Your breath freezes in your lungs as the room falls silent. The clanking of balls fills the room with your future resting in their contents. A ball falls from the cage. Your eyes focus on the announcer praying that your number will be announced.
I
can only imagine how it feels to have my future decided by Lady Luck in
a lottery for a limited number of spaces at a school. Waiting for “Superman”
gives viewers a taste of how suspenseful and stressing these lotteries are. The documentary shows
the failing education system and how hard it is for the system to change. It
shows hope for education with the charter schools; however, if your child fails
to be picked, should you give up?
One
of the five students who entered five different lotteries is Emily Jones. She wishes
to attend Summit Prep in Redwood, California. Director Davis Guggenheim, states
that Summit is better because the school provides all students with high level
courses and does not ‘track’. Is tracking the only reason Emily Jones decided
to not go to Woodside High?
In
an interview with John Fensterwald, Emily states different reasons for applying
to Summit Prep, such as the smaller classes. She states, “I wanted to go to Summit
because it was different.” Is Woodside High School a bad school? Not at all.
Emily Jones tells John Fensterwald that she wanted to go to Woodside High
School before seeing Summit Prep.
Here John Fensterwald's full interview with Emily Jones.
This documentary is filled with valuable information; however, it only portrays one side of the issue. Woodside High School had a graduation percent of 90 in 2010, which is a vast difference from the 62% given by filmmakers. Not all public high schools, in rural, urban, or cities, are filled with ‘bad’ teachers or undermine their students’ ability. Teachers do have a major impact on a student’s education, but the student has to have motivation, determination, and a willingness to learn. Even the best teacher cannot teach a student who has no desire to learn. Parents should not give up if their child does not win the lottery. They should create a desire and passion to learn within their child’s heart and mind. Good teachers are only half of the equation to better education. 
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I agree with your statement "even the best teacher cannot teach a student who has no desire to learn." It starts at home. Children from a very young age must be taught the importance of an education and the freedom that comes with knowledge. Our morals are molded almost from the get-go, so we should be trying to educate parents on setting good examples for the children, not just attempting to fix the problem after it's too late.
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