Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/17719
Q&A with Davis Guggenheim tion. And there are really too many broken schools in the state and in the country. My idea was to tackle problems that are pulling schools down. I’ve been an education reporter for a long time. I go to a lot of inner-city schools and see a lot of good things happening. I didn’t see any of those things happening in the movie except for one teacher, and I’m wondering why. Look, I didn’t make a choice to not show good things. But the challenge for me is that a lot of schools don’t want you to shoot [film] in them, no matter who you are. There are overwhelming stakes happening in failing schools, and that’s what I focused on. Let me be clear. There are great district schools all over the country. I’m happy for them, and maybe my next movie will show how great these schools are. My mission was to follow five kids in neighborhoods where their schools were not working. For too many kids in America, their only choice is a failing school. You’re implying that I’m overlooking something out of some sort conspiracy, but that’s not the case. We are failing too many kids, and that’s what this movie is about. Interview by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Film director Davis Guggenheim, best known for An Inconvenient Truth, re- cently visited San Francisco to promote his new documentary, Waiting for Super- man, which opens widely in theaters in October. The Educator’s Sherry Posnick- Goodwin sat down with Guggenheim at the Clift Hotel to discuss his views on teachers and the challenges facing our schools. She was allotted just 15 minutes for the interview. ABOVE: Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim visits San Fran- cisco for a screening of Wait- ing for Superman. CALIFORNIA EDUCATOR: I’m a mom, and both my kids went through public schools. I know what it’s like to want the very best for your children. My kids had a pretty good experience in public schools. Did you feel that positive experiences in public schools were missing in Waiting for Superman? DAVIS GUGGENHEIM: I’m not worried about the kids who are getting a great education. I’m worried about the kids who aren’t getting a good educa- 30 California Educator | OCTOBER 2010 SPECIAL ELECTION ISSUE You talked about the three “bad public schools” you pass by on the way to taking your children to private schools, but we never get to see what’s in- side. Did you try to get inside? Yes. In the movie, you say, “We tried throwing money at schools, and it didn’t work.” But California schools cut more than $17 billion over the past two years. As a result, there have been more than 30,000 teacher layoffs, classrooms are overcrowded, and entire art, music and vocational education pro- grams have been eliminated. California has the eighth-largest economy in the world, but ranks 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending. Couldn’t California schools benefit from more funding? We need to spend more money, especially in Cal- ifornia. But if you spend more money, you need to fix what’s broken, or the money will go to the wrong place. There are these forces, and until you fix them, you’ll never fix our schools. There are bloated bureaucracies and very restrictive Photo by Scott Buschman