My favorite thing is to hear from a teacher who's seen Waiting for "Superman". Teachers live it everyday so they get it -- the good and the bad. And I am moved by all the reactions: the emotion, the criticism, the longing to help the kids in my documentary. Hearing this means the movie is working: the conversation is getting wider, bigger, deeper.
We want even more people to join the conversation, and we especially want to hear from teachers, so this week, the film's distributor is announcing that theater owners are offering teachers who show their credentials at the box office the chance to buy tickets to Waiting for "Superman" at a reduced rate.
The roots of my passion for this for this comes from my love of great teachers -- that was the subject of my very first doc called The First Year. If you haven't seen it, it's about the heroic struggles of passionate teachers. It was the experience of meeting these amazing teachers, and being so inspired by their commitment that made me care so much about public education. I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to make another film about education, I'd talk as honestly as I could about a system that makes it so hard for teachers and the kids they are trying to serve.
At the heart of Waiting for "Superman" are five kids whose lives are at stake. For Anthony, Fransisco, Daisy, Emily and Bianca, they don't care what kind of public school they go to -- they just want it to be great. And they can't understand why we as a country can't deliver for them what every kid in America deserves -- a great education.
So please add your voice to the many others like me who believe every child in America deserves a great education. Send this note to all the teacher you know and tell them they can see Waiting for "Superman" this week at a reduced ticket price.
This film has sparked a lot of conversation, debate and even some disagreement. And that's exactly what we were hoping for. See the film for yourself and then tell me what you think -- leave me a note in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
I look forward to hearing from you.