Waiting For Superman Analysis

After watching the documentary “Waiting for ‘Superman,” I came to the conclusion that the home and neighborhood environment are critical factors in a child’s education and overall wellbeing. For example, when we examine the home environment of Anthony, Daisy, Francisco, and Bianca, we can see that most of these children live in low-income neighborhoods, and that their parents or legal guardians sometimes have to work two jobs to sustain their family. This constant struggle also has an effect on the child’s learning because when a child needs help with his homework, the parent does not have the necessary time or energy help them. As a result, the child starts to fall behind like Francisco, a boy who was in first grade and started to fall behind in school because he was not reading at his grade level. On the other hand, children that have better home environments like Emily, have a lesser chance of falling behind in school because their parents are able to provide them with the necessary tools and programs when they start to fall behind in class. Another critical factor that plays a role in a child’s overall wellbeing and education is their
neighborhood environment, because, in good neighborhoods, people tend to pay more property taxes, which leads schools to get more funding and resources from the government to aid with the children’s learning. Yet, those who live in bad neighborhoods tend to have less funding, and fewer resources due to the lower property taxes of that neighborhood.

In my opinion, I think that each school should provide different support programs in order to ensure that each child gets a thriving education. One way in which the schools can provide this support is by giving the parents or guardians some resources that they can use at no expense. For instance, the schools could offer a tutoring program during the days that the school is dismissed early or they can offer this same program on Saturdays to help those kids who really need that extra help. Therefore, any tutoring program offered by the school could be the solution for some parents who cannot afford to pay these types of professional help when their kids really need it. Another way that schools could provide this type of tutoring service is by creating programs within the community that will operate during the days off from schools. Such programs would most likely take place during the teacher planning days, or even the two-week break in December, or even in the spring or summer break to help those children in need.

Although this film primarily deals with the public education system in this country, there are some broad issues within the film that open a window into the psychology of a child and to their mental and emotional well-being.
For example, changing schools and moving into a new neighborhood could be very stressful for child because when a child is notified that he’s moving he typically becomes a little sad about leaving his friend’s, he’s old school and at the same time the child becomes worried because he now has to make a new friends and a new fresh start at his new school. However, for a child who is falling behind in school, the opportunity of moving into a new school can open a window of opportunity for them because now they will have a greater chance of getting a better education than if they had stayed in their old
school.

Another issue that is portrayed in this film that also opens a window into the psychology of a child and into their mental and emotional well-being is the motivation that these children have for learning. According to Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, a person’s motivation is the result of their attempt to fulfill any of the five basic needs. Yet before a person can attempt to fulfill any of these needs, they must first meet their lower needs such as the fundamental for basic survival and security, and once these needs have been met, the person is able to seek higher needs such as a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and Self-actualization. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is also related to how a child learns in a classroom because without some components the child will not be able to learn. For example, before a child can learn at his or her full potential, a classroom must first meet certain conditions such as a room with appropriate lighting, or with necessary resources in order to enable the learning. However, if the classroom lacks this component, which will be considered as a physiological need for learning, then a child would not be able to feel safe or even achieve any of the other three levels of Maslow’s theory.