I was told to watch this documentary and was originally unsure about it. I have done some reading on the United States educational system in the past and didn't know what this movie could bring to light that I had not already read about.

I was shocked and saddened by what I saw. The person who told me to watch this documentary even mentioned, "If you watch it and don't cry, you might be a robot." There were numerous points in the film which caused me to tear up. This documentary followed students - typically those who did not have as many means as others. Their schooling - be it their teachers or the tracking system - was letting them down. I firmly believe that every child should have access to a decent education and it hurts to think that some people don't because of their race, finances, or anything else.

In the film, we saw students who truly wanted an education and wanted to succeed. We also saw some who had a difficult time in school because they did not feel supported by their teachers. Some of the students expressed that they wanted to do and be better, go to college, and eventually provide for their kids in a way that they hadn't been provided for.

This taught me some information about charter schools which I did not know before. The lottery for the children to get into the charter schools was heartbreaking. It stinks to see kids, and parents who want to do right by their children, not be able to receive a proper education.

I hope that, in the future, we will be able to implement educational reform so that all children are able to get a proper education. For anybody interested in the current educational system or charter schools, I would urge you to watch this.

I teach a social foundations in education course and find this documentary to be very helpful. I pair it with Diane Ravitch's article against the movie so that we can have a lively debate. Even though this movie definitely has a pro-charter/anti-union agenda, I find that it is extremely helpful as a discussion starter. Any person interested in education should watch this documentary.

Please rate my review as “helpful”, if it helped you. Thanks!

After watching this documentary, I knew right away that I needed to get involved. Having three children of my own (two already in an unsatisfactory school system), I understood and sympathized with the children and parents bearing the brunt of a clearly broken education system. I thought about running for school board, but the lessons learned from Waiting For Superman showed that no one who was willing to affect meaningful change could do so from the upper echelons of school administration. The teacher's unions, who may have served a wonderful and noble purpose long ago, now have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, which is clearly unacceptable. Waiting For Superman, exposes the cracks in the system, and while charter schools are still vulnerable to failure, it appears to be the best substitute solution for the dysfunctional, top-heavy, bureaucracy-laden public school system that is inflexible toward desperately needed changes.

The only shortfall I would have to acknowledge is that there are so many passionate, creative teachers and administrators doing their best and that was not emphasized in the movie. The comments vilifying Waiting For Superman just shows how insecure some people are toward change. If you can't acknowledge the statistics showing how many kids are falling through the cracks then you are part of the problem.

With so many children and parents relying on a lottery system that leaves to much child potential to chance in sub-standard school districts, I realized that I could help alleviate this problem.Thanks to Waiting For Superman, I finally found a purpose (after my family of course)to wake up for each morning. I highly recommend this movie to anyone seeking knowledge on how the current system works and what to do about it.

This film shows us the overwhelming reasons that our educational system is letting down students, their parents and our country. When our educational system was put into place, it was not meant to educate students to compete in a global economy, and now we are falling behind by the hour. The movie touches on how the Teachers' Unions beloved "tenure" is part of the problem (imagine having a home built by someone who cannot be fired). I had been under the impression that the majority of our failing students (or students who drop out of school) do so because their parents did not care. I don't believe that any more.
"Waiting for Superman" also gives us hope when describing schools such as Kipp Schools and Charter Schools. Kipp Schools, with no teacher tenure, have also implemented a certain teaching method that is mass producing kids who end up going all the way through college!
Not only do I recommend this film, I recommend and encourage that you watch it, and buy extras to give as presents to every pregnant couple that you know!