"I feel like this question is kind of completely irrelevant for someone who doesn't live in USA. :X"
^this. I just gave a pretty generic answer D=
"Either the kids are getting stupider every year"... Anybody else notice that ?
I feel like this question is kind of completely irrelevant for someone who doesn't live in USA. :X
Beautiful...I love when we can all come together and make a difference. This is such a moving movie, I'm getting all my other Subetapals together to watch it. It's official, they WILL watch this with me. XD
I'm in college now to become an art teacher, I'm in a Learning Theory class where we're studying how children learn and develop. I think that I would be caring and understanding to my student's lives, and I hope that I would be able to be a positive influence on them and help them live their lives to the fullest.
my school is one of the best in the nation.
I am also getting a black screen, but I know what to write
I am currently going to college to be a teacher, elementary or secondary, I haven't decided yet. My goal is to give the children the very best education I can possibly give.
This is wonderful - I would like to sincerely thank Subeta for putting this up and supporting this project. Way to go. <3
As a teacher, I can only thank subeta whole-heartedly for this. I just hope the film offers solutions instead of just highlighting the problems. It's not like we aren't aware that there are problems, there are just no viable solutions to all of this.
I don't think it's fair to assume all public schools are inadequate at providing an enriched education to children. This may be true in certain areas, but please don't generalize and label every single school with that tag. I went to public schools all my life and I know, now being in college, that I and tons of the people that were in my class are better educated than a good number of students attending universities now. I don't like people who are being taught in public schools to be thought of as 'inferior' by others.
And here I thought schools in Germany were going downhill... they are, but to think America is even that much worse is sickening. Having childrens future depend on a gamble is one of the most horrible things you can do; of course, it gives everyone a fair chance, but you can't really work towards it - if success is based on sheer luck, why would anyone start to work for their future and EARN their place?
I shure hope that's one thing we don't imitate. Germany has a really bad habbit of taking over America's worst ideas (the good ones not so much)...
I don't know if that movie will make it to Germany as well, since great parts of it don't apply to our school system (every kid under a certain age HAS to visit a school here, so that's not a problem), but the low fundings and bad teachers are the same here, and bad schooling is an issue, too.
The school system that I have where I live irritates me.
Even though the "No Child Left Behind" program is good and all, I don't like what it's done to the system around here. Most places, if a student gets an F, or failing grade, for most classes, they take the grade over again.
Not that way here. The student can come to school every day and not do ANYTHING, and still pass and graduate. The only things that are required to graduate here are credits and passing the FCAT. But our school board... they pass all these students and make the requirements so easy because they want a good rep. Is a rep better than education?
Seriously. And about the credits, the only way you can lose them is to not come to class. Absence is the only thing that affects that, rather than the grade earned. FCAT is just the state test. You only need to pass the 10th grade one. Then you're home free.
I know it's harsh, but don't pass the student to the next grade until they LEARN THE MATERIAL. Yes, there are exceptions. But those who have no will to try and would rather drop out.... hold them back. Knowing they can't be with their friends will make them try. Unless they don't have any. Which I find hard to believe.
tl;dr my school system sucks.
There are 631 children in our elementary school. Last night was the first PTO meeting, and I was kind of shocked and appalled that there was only 8 people there. EIGHT.
One of the first orders of business was the money from Box Tops for Education, some of the teachers came to present what they would do with $100 if they could have it. One of them wanted privacy screens for her fifth graders, while they could write.
A third grade teacher wanted a grocery store gift card, because last year she and another teacher had spent over $200 out of pocket for food and such supplies for science experiments.
And what I thought was kind of heartbreaking, a kindergarten teacher wanted some throw pillows so her kids could actually curl up with a book.
It's a well known fact that schools need money to run, and you're just not going to get it all from the state. Parents need to step up, donate, help out. And also, it can't JUST be the school.
My two year old can write her name, all the alphabet, and she can also tell you what letter is which, and what sound they make. I couldn't believe when I went in to help with kidwriting yesterday, that there were 5 and 6 year olds that didn't know how to write their own names.
The public school system is so, so flawed. That's why my parents enrolled me in private school. But it was $25,000 a year tuition, and even my family had to cut corners and take money frombmy college fund to afford it. I consider myself very very lucky. America is supposed to be about equal opportunity, but a lot of the poverty in our nation is because our public schools aren't providing an adequate education to people, ESPECIALLY in poorer areas. Thank you so much for posting this. Awareness is the first step.
lol oops i guess i read about it at a different place and figured put it isnt all that bad. There are some faults to the movie but that is normal for a film like this.
i feel kinda stupid now):
I had the chance to experience the US education system first hand when I went for an exchange year in high school and I was seriously shocked! I am definitely going to see the movie if it comes out over here!
Education could be better. My school has a balance of everything, but what it needs desperately is more funding. They've had to cut back on everything, even resorting to a 4 day school week with almost an hour classes. (there are 7 total)
Anyone who isn't using IE- it looks like you will have to use it to see this. sighs and sadly closes Chrome
Watched and replied- not a hard issue for me seeing as I've been helping my niece's and nephews with their school work since I was 12 
Not all of the US schools are bad, mine for one is a great school, in which our county is ahead on education then the whole state. But this movie looks really inspirational. I have hope for those students who really want to succeed.
Keith, I would like to thank you for giving some of our young people the 'head's up' on American education. Education is the most important thing in life- without which there would be no other profession. Unfortunately, GOOD educational opportunity goes primarily to the upper class.
To the nay-sayers who think this is stupid, If you reside in the USA you are indeed a member of a society who values entertainment and sports more than academia. This will be the downfall of this great country of ours. Until our capitalist society acknowledges the problem it will only worsen... dumb dumb de dumb... dumb de dumb de dumb de dumb...
I am only getting a black screen too. I have no idea what to do about it. I tried several times to go to 'here' but, alas, a black screen is the result every time. 
This makes my day even better to know Subeta is supporting something like this
This looks like a bunch of bullcrap. Our school system does need to be fixed, but not with the solutions this movie provides.
I'm glad to read I wasn't the only one tearing up. XD I am in college now but my math is awful. I have to take pre-algebra and I'm still doing horrid in that. Math in this area certainly is 25th place, though I feel like it's lower. xP
Very good that Subeta is involved with such things in the real world. ^^
Subeta, your choice in promotions makes me proud to be here.
I can't wait to watch this documentary in it's entirety! I'm very happy to see Subeta taking an interest in such an important subject.
I'm getting a black screen as well. I don't really want to download another browser to view the dumb thing. :/ I hope this gets fixed so Chrome users can watch.
lol My country is exactly "under" the US of A... and getting worse. They love to cut all the budget for education and do everything to deny scholarships here. 
Kids are (generally) getting more "stupid" (so to speak), but not entirely their own fault... nor the school. Sometimes, it's the parents that are just too incompetent.
Wonderful, I've been looking forward to this since the stream session ^^
I wish I could go see this movie, but they aren't playing it anywhere near me. I got all teary eyed because I think and education is something that should be wanted and earned, not just given. I can't wait for this to be near me at some point, so I can go see it. Its kids like Anthony who want an education that makes me think that the US still has a chance to redeem themselves.
*charter XD Goodness, I can't rant and spell at the same time.
Guys, the lottery is for a chatter school. If you win the lottery you automatically get a full scholarship for all four years and the school is known for getting 9th graders with a reading level of 4th grade up to where they're supposed to be within a year and in the other three years getting their students ready for college since I think their rate of students going to college is around 96%, but they can't accept everyone because they can't afford it. Thus, the lottery.
Not all American schools are 'stupid,' my school was amazing and did exactly what it should have, but even in my school I could see students who were considered 'lesser' because they didn't try as hard and they were just thrown under the bus and left there. Everyone should be treated equally, and everyone should be given a chance. That's what this film is about and it focuses mainly on DC, I believe, which had the worst schooling in the country, so keep your shorts on.
I am extremely impressed and grateful for this news post.
The American system of education SUCKS ASS right now, and many of the political crap being pulled through to ''fix'' things is only making everything worse (e.g., Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, etc)... I wish we could go back to the ''it takes a village to raise a child'' mentality and ALL get involved in the education of our country's (those who live in the US, that is) children, but I don't think that will happen.
As for myself, I work with kindergarteners in a before-and-after-school program, so I see the effects everyday of what they do and do not know (or have not even been introduced to) by the end of their first introductory year at school (at least in the 2 districts we service). I also have opportunities within my company to work with older school-aged children, and so I have seen first-hand over the last almost 10 years the decline in the education system and its effects on the actual kids. It frightens me. I was home-schooled until I was almost done high school, and when I look around at the public schools in the area, I am glad I was. I wish I could help in a larger way, but one person can only do so much. I can only help the 30+ kids that come through my program every year, and even then I am limited.
Sorry for the rant and ramble... but seriously, I was so incredibly impressed by this post, and I want to thank you for bringing this to the attentions of the Subeta community!!
I come from a family of teachers and have even considered becoming a teacher myself. There is a program in the state I live in, Mississippi, where if you have a Bachelors Degree, you can take a few classes and receive an Emergency Teacher's License.
It's gotten to the point, where teachers have given up, because for one, they don't have what they need to run a class room. I've seen teachers come out of their own pocket to pay for supplies, because the schools simply can't afford them.
You see these good teachers, making less than they should, retiring too soon, like my aunt, who couldn't deal with the politics anymore, and nothing is being done. This lottery system. . . though I know it gives people hope for a better education, it's absolutely crazy. The government needs to step in and finally take responsibly for the poor education being provided, instead of having dream after dream crushed. It's so heartbreaking.
I'm watching the trailer, looking at little Anthony holding his number and all I can think is, "Please, just call three!"
I'm an American, and I had the fortunate opportunity of getting a middle and a high school eduction in Japan. Although for my last year of high school I did come back to the states, and it was a COMPLETE culture shock when it came to the education. It was like, "Why are we going over things, we should have learned in middle school?"
And because of the way it was, I DIDN'T do my best, and still made top marks, even on stuff I procrastinated on and did last minute. That would have NEVER flew at my last high school. I'm sad to say, I learned NOTHING that year, but I got plenty of awards and plaques. Now tell me, how messed up is that?
There's no easy fix, but maybe, just maybe, this will become more important to everyone through such widespread exposure. I came from a school where if you got D's in all of your classes, you were going to graduate with flying colors. Out of a class of over 200 starting out high school, only 181 remained four years later, including me. That's a pretty crappy statistic for such a small class, too.
This is a great cause. Wonderful, a wonderful idea.
Honestly, although I know this is true, it kind of offended me. I go to school in the United States, and I think of myself as pretty smart.. Now tons of people are going to assume that all American public schools are horrible.
I come from one of the few counties in the entire country than can continue to substantially increase its education budget every year--but I wouldn't be caught DEAD voting for a single teacher recommended politician. I have a serious beef with my state's education system and denied raises to state employees from the last four years.
The problem isn't going to go away by home schooling your kids. More funding and a high standard for hiring educators goes a long way. Home schooling your kids is just ignoring the problem instead of fixing it imo.
As for the video, I'm still shocked that a first-world country like the United States could put public schooling at such a low priority. This is the first generation who will not be surpassing their parents in terms of income. Things are supposed to get better as technology improves, but it seems like things are going backwards.
Wow, this is like crazy. I can't think of a school near me that does anything like that. However, I do know that out of the 4 High Schools around me I apparently went to the 'best' and didn't think to much of it. I had basically always went to that school, etc. But that would explain why so may families moved into the area and it was hard to find housing.
The video made me sad. I can only relate to it from my own experiences, but kids failing isn't just the schools fault. When I went to school, I could see the teachers trying so hard to get through to some of the kids, but the kids acted horrible. They had absolutely no morals or manners, they disrespected the school and their teachers and it was ugly to see. (I have seen kids fight with teachers and attack a bus driver.) When I was starting 10th grade I had to pull out and do homeschooling. It is so sad and of course I am not saying all kids are like this. There were a lot of well behaved kids like myslef that wanted to learn, but we had to try and put up with all the distractions. It's just heart breaking and to think it is getting worse.
Ah. Not available for viewing anywhere near me x_x
just checked what my countries place is, it's 0_o didn't know 0_o
wow 0_o
didn't know that!
impressive 0-o
glad I'm not at school in the US xD
This looks great 
Maybe I will see it along with Guardian's of gahoole :3
I've already seen the trailer, but it's still impressive (also it's got Matisyahu music in it!!!! XD). I'm not from America, but my sister went there for half a year and just today, we were discussing about how the quality of the schools is quite bad compared to the one of ours (as a foreigner, she was still second best in American history). So I really hope this can be improved for the sake of all the kids who should get the best education possible.
Trailer made me cry. In all honesty, that is exactly why my kids are to be home schooled. Public schools are producing worse and worse educations, and these are the kids that will grow up to lead our country. It's sick, it's sad, and it's highly disturbing.
Excellent cause. Thank you Subeta!
About the lottery: It's actually a lottery to get into a better school. I'm fairly certain this was an intercity district where there's very little funding, and very few spaces in the program. It's a big deal. Even more horrifying, there are students who go to school in buildings that should be condemned.
I'm an early childhood education major.. it made me sick when I saw videos on this kind of stuff.
Anyway, there are actually really similar documentaries out, already. It's horrible seeing what some children need to battle. Is it any wonder that so many give up? Conversely, there are some districts that have AMAZING schools. From condemned buildings to brand new computer labs and tennis courts and so forth, there is a lot of variety - it depends on the district's funding, meaning the taxes of the location. A lot of it actually depends on property values.
It's sad, but I really believe that a lot of our issues do come down to simple funding.
There are issues with teaching, and parenting, however. But I won't go into that x_X
I just think we all need to help the education system. We need to make a difference but then again, are we willing?
Also, we need to get kids away from the computers and videogames so they will actually want to learn 8x