Schools are the mechanism that es- sentially produces the future leaders of America. There are always the slackers, the under achievers, those struggling economically, and eventually the drop- outs. But are these children unable to learn and comprehend? Or are they the victims of a system, a conspiracy that insures only a minority of them succeed? Davis Guggenheim’s poignant doc- umentary, “Waiting for ‘Superman,'” asks these questions and many others on the condition of pub- lic schools in the United States. In the film, he travels to Har- lem, South Bronx, Los Angeles, Detroit, and D.C., putting a face on cities known for pov- erty, where children are more likely to end up in jail than go to college. We meet Daisy, Bianca, An- thony, Emily, and Francisco, who along with their families have come to the realization that the public school system in their district is broken, but nonetheless hope to rise above it, beat the odds, and go to college. The families depicted in “Waiting for ‘Superman'” want their children to have the best education possible, and for them that means enrolling the kids in charter schools rather than their lo- cal inner city public schools. They see charter schools as more than about providing good, free education, but rather as a ticket out of a dead-end existence. But in all five cases there are more applicants than spaces, and by law, the charter schools must hold a lottery to decide at random which children get to go. Along with a thousand other ap- plicants vying for only 30 spots, Fran- cisco and Bianca are hoping to enroll at New Hope Academy in Harlem. The odds against them seem insurmount- able. Their stories and the stories of the other children in the film is the sad, updated version of the American dream. Guggenheim approaches this con- troversial subject in a personal man- ner. Though his own children go to private schools, he made this film to give a voice to children who aren’t as lucky. He interviews politicians, teach- ers, schools officials, union organizers and CEO’s, who reveal, in their own words, the mechanisms in place within the United States that allow our chil- dren to fail, fall behind, and give up. Yes, there are bad parents, bad neighborhoods, even bad kids, but what about bad teachers? Guggenheim makes the point that unlike charter and private schools, public schools make no guarantee that every child will succeed. Nakia, Bianca’s mother, puts it best, when she describes what motivated her to work two jobs in order to send her daughter to Parochial school. When she was in high school, Nakia recalls, her teacher would re- peatedly say things like, “I get paid whether you learn or not.” It is a phrase she never wants her daughter to hear. Being a product of the public school system myself, a system that suggested I enter a trade instead of going to college, I often heard the same phrase. It seems unfair that instead of wishing for a new video game,a pair of two-hundred-dollar sneakers, or even candy, these children’s only wish is a decent educa- tion. In traditional public education, the children’s odds of overcoming their circumstances, going to college, and insuring a better future are almost nonexistent. In a sense, these families are waiting for a savior, an unlikely Su- perman to help them rise above. If you care about education, and about the future generations of Amer- ica, “Waiting for Superman'” is a must see.