The education mode in America is working aptly, says Bob Bowdon, however simply for a few -- and those few surely aren't the students. In his documentary "The Cartel," New Jersey television news reporter Bowdon shines a light on the degeneracy and avarice that has resulted in the disappearance of so much taxpayer money in that state. When $400,000 is exhausted per classroom, but reading proficiency is just 39% (and math at 40%), the crisis is apparent, which doesn't denote it's not controversial.
The two sides of this conflict meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon's film: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to set aside 90 cents of every taxpayer buck into everything but teachers' salaries -- while a variety of school administrators get paid upwards of $100,000. On the other slope are the supporters of a charter education system, private schools in which parents can use tax vouchers to pay tuition and shake off the public nightmare. In those disordered public schools, Bowdon points out, it's just about unimaginable to fire a teacher -- so even a mediocre one has a career for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinct aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, support drops, subversion --meaning thieving -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like boring squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. Hopefully it will get a boost, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documental "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking dissimilar approaches to the similar problem, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" centering on the human-interest aspects. "The two films attain interchangeable conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained manner means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is always on the people affected, particularly the inner-city students trapped in a wrecked system. One girl, crying after learning 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 although it may be easy to admit the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is a greatly familiar situation. A viewer anyplace in the country will discern similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and readiness for a resolution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it obvious that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight. - 40732
The two sides of this conflict meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon's film: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to set aside 90 cents of every taxpayer buck into everything but teachers' salaries -- while a variety of school administrators get paid upwards of $100,000. On the other slope are the supporters of a charter education system, private schools in which parents can use tax vouchers to pay tuition and shake off the public nightmare. In those disordered public schools, Bowdon points out, it's just about unimaginable to fire a teacher -- so even a mediocre one has a career for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of distinct aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, support drops, subversion --meaning thieving -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like boring squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the quandary of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. Hopefully it will get a boost, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documental "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking dissimilar approaches to the similar problem, "The Cartel" by examining public policy and "Superman" centering on the human-interest aspects. "The two films attain interchangeable conclusions," Bowdon says.
The left-brained manner means arguments that follow the economics -- money misspent, opportunities wasted. But that isn't to say the film is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is always on the people affected, particularly the inner-city students trapped in a wrecked system. One girl, crying after learning 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 although it may be easy to admit the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is a greatly familiar situation. A viewer anyplace in the country will discern similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and readiness for a resolution. Bowdon puts his faith in the charter schools, where the taxpayer has influence over the kind and quality of instruction. But he also makes it obvious that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a fight. - 40732
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