REVIEW: ‘The Cartel’ is a Damning Expose of Public Education

by Seth Mitchell

Despite the fact that the United States spends more per student on education than any other nation in the world, students of the American educational system have scored well below average on worldwide rankings of mathematical and literacy proficiency.  Why is this?  The engaging and thought-provoking documentary, “The Cartel,” attempts to answer that very question.  Using New Jersey, the number one state in educational spending, as an example, the film investigates the various obstacles that stand between our country’s children and a first rate education.


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While the film delved into numerous issues, from bloated salaries to lack of oversight in spending, two of them were the most infuriating.  The first is the fact that the teachers’ union vehemently opposes any meaningful reform that it sees as a threat to its power.  While, as the film expresses, there are plenty of individual teachers who care about their students and put forth their best effort in the classroom, the NEA has become a bloated political organization that is interested only in protecting its power rather than in educating the students it pretends are its highest priority.  For instance, the NEA and its state chapters exert massive political influence over who is chosen to fill administrative posts that will negotiate contracts with them.  This enable them to keep policies in place such as the tenure system that manifests itself in a ridiculously unbelievable 99.97% teacher retention rate in New Jersey.  Watching Joyce Powell, head of the NJEA, try to spin her way around the facts presented to her is both laughable and maddening.  Until this mammoth self-serving organization can be dismantled, reforming public education will continue to be futile endeavor.

Equally vexing is the fact that New Jersey, like many states, continues to resist the successful introduction of voucher programs into its educational system.  While many charter schools such as North Star Academy and Hope Academy boasted better test scores than their public school equivalents, while spending less money, the Education Department of New Jersey approved only 1 of 22 applications to start new charter schools in the state.  Although there are many facts and figures that can be used to show why charter schools provide a superior education, the film made its most powerful argument by juxtaposing two pictures: one of mothers celebrating that their children now “have a chance” after they had won spots in the charter school lottery, and the other a heartbreaking visual of  a sobbing child who did not win that chance.  It is insane to think that we lack the political will to carry out such a simple solution, especially when there are so many who desire this change, and so many who are willing to implement it.

The political interests of the NEA, coupled with an educational bureaucracy that refuses to allow reform, enables this scenario to play out across our country again and again, as more and more students fall through the cracks of a severely corrupted school system.  It would seem obvious that the quality of our childrens’ educational experience would be our primary consideration when evaluating our educational system, but “The Cartel” unveils the corruption that allows our children to instead find themselves almost entirely ignored.  The film will begin playing in New York City and Los Angeles on April 16, and roll into other cities in the following weeks.  Check out the website for a detailed schedule of screenings and to find an action center where you can get more information on how to fight for the best possible education for your child.  If there is one thing we can all agree on, regardless of political background, our children deserve better.


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Posted Mar 30th 2010 at 1:33 pm in Film, Politics | 351 Comments