There's money to be made in education, argues Bob Bowdon, henceforth merely when you trim out the unprofitable bits, like good quality teachers. In his documentary "The Cartel," Bowdon, a New Jersey TV news newsperson, turns the camera upon the massive corruption and mismanagement that has led his state to spend more than any other on its students nevertheless with shoddy results. It's not troublesome for Bowdon to illustrate that something's abominably improper with a state that pays $17,000 per student but can only manage a 39% reading proficiency rate -- that there's a crisis is undeniable, how to deal with it is another question altogether.
Present are two major factions in Bowdon's picture -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other faction are the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can leave behind the power of the public school system and would help inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more sensibly used. In those unkept public schools, Bowdon points out, it's nearly unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a dreadful one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of diverse aspects of public education, tenure, financing, patronage drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the predicament of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. Hopefully it will get a boost, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documental "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the films as complementary, and hopes that "Superman," with its human-interest stance, draws more notice to his own, which focuses on public policy. "My movie is the left-brained edition, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
It is undoubtedly analytical, couching its arguments in an appraisal of how the money is being spent, or misspent. But that isn't to say the movie is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is at all times on the people affected, in particular the inner-city students trapped in a broken system. One girl, weeping after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And while it may be uncomplicated to accept the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is a vastly familiar condition. A spectator anywhere in the country will realize similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and eagerness for a resolution. The one he seems to be most behind is the charter schools, which take the reins from the unions and give them back to the taxpayer. But he also makes it apparent that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a struggle. - 40723
Present are two major factions in Bowdon's picture -- the villains are pretty clearly the Jersey teachers union and school board who funnel 90 cents of every dollar away from teachers' salaries and towards incidentals, including six-figure salaries for school administrators. The other faction are the supporters of charter schools, the private schools that can leave behind the power of the public school system and would help inner-city kids if their taxpayer money could be more sensibly used. In those unkept public schools, Bowdon points out, it's nearly unacceptable to fire a teacher -- so even a dreadful one has a job for life.
"'The Cartel' examines lots of diverse aspects of public education, tenure, financing, patronage drops, corruption --meaning theft -- vouchers and charter schools," says Bowdon. "The expression education documentary may sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the picture itself betrays an ardent passion for the predicament of particularly inner-city children."
"The Cartel" first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters countrywide a year later. Hopefully it will get a boost, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documental "Waiting for Superman," by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the films as complementary, and hopes that "Superman," with its human-interest stance, draws more notice to his own, which focuses on public policy. "My movie is the left-brained edition, more analytical," Bowdon says, "'Waiting for Superman' is more the right-brained treatment."
It is undoubtedly analytical, couching its arguments in an appraisal of how the money is being spent, or misspent. But that isn't to say the movie is without heart. Bowdon makes certain his eye is at all times on the people affected, in particular the inner-city students trapped in a broken system. One girl, weeping after discovering she wasn't selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon's arguments.
And while it may be uncomplicated to accept the presence of corruption in a state so associated with organized crime, the uncomfortable fact of the subject is that this is a vastly familiar condition. A spectator anywhere in the country will realize similar failings in their own school system, and may share Bowdon's frustration and eagerness for a resolution. The one he seems to be most behind is the charter schools, which take the reins from the unions and give them back to the taxpayer. But he also makes it apparent that those in power are going to be unwilling to give it up without a struggle. - 40723
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