She remarked, "We need more of this," pointing toward the sign for the film's title above the heavy wooden doors to the main theater at the Landmark Oriental. She was trying to indicate some level of support for education, or for something this movie is about, but I wasn't sure. I was still thinking about her cutting in line.
I said, "Ma'am, the line begins behind me," and made a crowd-depreciative remark about us passholder types not knowing how to wait in lines. Outside the theater there stood a line of over 300 folks who merely have tickets (and cannot go in early and stand by the entry doors or mingle and get popcorn and sundries in a more stress-free environ. There was a stark difference between the accessibility and the treatment which we were receiving inside this grandiose space.
I had the luxury of being annoyed by the apparent entitlement of someone not used to standing in a line and waiting for things. When I confronted her she excused herself and slid back by the man she was with somewhat orthagonally to me in my periphery. She said, "It's so excellent having passes so that we can come past the crowd directly inside like this isn't it."
"I'll never go back to tickets," I said, "Ever since I got a pass last year I have been ruined for waiting in long lines."
I thought that we'd achieved an equilibrium of understanding about our own line positioning when she greeted someone ahead of me in line and slid back in front of me. Her escort made a half-hearted motion toward her to return to her position in line, but I was not going to be so patient or passive. I whispered to the person ahead of me that I would be heading to the balcony, where I could assure myself that no one would get in front of me.
Even this was a sign of my privelege. The balcony is technically shut down, but since I know VIPs for the festival, I feel like I own the place, and come and go as I please. Last year I chose the balcony as often as I could, and it was my way of enjoying the movie without the annoyances of kicked seats and people talking.
I'm writing this from before the start of the film, in the balcony, where there is now a loud group of folks flowing in around me, now accessing even this that I held dear. But this is a palpable metaphor for the state of education in America. It's not lost on me that there are folks who cannot get access to the same priveleges and opportunities that I have had, either because of arbitrary factors like skin color, ethnicity, or social class. The zipcode which someone lives in determines an awful lot about what choices and opportunities that they will have.
I've lived many places, including now in the inner-city. The difference for me has always been that I am able to come and go as I please. I've always had options. I have the luxury of choosing to live in the 'hood. I wasn't raised here, and don't suffer the long-term effects of classism or the psychosis of poverty. I can still feel entitled, and I am passionate about asserting my rights.
So, now, having seen the film I must say that I realize that it is the apathy and that attitude of entitled luxury which has led to the erosion of our national education system. It's led to the failed Milwaukee Public School system. Because, if folks like me actually cared, and learned to prioritize things by their relative imporatance, this would be solved overnight.
That's at least my view. I know that teacher's unions and government officials would have some say in that. I expect that there would be a fight. Still, if the vast majority of those of us with access to more choices and more influence would speak up and advocate for the strategies which this movie displays as proven methods that work instead of failed policies like "No Child Left Behind", an optimistic/simplistic bipartisan effort of George W Bush and Ted Kennedy.
Milwaukee was featured prominently in the film, as they interviewed former MPS Superintendents and dealt with the issue of choice schools and vouchers, which we've been on the forefront of in many ways.
This film is full of passionate ideas and persistent parents. It's optimistic and realistic simultaneously. You'll be inspired and devastated if you see this film, and you should.
I like how one urban school in particular not only broke the stagnant education gap which has ran like parallel lines for decades, it superceded the best of the suburban elite schools. It is a shining example that testifies that urban kids form challenged backgrounds and minority backgrounds not only can learn, but they can thrive.
I won't say more than that about the film.
I don't have children, despite having a loving 15-year marriage. Part of the reason I find it hard to consider parenting is that there are so many obstacles for children at present, and that there is such a gap between rich and poor. I'm certainly not in either category, but life is a struggle at times, and I have no legacy which I can guarantee for any child I were to parent. That's where I am at this moment, at least, on the cusp of 40.
It is the devastation of a school system like MPS, and the segregation in our city of Milwaukee, with all the problems that this brings to the social I sometimes feel paralyzed by the troubles I see in this segregated city, with a male graduation rate from MPS of under 40%.
Like is touched upon briefly in the film, it has been said that poverty leads to a deteriorated educational system and eventually crime. But the reality is much more the inverse. Our neglected schools have been the problem which lead to these other things. May we all learn to promote education as the cornerstone of our collective goals and aspirations. We succeed or fail together.
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