EDUCATING US

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." —Thomas Jefferson

Never in the history of the United States education system have there been as many challenges or opportunities as exist today. Technological advances, a globally competitive environment, and an ever-changing and diverse face of America taken together highlight an ever-uncertain future. One thing that remains constant—we are responsible for cultivating the minds of America's youth.

Though education should be a lifelong endeavor, our most significant and meaningful investment begins in early childhood and continues into young adulthood. Private schools, virtual schools, charter schools, and home-school models offer alternate and differentiated solutions that encourage conversation about looking closer at the public choice of education. As the global economy becomes even more competitive, American students must be better prepared to meet the requirements of a continually evolving world.

History has shown that education can be a controversial and often divisive topic of discussion among Americans. A possible starting point in identifying and enacting a solution to America's struggling education system lies in finding the answer to the question: What is the purpose of education in America? Through conversations with students, parents, educators, administrators, and other influential policymakers in the educational system, Educating US will try to resolve the differences between Americans trying to unify the advancement of the American education system. Beginning with a brief journey through the history of the nation's education system, highlighting major shifts and developments, Educating US quickly turns its focus to the faces of those children we claim to be the future of our great nation. The key to creating an understanding of these very real problems is gaining the perspective of several American families as they face the most important task in their children's lives—finding the best possible education. The movie will explore current choices available while providing the viewer the opportunity to determine which choice, if any, will best serve their children in the quest to attain the most effective and fulfilling outcome from the American education system.

Educating US is a documentary that asks one simple question: What is the purpose of education in America?

In the last decade, a variety of documentaries have been produced to address all problems of the American education system, often demonizing one organization, school district, school choice, or another. Our movie will not take a subjective approach to education, as others have. Instead, we will look objectively at the purpose of education by speaking with each stakeholder in the American education system: students, teachers, parents, administrators, legislators, unions, policy centers, proponents of both “progressive” and “traditional” forms of education, and other experts in education reform.

We will provide each an opportunity to share his or her perspective because our agenda is not to promote one school choice or another or to blame one stakeholder or another. Our agenda is much simpler and more palpable—we want to provide an education on education to engage the public in meaningful conversation about the future of education reform in America.

As an educator in a Title I inner city school for the previous six years, I have direct experience with the successes and failures of the public school system. And, having graduated from a private high school, I have the perspective of one form of progressive education that challenges the public school system. As writer and director of Educating US, my goal is to reconcile my experience with that of “typical American students” as they try to equip themselves to pursue the American Dream.

I believe firmly that most world conflicts can be solved through effective education. For this reason, I am passionate about creating a documentary that teaches the “typical American” about the history of the American education system, the various purposes it has had since the formation of our nation, and the variety of choices we, as a nation, have for where we go from here.

If the purpose of education in America is to provide the highest quality instruction for our children, then we will discover why the adults in America cannot come together to educate America's youth. Educating US provides a unique perspective of the American educational system because it searches for solutions among “traditional” and “progressive” forms of education. We look at the progressive choices, such as private, charter, magnet, home school, and virtual school, and compare them with the future of the “traditional” public school choice to highlight how each choice places students first and challenges the status quo of an agreeably unsustainable education system.

Adam Smith argued that parents are best equipped to make the decision on how to educate their child. Educating US provides parents the education they need to make the most important decision in their child’s life.