There's money to be made in education, argues Bob Bowdon, but simply if you crop out the unprofitable bits, like expert teachers. In his documentary "The Cartel," New Jersey TV news reporter Bowdon shines a light on the depravation and rapacity that has resulted in the disappearing of so much taxpayer money in that state. As $400,000 is spent per classroom, but reading proficiency is alone 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is unmistakable, which doesn't signify it's not controversial.
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's film -- the villains are reasonably clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools which can maneuver beyond the control of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. Bowdon makes much of the fact that it's very nearly unimaginable for a teacher to be fired, a safety net that does little to incite hard work in those teachers who know they possess a vocation regardless of how many of the three Rs they teach -- if any.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of unique aspects of public education, tenure, financing, patronage drops, subversion --meaning larceny -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary might sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the movie itself betrays an fervid passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" started fashioning the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut nearly a year later, in spring 2010. The movie has started a lot of discussion, which should no doubt persist with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon sees the films as complementary, and hopes that "Superman," with its human-interest ideology, draws more notice to his own, which focuses on public policy. "The two films attain parallel conclusions," Bowdon says.
It is definitely analytical, couching its arguments in an assessment of how the money is being spent, or misspent. He follows the money to describe conclusions around how dirty the Jersey school system is, but his picture features moments of soaring emotion and heartache. One girl, crying after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And whilst there's an irony in this kind of public corruption happening in a state renowned for its organized crime, it's evident that this is not an isolated collapse. Any spectator will realize the failings of their own state's education system and the fight for control. Bowdon comes out in favor of the charter school plan, of taxpayers being able to choose their own schools, to get out from under the state's control. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a struggle. - 40730
At hand are two major factions in Bowdon's film -- the villains are reasonably clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools -- private schools which can maneuver beyond the control of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. Bowdon makes much of the fact that it's very nearly unimaginable for a teacher to be fired, a safety net that does little to incite hard work in those teachers who know they possess a vocation regardless of how many of the three Rs they teach -- if any.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of unique aspects of public education, tenure, financing, patronage drops, subversion --meaning larceny -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary might sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the movie itself betrays an fervid passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" started fashioning the round of the festivals in summer 2009, and made its theatrical debut nearly a year later, in spring 2010. The movie has started a lot of discussion, which should no doubt persist with the more-recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim's own education expose, "Waiting for Superman." Bowdon sees the films as complementary, and hopes that "Superman," with its human-interest ideology, draws more notice to his own, which focuses on public policy. "The two films attain parallel conclusions," Bowdon says.
It is definitely analytical, couching its arguments in an assessment of how the money is being spent, or misspent. He follows the money to describe conclusions around how dirty the Jersey school system is, but his picture features moments of soaring emotion and heartache. One girl, crying after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And whilst there's an irony in this kind of public corruption happening in a state renowned for its organized crime, it's evident that this is not an isolated collapse. Any spectator will realize the failings of their own state's education system and the fight for control. Bowdon comes out in favor of the charter school plan, of taxpayers being able to choose their own schools, to get out from under the state's control. But he also makes it comprehensible that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a struggle. - 40730
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