Education Documentaries

[Frank W. Baker]

This past weekend I saw the trailer for "Waiting for Superman," and wondered if it would play at my small independent theatre or one of the big chains (bigger audience?).  Meantime, there  is another doc making news:  "A Right Denied: The Critical Need for Genuine School Reform,"

[Alan Teasley]

"Waiting for Superman," which I haven't seen, is directed by Davis Guggenheim, Oscar winner for "An Inconvenient Truth." His earlier film "The First Year" (2001) won a Peabody and the Grand Jury Award at Full Frame. It follows five or six teachers in a variety of grades and types of schools from the first day of school until the last day of their first year. It's a great film to use with student teachers or first year teachers (but don't show it to them before the start of their internship!). I hope the new film is as good as the earlier two that I've seen.