Thousands Host 'Waiting For Superman' House Parties

UPDATE: Since this story was first posted, it has been clarified that there is no charge to order the party kit online. The article has been updated to reflect those changes.
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It probably won't be the wildest party you've ever been to, but it's sure to spark debate. On February 25, thousands of people across the nation will host "Waiting for 'Superman'" house parties, celebrating the recent DVD release.

The 2010 documentary about the plight of American schools touches on hot-button issues such as teacher quality and charter schools.

Waitingforsuperman.com urges people who want to draw attention to the need for education reform to host a party. You can order a free house party kit online, which includes a movie guide and popcorn. The DVD is sold separately and includes a $25 gift card for Donorschoose.org, so that the buyer can make a contribution to a classroom in need.

One Los Angeles social studies teacher from a school that was short on computers received $8,000 in donations for student laptops from contributions to Donors.org, reports Take Part. "Mr. P." says he'll host a "Superman" party because he thinks the movie draws attention to the problems with the education system and will hopefully spark change.

"I'm hosting a WFS house party because even though I might not agree with everything in the film, it is doing one important thing: putting education in the spotlight. It offers a forum for people who know very little about the public education system to see the problems I see, and more importantly, to act."

"Waiting for 'Superman'" received both praise and criticism when it was released last year.

TIME said it effectively brought the shortcomings of the education system into prominence.

"Waiting for 'Superman' stirs that discussion, and perhaps moves it to the front of our national concerns, because it is so smartly and feelingly constructed."

The Washington Post, however, said the documentary was rightly shorted an expected Oscar nomination.

"The documentarians who select the films for Academy Award nominations in the feature documentary category got it right: 'Waiting for Superman' was not good/accurate enough to be selected."

If you can't host a party yourself but would like to find one, see the map below or the directory here.

Comments

[jumisko]

09:44 PM on 02/25/2011

There is no reform that will be able to improve the education of our children until we remove standardized testing as the way we measure student learning. Removing this provision from NCLB / ESEA is what Obama should be focusing on, and he JUST DOESN'T GET IT.

The difference between American education and the measures we get from other countries is that we have compulsory education for all. This is not the case in these overblown citations about China and Korea. The children tested are the children selected to go on to advanced and purely academic (as opposed to vocational) educational settings. The testing we do is cheap and give us mostly useless data, useful mainly for spotting trends at the District and State levels. If we wanted to truly measure a child's learning, we would measure growth.

American children come from all kinds of families, backgrounds, and levels of income. We need to measure where they start, then measure their growth at the end of the year, with quality assessment instruments in both formative and summative measures.

[whatsthat1]

11:06 AM on 02/21/2011

Strange, I did not see any parties listed in Rhode Island. I figured at least Gist would be hosting one since she supports that crowd. Their mantra, support the super race program, then slowly weed out the ones they no longer want, after they destroy the public system with the Teach for America clones. Watch out for this program because it does not include special needs children, only the chosen ones. http://www.ri-specialeducation.com/

[avg american]

10:42 AM on 02/21/2011

For all of the bloggers that hated this movie, the bottom line is we all need to assume responsibility for our educational system and compassionately and patiently respond because our children cannot compete for jobs anymore.
This is the future of our country, folks.
We are producing service workers. Serfs.
China and Korea are educating children to speak 2 languages and do calc and physics at 8 years old.

Our economy and our money are going global and we as a country are sliding downward not upward.

Our educational system needs TLC and a compassionate and humble response, because we have been asking our teachers to do the impossible with no funds. I cannot image what a frustrating, soul-sucking feeling it is to want to help and teach and have people spit on you for it.

We need to support our teachers and educational system and not demonize these people.

[leftbehind2000]

12:51 AM on 02/21/2011

Like Mad Cow Disease, here's hoping this current end-of-the-world trend becomes yesterday's news very soon.

[Tuigim]

11:15 PM on 02/20/2011

Who wrote this article (commercial)?
Why is HuffPo promoting this garbage?
SHAME!

[InfinteShibumi]

12:05 AM on 02/21/2011

Usually, I would say follow the money trail. In this case, I'll say follow the Friend of Friends Network...

[plthomas]

09:38 PM on 02/20/2011

The refuting of this film is overwhelming: http://bit.ly/ifzYd7

[Tuigim]

11:22 PM on 02/20/2011

I am surprised when some people who should know better think that this a good movie.
I am shocked when people who work in education are not outraged
with what it presents and how it presents it.
It is very damaging
and makes teachers lives even harder than it already is
in a time when teacher bashing is in vogue.
Heaven protect us from such ignorance.

[leftbehind2000]

12:52 AM on 02/21/2011

I think most everyone in education is outraged. Unfortunately, our voices are being drowned out by well-funded propaganda.

[teacher39years]

11:24 PM on 02/20/2011

Thanks for the link. It's great.

[JusdaTruth]

08:31 PM on 02/20/2011

What could be the Billionaires and Hedge Fund Managers goals when it comes to public education? Altruism? I don't think so. Civil Rights? I don't think so. It think it's : show me the money by privatizing education and any other government program they can get their hands on.

[gettingitright]

06:37 PM on 02/20/2011

A perpetuation of the villification of teachers. Terrible propaganda. How many teabags are hosts, I wonder.

[perlin]

03:50 PM on 02/20/2011

Guggenheim is a fake progressive. He will never make a film about the real social and economic problems in inner cities, the unemployment, low income,low quality health care, poverty, crime, drugs, gangs,neglect, despair. Fake progressives avoid the word "poverty" and income inequalities like a plague.
The billionair­e club , the pseudo-pro­gressives will never address the real crises in this country. A huge share of the economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top of one -hundred of one percent who now make the average 27 million per houshold. the average income for the bottom 90 percent of the nation is 31, 244 dollars.
Guggenheim never lived in a devasteded­,poverty and crime ridden neigborhoo­d in this country, like for example Camden. I did. I sent my child to one of the public school there. Teachers are heroes.
Progressiv­e people don't fall for WFS propaganda­. The truly progreesiv­e people do not live in ivory towers.
Fake progressiv­es are busy inventing pseudo-cri­ses to avoid the truth. They want to mask the brutal income inequalities in the USA.

[teacher39years]

04:00 PM on 02/20/2011

Exactly right . This propaganda piece was a prelude to what the Corporate Interests wanted to achieve in Wisconsin.

[perlin]

03:20 PM on 02/20/2011

The best educated and the brightest Wall Streeters engineered the economic collapse of the country. As soon as the nation started to grow unhappy with the Wall Street and the financial reforms seemed to be imminent, the billionairs club came to the rescue to preserve the status quo and avoid paying their fair share in taxes.
Guggenheim and his ilk quickly came with pseudo-pro­gressive agenda " crises in education" to steer the blame off the bankers and place it on the shoulders of... teachers.
The angry mob does not care about the details as long as there is a scapegoat ... a teacher..

[TFT]

03:39 PM on 02/20/2011

I don't support this theory, BTW. Oligarchs do what they do no matter what.

[teacher39years]

04:02 PM on 02/20/2011

This same group hardly mentions privitizing Social Security any more.

[avg american]

08:12 PM on 02/20/2011

Wait for it.
Timing is everything.

As soon as they break the unions, the Wall Street bubble that has been building will burst and then the politicians will say that we have to privatize social security to save the economy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41596886/ns/business-world_business/
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing-basics/nyse-deutsche-boerse-merger-stock-exchange-germany/19838145/

[SupportPublicEd]

03:15 PM on 02/20/2011

When "Waiting for Superman" first came out, it was possible to pledge to see it on the movie's website. I pledged not see it in the theater and I renew my pledge by not renting it either. These house parties are just another marketing scam for the film and its corporate backers. Vote with your dollars, don't see the film.

http://supportpubliceducation.blogspot.com/2010/10/superman-and-superwoman-have-arrived.html

[KCinNJ]

08:03 PM on 02/20/2011

What are you scare of? I grew up one of these inner school(Camden) 30 years ago an my education sucked.
You should see the film just to make up your own mind. You are judging without seeing.

[eceresa]

08:39 PM on 02/20/2011

I've seen it. It was nothing but a misleading propaganda piece.

[SupportPublicEd]

01:07 PM on 02/21/2011

My critique of the film is not of its cinematic value, but of what it stands for. Before it was released, I had all intentions of viewing it. But, upon researching the film and researching the individuals, institutions, and corporations that had a monetary or philosophical stake in the film, I became aware that those involved in the film had a view of reform that was counterproductive to genuine and positive change in education. By not seeing the film, I am voting against the views of the individuals and corporations behind the film, not the plight of the kids within it.

[am10]

11:41 AM on 02/20/2011

I wonder if these house parties will be a requirement on Teach For America applications.

[Ann Delacy]

11:32 AM on 02/20/2011

What a joke! ILMAO! Haven't you all been reading about the lies Michelle Rhee told and continues to tell about her Baltimore City Miracle? Please stop shilling Rhee and Arne Duncan.