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Can a Movie Really Change Education?
"Waiting for Superman" documentary expands to more Michigan theaters this weekend
Lansing, MI – A new documentary film, calling attention to the crisis in our public education system, has been expanded to additional theaters in Michigan due to popularity and high ticket sales.
"Waiting For Superman," from Davis Guggenheim, the award-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth," has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and other media. This film reminds us that education statistics have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of the film. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems.
"While some have taken a simple view of this movie and look to create divisions within the education community, I believe the movie's basic message is that every child deserves to have quality teachers and a quality school, and this isn't the reality for many Michigan families," said Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA).
The movie features key education reformers such as Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. Public Schools; Geoffrey Canada, Founder of the Harlem Children's Zone; and Howard Fuller, founder of Black Executives for Education Options (BAEO). The movie has been shown in over 100 theaters since opening in Los Angeles and New York on September 24, and the film has earned nearly $1.5 million in ticket sales.
In Michigan, "Waiting for Superman" opened last week and is continuing at the Main Art Theater in Royal Oak, where there were numerous sold out showings. Beginning Friday, October 15, the movie will also be shown in the following Michigan theaters:
AMC 20
19500 Haggerty Rd.
Livonia, MI 48152
AMC Forum 30
44681 Mound Rd.
Sterling Heights, MI 48314
Provided the movie continues to do well at the box office, it is expected to premier in Grand Rapids, Lansing and other Michigan cities in coming weeks.
Quisenberry added that moviegoers and activities are encouraged to sign the petition at www.donewaiting.org to demonstrate their support for education reform. "We encourage those who believe we should implement education reform to sign this petition and join thousands of Michigan citizens who support changes to help all students achieve," he said.
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