Thread: New Film, The Lottery: Unions Destroying American Education

New Film, The Lottery: Unions Destroying American Education

By Warner Todd Huston
Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A new documentary film is debuting this week entitled, “The Lottery.â€

From the website: http://thelotteryfilm.com/about

In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.

Directed by Madeleine Sackler and shot by award-winning cinematographer Wolfgang Held, The Lottery uncovers a ferocious debate surrounding the education reform movement. Interviews with politicians and educators explain not only the crisis in public education, but also why it is fixable. A call to action to avert a catastrophe in the education of American children, The Lottery makes the case that any child can succeed.

The big fight is, of course, over the fate of charter schools. Most charter schools have proven to be far more successful than the regular public schools but charter schools are under constant attack by the education establishment. They aren’t under attack because of problems or failures to teach, but over the very fact that they are more successful than regular public schools.

Most charter schools are free of union oppression and this contributes greatly to the success of charter schools and to the greater opportunities for our kids. And this is why unions are out to destroy them. Unions are on the outside looking in and they can’t stand it.

But it isn’t about the kids for unions. Its only about their loss of power. Here we have a schooling offering that is helping thousands of under privileged minority school children across the country, yet unions are out to destroy these schools.

For teachers unions the kids are in last place on the list of priorities.

Please look for “The Lotteryâ€

When are we going to end the War on Poverty? It started over 45 years ago!! I need a furlough!