Essay Sample on Waiting for Superman Movie

The movie Waiting for Superman primarily focuses on the failing education system of the united states. It tells the story of five children in the country ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade as they attempt to escape the public school system through chance and get admitted into a charter school. This essay covers how the education system in the united states has failed while giving insights into the reason for the crisis. The failing education system is a result of incompetent teachers who are supposed to guide the students in their quest to obtain an education.

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One of the primary roles of school is to act as an agent of socialization. Socialization can be described as the process through individuals learn the culture of a particular group at different stages of life. School as an agent of socialization can state to a microsystem where individuals develop and learning takes place. Schools also give people the social and intellectual experiences that are required to develop factors such as attitudes, customs, knowledge, interests, and skills. It is crucial to help individuals adapt to changes in the physical and social environment fostering respect to the existing social order.

In schools, the social order of society is primarily passed on in the classroom. These children are evaluated by marks, teachers' comments, and report cards. These evaluations are critical to the learning of the standards and norms contributing to socialization. Therefore, the extent to which children meet others' expectations determines the emergence of self-concept. Factors such as introduction to authority, educational policies, and social relationship are indicated to evolve in the classrooms. Teachers play a role as role models in schools as children emulate them. According to the text " The most powerful socializing influence of the school lies in those who translate the program goals into actions - the teachers", allows children to develop the concept of socialization.

The film Waiting for Superman shows the problems that trouble the public education system faces by showing the experiences of those who have not landed in charter schools. The movies depict one of the significant ways in which these schools sabotage the role of schools, is through insufficient slots for enrollment to accommodate all children(Guggenheim, 2010). The fate of children is preferably placed on a lucky draw to enter the charter school. The schools use luck rather than efforts and hard work to determine the future of these children(Guggenheim, 2010). The public schools further try to reduce the achievement gap between charter school and them by the closing of schools and firing teachers, which are crucial to the development of self-concept and social order in society.

Effective teachers are stated to havecharacteristics such as the communication of high expectations for the success of the students. They also provide the opportunity and time to learns as well as involving the students in learning activities (Berns, 2004). They also ensure success for their students throughout the curriculum and adaptation of the various levels of learning and students' abilities.

The film depicts the failure of the American education system to provide children with quality education leading to a crisis. However, the film criticizes the teacher's union and teacher tenure, which it claims to be the cause of the obstructing educational reform(Guggenheim, 2010). The provision of tenure laws dictated that tenured teachers cannot be fired without specific reasons such as insubordination, incompetence, or moral misconduct (Berns, 2004). Hence, the system allowed incompetent teachers to continue educating the children.

Bioecological perspective suggests the development of human takes places in a transactional process where the development of an individual is a factor of the interactions between numerous elements and their environment. When considered from this perspective, the film shows that the development of the children in these schools is processual. There is the presence of incompetent teachers means that the students are not adequately educated. These children are further brought in a system where going to a charter school, where the education is of higher quality compared to public schools, is conducted through luck rather than their efforts. Hence, they grow up perceiving that life is a matter of luck and end up putting less effort in their education, promoting the poor quality of education offered. Furthermore, there are no teachers who are acting as role models, leading to underdevelopment in terms of education as well as failing to grip the self-concept and social order in society.

Teachers play a crucial role in the development of children into individuals with self-concept and understanding of the social order in society. The teachers have failed to become role models to the kids leading to the crisis in the American education system. They have also depicted education as a product of luck rather hard work and efforts of the children.

References

Berns, R. (2004). Child, family, school, community: socialization and support (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Guggenheim, D. (2010). Waiting for Superman [Film]. United States: Walden Media, Participant Media.