The Luck of the Draw

While watching Waiting for “Superman,” my luck hit me square in the face. For Elementary, Middle and High School, I was fortunately accepted to a magnet program. I have realized here at college, however, just how different a turn my education could have taken. If I had ended up at my home school, Garinger High School, where would I be studying today? Just a few years ago, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system threatened to close this school because of poor test scores and violence.

The film follows five young students during the most critical time period in a child’s educational career; the first years of Elementary School. Eye-catching graphics and charts shed light on the bleak reality: American public schools are just not up to par. Alternating between tear-jerking anecdotes and proven facts both personalizes and confirms the problem. As I watched, I thought: “Wow, this problem is HUGE, and it’s a problem I need to do something about.”

The end of the film reveals which of these five students receives a spot in the school of choice, also known as “winning the lottery.” Even though the subject matter already personally touches me– I have entered, lost and won in the school lottery before – the cinematography also deeply moved me. Name after name is drawn, school auditoriums dead silent. The camera zooms in on a mother’s face, and written all over it is “prayer.” As I silently plea to hear “Bianca”, my fingers cross. The scene takes me back to my own kitchen where I wait by the phone to hear from the East Mecklenburg IB program. Maybe the bias lies with my tie to the lottery system, but the film definitely hits the pathos nail on the head.

This is an interesting article about my old school district in Charlotte, NC. What do you guys think about "pay for performance?"