A simple story, with a more complex message

A teacher friend and I went to see Brooklyn Castle today, a film that got rave reviews at South By Southwest. I liked the movie. It addressed the education funding crises without a dramatic spin on good/bad teachers, working class neighborhoods, test scores/failing schools, a corporate savior, etc.

It simply chronicled the tale of incredible chess players who do what they do because of an incredible chess program at a New York public middle school that, until recently was a well-funded after school program. The school has about 75% of its students living below the poverty line and yet it has a myriad of programs to support student learning, from a robotics club to marching band to a dance team, among others. At one point the vice principal mentions briefly that these programs make the school a great place and keep students learning and o

ff the streets.

What I like about the movie is that it shows that there are schools that are not failing, not part of the charter system, that are doing incredible work, and are losing funding that allow them to do the great work that they are doing. But underneath the more simple narrative is a more complex message that highlights the sheer injustice of the budget cuts in schools. (God forbid that there should be a well-funded public school in a working class neighborhood that doesn't have some big name philanthropist or corporation behind it.)

One of the more maddening messages to come out of the merging of the education funding crisis and the corporate reform movement is that the solution is to privatize education because public education isn't working in working-class neighborhoods like Brooklyn. This message was loud and clear in Waiting for Superman. The truth is, that good schools (in any neighborhood regardless of economic class) with the proper funding are working! Sadly, budget cuts are affecting every school district with no sign of it stopping in any near future. (Meanwhile, spending on public prisons continues to go up....sending a message that this country prefers to lock up youth rather than educate them. But that is a story for another day.)

I left the theater sad, as I usually do when I see films like these, because the injustice of this country's values is so appalling. You can be a top executive of a company that goes bankrupt (i.e. FAILS) and receive a 6 or 7 figure bonus from the government, while students have to take a day away from learning to do a walk-a-thon to raise maybe $10,000 to cover a fraction of a SUCCESSFUL after school program. They have to fundraise themselves because of loss of public funding because of an economy that has spiraled downward due to those top executives.

This is a not a country with liberty and justice for all. This is a country with liberty and justice for some, mainly those in power. I wrestle nearly everyday with what this means for my work, given my masters program and my faith. I'm not sure what the solution is. But I know part of it includes raising my voice and using the parts of democracy that the ordinary person can still take advantage of. This probably won't be the last time this topic comes up on my blog...