A dramatic report on the state of affairs in a recently released controversial documentary titled Waiting for Superman has merely consolidated the need for a miracle in people’s minds. The majority of children living in the world’s superpower do not even meet the minimum levels of achievement in school; there is an acute shortage of teachers and many of those in the teaching profession do not come up to par; money is soaked up by a bloated administration; school buildings are dilapidated; the whole system is held in a state of terror by teachers’ unions and reformers are forced to their knees. The screening of the documentary is well timed being right before the November interim elections. The issue of education, like at so many other times, is a campaign issue.

Bill Gates, who is generally an impassive but fervent warrior when it comes to education in schools and a generous patron, has warned that “with the present public education we are bringing up our own citizens as slaves. Given their lack of knowledge, Americans will be incapable of carrying out quality work”. Gate’s concerns are underscored by the statistical data, according to which American students lag far behind top standards and are on the same level as students in developing countries.

The present state of public education is the result of decades of neglect. After the dissolution of the authoritarian school system, the misguided laissez faire approach for students has led to a situation in some schools where not only are teachers incapable of teaching, but are happy if they can just survive the day without having to endure rowdy behaviour or even become the victims of violence. The teacher shortage problem is exacerbated by there being no replacement for the sixties generation, which had provided the most dedicated teachers, and is now going into retirement. With low salaries and little social prestige, the profession is failing to attract newcomers. According to the indicators, it is the least qualified graduates who choose to go into teaching. Yet, teaching unions are doing all in their power to secure permanent positions for weaker teachers whilst squeezing talented teachers out of the profession. In the USA, after two to three years of training, it is not possible to sack unsuitable teachers.

If anything should be independent of politics, it should be education, but it is not. The Democratic Party, which ostensibly supports the poor, should fight for higher standards in public education but, it does not dare introduce comprehensive reforms when it is in the pockets of the teachers’ unions.

A fortunate fifteen percent of school children attend private schools, the majority of which are institutions maintained by churches. The gap between the education received at private and public schools is deepening every year and equality is a mere futuristic concept. The eighty-five percent who go to state schools are forced to attend the educational institution that is nearest to where they live. The poorer the district, the worse the school is and it is rarely possible to escape from this vicious circle. A child’s fate is already decided by the time he or she attends junior school. The only possibility for children to break out of this is to attend an experimental ‘charter’ school maintained by private funding and providing a higher standard.

This recent documentary lends a human face to the cold statistics and appalling facts. It is a story of five poor, talented junior school children who cherish the dream of attending a ‘charter’ school in order to reverse their fate. Since the number of applicants hugely outweighs the number of places, students are selected through a draw.  It is heartbreaking to see their tearful faces when a spin of the wheel decides their futures and they are not selected.

The film cites one country where the standard of education is high, the teachers are excellent and the children achieve very good results: Finland, which at present is an inimitable model for America.