Who Will Save Us?

I recently watched a documentary about the public school crisis in the United States. Called Waiting for "Superman", it was a very excellent documentary that detailed the crippling problems that confront our country, the root causes (some of them, anyway), and a few possible solutions. At the beginning of the documentary, one of the revolutionaries of the reform movement said this: "One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me "Superman" did not exist. Cause even in the depths of the ghetto you just thought he was coming...She thought I was crying because it's like Santa Claus is not real. I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us."

That line jumped out at me. "No one was coming with enough power to save us." When you're in desperate straights, when everything seems to be falling apart, when the odds are overwhelmingly against you, you need salvation. And the savior has to have three qualities: he has to want to save you; he has to know how to save you; and he has to have enough strength to save you.

The comic book industry has always captivated the hearts and minds of people. The concept of someone who has all three necessary requirements of a savior resonates strongly with us. Which is odd, because not many of us find ourselves trapped in a stricken airplane that's plummeting toward earth, or threatened by a giant mutated insect, or captured by an evil mastermind armed with laser guns and a fortress riddled with traps. I daresay that none of us have ever been confronted with evil masterminds or giant insects, and air travel is statistically the safest form of travel; rationally it would make more sense to pray for salvation from other drivers than from a downed aircraft.

In other situations the need for a savior is much more relevant. I enjoy the television series House a great deal, mostly because of the dialogue and Hugh Laurie's portrayal of the brilliant doctor with the acerbic wit. But the patients on the show are in need of a savior; a disease strikes and House must solve the mystery before time runs out. It's a comic book disguised as a medical drama. However, even if the show exaggerates certain diseases for the sake of effect, there are countless real medical ailments that plague mankind. Cancer is the big gun, the Lex Luthor of the medical world, although even viruses like the common cold have no cure. People cry out for saviors from the sickness they face, another reason why medical shows are so popular. We get to see the diseases beaten more often than not; we get to see doctors save people. It's hardwired in us.

And then there are more amorphous issues that we need saving from. Things that can't be directly confronted or dealt with. Things like climate change, religious hostility, political adversaries, unemployment, illegal immigration. Things that people argue about, that they come up with good reasons for or against, where there is no agreed, objective standard of measurement. We may all agree that unemployment is a bad thing, but how to rectify the solution, well, that's a hotbed of dispute, with many sides shouting their own views are the best and only salvation. Then there are the issues that we don't even agree upon the problem. Climate change? That's a terrific imbroglio. Illegal immigration? Oil exploration? Global conflicts? How can we be saved when we don't even know if we need to be saved, let alone the form of that salvation?

Which brings me back to the original excuse for this article: education. Another issue similar to unemployment. Tests scores put us near the bottom of developed countries in academic achievement. Dropout rates are staggering, and those who do muddle through public schools are rarely prepared for college, let alone the high end jobs that are on the rise as technology continues to advance. For more information about this, watch the documentary. But how to change the situation is where the road trails off into a morass of political posturing and turf wars. And the victims are the children.

The document follows five different children all struggling in schools, and all submit their names into lotteries to be admitted into better schools: prep schools, charter schools, boarding schools. Not all of them get in. It's heartbreaking to see the despair on their faces, and on the faces of their parents, who fight and scrape and bend themselves into pretzels so their kids can get a decent education. I was moved to tears by the end of the documentary. My soul was crying out, "Who can save these kids? How can the problems be fixed?" And by the way, there are millions more just like them, suffering through poor education and destined to failure. Most don't even care that much about education, for numerous reasons, but a big one is that they've never seen it done well. If education was fun and effective, even those who aren't naturally inclined toward it would be much more open to it. These kids need salvation.

Who can save them? Not their parents, by and large. Their parents are low to middle income, without the resources and power to enroll them in private schools where effective teachers are unleashed and well-compensated to be excellent. Politicians? How many billions, perhaps trillions, have we spent on public policy? The doc covers this well, outlining the US presidents all promising change and salvation. Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference: all have failed. State and local governments have fared little better. They may have the power, but they haven't the foggiest notion of how to save education.

Teachers' unions? If anyone would have both the power and the knowledge to rescue education it would have to be them, right? Maybe, but they seem to be more the roadblock to any legitimate and fundamental change, as the doc makes abundantly clear. As incredible as it sounds, they lack the will or desire to save salvation, preferring to guard their own territory and cater to their members and to the politicians with whom they have cozy relationships. This is perhaps the worst revelation from the doc, the appalling hypocrisy of the AFT and the NEA who claim to be solely dedicated to fighting for education but when real reform is proffered lambaste the legislation and prevent their members from even voting on it.

Who's left? Teachers. Some of whom are legitimately competent and care about their jobs, but far too many of whom are unmotivated and unwilling to push themselves to reach their students. Tenure in public schools is the main cause of this, as the doc delves into.

By now you should have a sense of the enormity of the problem facing the United States. And while the doc does outline a few solutions and potential avenues of reform that might reverse the trend, the obstacles are significant. Which brings me back once again to that quote, that idea: Who has the power to save the children?