Today's education system in the United States is working superbly, says Bob Bowdon, however just for a few -- and those few definitely aren't the students. In his education documentary "The Cartel," Bowdon, a TV news reporter in New Jersey, paints a fantastic ugly impression of the institutional depravation that has resulted in nearly unbelievable wastes of taxpayer money. While $400,000 is exhausted per schoolroom, but reading proficiency is only 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is unmistakable, which doesn't signify it's not controversial.
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools that can work outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those disordered public schools, Bowdon points out, it's virtually unimaginable to fire an instructor -- so even a shoddy one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinctive aspects of public education, tenure, backing, support drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The idiom education documentary can sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the film itself betrays an fervid passion for the predicament of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. The picture has started a lot of talk, which should no doubt continue with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest angle. "My picture is the left-brained variation, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
The left-brained method means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is invariably on the people affected, specially the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a spot at a charter school makes its own potent argument for the unsatisfactory failure of a state's education system.
And whilst it may be straightforward to acknowledge the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is an extremely familiar condition. Any watcher will discern the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight. - 42532
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's movie -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools that can work outside the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. In those disordered public schools, Bowdon points out, it's virtually unimaginable to fire an instructor -- so even a shoddy one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinctive aspects of public education, tenure, backing, support drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The idiom education documentary can sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the film itself betrays an fervid passion for the predicament of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. The picture has started a lot of talk, which should no doubt continue with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon says the documentaries can be seen as companion pieces: his focusing on public policy and Guggenheim's taking the human-interest angle. "My picture is the left-brained variation, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
The left-brained method means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the picture is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is invariably on the people affected, specially the inner-city students trapped in a damaged system. The tearful face of a youthful girl who learns she was not selected for a spot at a charter school makes its own potent argument for the unsatisfactory failure of a state's education system.
And whilst it may be straightforward to acknowledge the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is an extremely familiar condition. Any watcher will discern the failings of their own state's education system and the struggle for control. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight. - 42532
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