When people think that someone trying to educate children is "disrespectful" it is a sad, sad day. You can't bark over territory if the children aren't getting what they need. I live in a town where the school system is nothing to swing a bat at. I ache for other options. There are none. I have a son who is autistic and not that it should classify him as a "special" education student but he needs to be in smaller classrooms where he can learn better. He has been in this particular school system for 2 years and through year-long evaluations both years for nothing to happen. The job for the school system is to educate the children;but the biggest issue amongst our teachers here is NJ is their salaries and their contracts....what about the students?

Compared to other countries the American education system is really lacking. There are other countries like Finland that are scoring really well on math and science tests. It isn't just blacks and Hispanics that are one of the least educated here in this country. It's also poorer white people as well who are going to bad schools and in some cases poorer Asians if you go out to places like Hawaii where most of the schools there are so run down and dilapidated it's not even funny.

All these statistics they raise about Latinos and Blacks failing compared to whites--it makes sense BUT only to a point. Sure, a lot more Latinos and Blacks go to poorer neighborhoods with schools with less funding. A lot of these schools with high Latino population are failing because of the English language programs needed to just catch the kids up to the other students, and there's an enormous amount of resources that is needed for these students. Most charter schools work because they have a self-selection bias with English applications, and similarly with their advertising, which weeds out students with limited English (the major cause, I believe, of failing schools, since it's hard to take a test in a language you don't understand).They don't mention is the within-school differences. What about black, latino, asian, white students in the same schools, at the same branch of income? What about native blacks and black immigrants? Is there a cultural issue at the parental level affecting the achievement gap? A lack of education?I think the pressure is on the parents--the high achievement, high success, and emphasis on education, as well as more time dedicated to schoolwork at charter schools--these things should be emphasized within the home. I went to failing schools in Arkansas, Missouri, and Chicago, with poor parents that worked 80 hour weeks at near minimum wage, but still went to an extremely-selective university. The objectives of the chartered schools seems to be taking on the role of what a good parent should be doing at home. You can fire a bad teacher, but what can you do about a bad parent? Having grown up and learning through failing schools, I don't think it's an issue of access (especially with the internet so easily available).If you're letting your child come home to watch TV until bedtime, letting your kid do nothing during the summer, and letting your kid play constantly video games in lieu of learning, you can't blame the school system. These charter schools are glorified parenting companies by giving the child resources for their free time that is educational and useful. Instead of a lottery, they need to make access to these schools via merit for the students in the local area.

It is never a good idea to make blanket statements about anything. To say that all public schools are failing is incorrect. To say that all charter schools are successful is also incorrect. What works for the charter school, Harlem Success Academy, are the same things that will work for the “zoned” or regular public school, PS194; that is educators, parents, and community ALL working together, on the same page, with the same goals in sight to create an academically conducive environment. I would bet that the parents of the zoned school have children who have experienced some success at PS194. Why else would they be fighting so vigorously to keep their school in their neighborhood? And I would further wager that those PS194 children have experienced that degree of successful because for them EVERYBODY, all the stakeholders in their success—educators, parents, and community—are on board. (I’m not using community in the broad definition as a physical location or neighborhood, but rather a social term for a group of people, regardless of physical location, that are organized around common values and interests.) What makes the Harlem Success Academy a success is that it starts with a community that has set its values and goals on getting their students into and through college. Then it allows families who want the same goals for their children to vie for a spot, via a lottery. Harlem Success Academy, one community, one mindset. The communities of PS194—not so single-minded.It’s too bad that the makers of this documentary didn’t focus on the similarities between what works in effective schools, both zoned and charter. As a public school teacher I will admit that there are some issues with unions that should be addressed, but the teacher’s union is not what’s wrong with public education. It will take more to fix the “system” than firing a bunch of “lazy, ineffective teachers” and taking away their “right to due process”. Just as students thrive in an academically conducive environment, the effectiveness of teaching also skyrockets when the community environment is working with the teacher and not against him/her.Unfortunately, PS194 doesn’t get to set up a community where stakeholders opt in. They have to “educate” everybody. That includes children who have parents that struggle with parenting, who aren’t working with them academically so that they enter Kindergarten already knowing their letters and sounds, and that 2+3=5, so they can be reading a month after school starts in October. Children whose parents aren’t having genuine conversations with them about the world and what they want to be in life. And, how many of those Harlem Success Academy students do you think come to school hungry everyday?Yes, the system needs fixing. But let’s not throw the babies out with the bath water. I suspect that there might be a political agenda behind the broad accusations against public education as a concept. Vouchers and charter schools may be a way out for those who don’t share the values and interests of those in their physical communities. But what about the children who are “left behind”? Those whose parents aren’t waiting on pins and needles for a choice spot in a thriving school? These are the children who need someone to advocate for them. Where’s their documentary? The focus on dismantling public schools leaves these children out of the equation. Who will show them that education has a significant place in their present and future lives, that they too, can succeed? Do we abandon them and just build bigger prisons and shelters? These are the students that my colleagues and I work with everyday, trying to close an achievement gap that seems to widen more and more each day, as well as try to meet many of their other basic needs. Test scores go up, but not far enough, so we get labeled in the media as ineffective. I’m sure there are lazy, ineffective teachers somewhere, but honestly, I don’t know any. Let’s commit to making real changes that will truly leave no child left behind.