The documentary film “Waiting for Superman,” which examines public education in America, will be screened Sept. 15 on the University of Arkansas campus as part of the 2011 lecture series presented by the department of education reform. A panel discussion will follow.
In the film, Davis Guggenheim, director of “An Inconvenient Truth“, takes a comprehensive look at the nation’s education system, while telling the stories of five families who are determined to give their children a chance at academic success. In the process, Guggenheim takes on the issues of teachers’ unions, entrenched school bureaucracies and the controversial promise of public charter schools.
Following the 6 p.m. screening in the Union Theater at the Arkansas Union, education experts Howard Fuller and Christopher Heller will debate education reform issues. Reed Greenwood, former dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, will moderate the discussion.
“Waiting for Superman has sparked a national discussion about education reform,” said Jay P. Greene, head of the department of education reform and holder of an endowed chair. “We wanted to continue that discussion in Arkansas by bringing Howard Fuller and Chris Heller together to share their different perspectives as we screen the movie.”
Fuller holds the rank of Distinguished Professor of education and is director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University. He was formerly superintendent of schools in Milwaukee and chaired the Charter School Review Committee for the city of Milwaukee.
Fuller, co-founder of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, has long been recognized as a pioneer in education reform and is one of the nation’s leading advocates for providing low-income children with educational options.
Heller, an attorney with the Friday, Eldredge and Clark firm in Little Rock, works primarily in the area of education law. As attorney for the Little Rock School District, Heller has challenged the legality of charter schools in central Arkansas.
