.  However, the NCLB initiation continues a need to blame low test scores on the not so American people.    

 There is no doubt in my mind that low and middle class society children have a greater chance of falling through the cracks of our already not so perfect education system.  I have seen the so called drop out factories as I visited my mother’s hometown. But as the documentary had suggested, “Great schools come from great people”.  And I firmly believe that if we truly had the compassion most of us expressed we did as we completed our bachelor’s degree in education, we can be those great people.  Our students are long overdue this commitment we had all used as our reason of care for their future or our future as educators.