About a month ago, I pointed out to you the somewhat disturbing views about parents held by certain figures within the education establishment. Well, here’s going way out on a limb to guess the same crowd won’t be lining up in excitement to watch the new movie Won’t Back Down:
The feature-length film starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Holly Hunter is a story about parents who take charge of transforming their children’s failing inner-city school. In other words, it’s a real Hollywood movie with a powerful education reform message that should resonate with American families facing challenging educational circumstances. Maybe it can pick up where Waiting for Superman left off.
The real-life inspiration for Won’t Back Down comes from California and the fight to change some of that state’s failing urban schools with the “Parent Trigger” law. The same prominent figure who disseminated the disparaging views of parents (linked above) also has spread myths and misinformation concerning the Parent Trigger’s origins.
Former state senator and Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) state chair Gloria Romero — who along with Parent Revolution leader Ben Austin was a key force in moving the law forward — has effectively countered the myths and misinformation.
Not by accident, I suppose, the new movie’s release coincides with the Center for Education Reform’s introduction of the Parent Power Index, an interactive tool to find out how much a state gives parents power to effect change in education. Factors include charter schools, school choice, online learning, teacher quality, and transparency. Not surprisingly, the top two states are Indiana and Florida, while Colorado could do better than its current ranking of 14.
If you live in Colorado and want to see Won’t Back Down, there’s some good news for you. The Daniels Fund is sponsoring complimentary tickets to view a screening of the movie at a number of metro Denver and Colorado Springs locations on Thursday, September 27, at 7:00 PM. Secure your tickets before they run out!
As a side benefit, the movie screening could be a great opportunity for you to meet little old me in person — if you can guess which location I will be attending, that is. Though I may just talk your ear off about my Education Policy Center friends’ tremendous work in the area of empowering parents. I’m talking about the fabulous School Choice for Kids website!