Having seen all the trailers available on this enticing film, (see http://www.wbdtoolkit.com/), and having read many of the reviews, I'm planning to see it for one reason: to meditate on the power of parents working together to improve their child’s school.
Parents have awesome power in today's political climate. Their neighborhood schools, and not charter schools, should be the target for everyone. Look at what Rosemont Elementary parents have already done right here in Dallas ISD! Such involvement and transitions everywhere in each of our 230 schools will change Dallas ISD into the envy of the nation!
Every parent should put their dreams for their child into a letter to their child. Then go to school often and help it happen. Such "dream" letters need to be written every few years for a child. It's the only focus that counts as a parent.
Every neighborhood school should be facilitating such parental dreams. The mothers in these movie trailers do not seem crazy to me. The solution they apparently chose may not have been the most practical, but their ultimate goals seem to be on target. But let's see the movie.
========= after seeing the movie =========
The movie was idealistic, presenting a tragic school that neglected students and then a solution that is simply not credible. It deserved the “C” rating printed in the Dallas Morning News. It did not reflect the recent change in focus by the American Federation of Teachers, the largest teachers union, to change their mission statement this summer to focus on students and their families first. Now if you see AFT members acting in any other way, remind them of their mission statement. It is powerful and positive!
We still need to be working on solutions to the inadequate performance in too many public schools, real solutions, like moving toward a k-8 centeredschool system, with actively involved, future-focused parents and students.
