Waiting For Superman film will kick off community education forum
Written by Arielle Stevenson, Sep 8, 2011, 0 Comments
Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim delves into the realities of the U.S. education system with his educational-expose “Waiting for Superman.” Released last year, the director behind the Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” uncovers the ways children are trying to get into better schools through magnet or charter lotteries.
Parents fill auditoriums to play a sort of acceptance-bingo for their children’s education. Dependence on whether a child’s number is drawn and where they go to school could determine the rest of their lives.
The film will be shown at the Steidinger Auditorium at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Monday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. A community forum with Pinellas County educators will follow. The event is free.
A recent study by the Florida Department of Education found that teachers in the state have only received a 1-percent salary raise in the last four years. The state decreased university funding by 28 percent between 2008 and 2011.
Governor Rick Scott’s early budget proposals cut between $3.3 billion and $4.8 billion from the education budget and per-student funding decreased by 10 percent. Teachers across the state now have to contribute 5 percent to their own retirement funds.
A study among 30 developed countries revealed the U.S. is ranked 25th in math and 21st in science.
[box_dark]What: Waiting for Superman Film with community forum with Pinellas County Educators
When: Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: Free
Where: Steidinger Auditorium
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
100 8th Avenue Southeast
St. Petersburg, FL 33701[/box_dark]
