The Honors College Assembly will show “Waiting for Superman” today at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Theater as part of their documentary film series “What if.” After the showing, experts on education reform will discuss the subjects talked about in the movie and will take questions from students.

“’Waiting for Superman’ presents one side only, and one solution, which are charter schools,” said James McLean, dean of the College of Education and panelist for the discussion. “The movie talks about bad schools in urban areas, blaming education on bad teachers, but there are bad teachers in any system.”

According to McLean, there should not be only one solution for bettering school systems.

“I can show research that will show charter schools are no better than public schools in some cases,” Mclean said.

The documentary film series “What if” was put together by William Nolan, a professor of English rhetoric and film analysis, along with the officials of the Honors College Assembly. This is the first semester the Honors College Assembly has done a documentary film series on the importance of education.

Speakers at the discussion will be Ben Guest, coordinator of the Mississippi Teacher Corps; James McLean, dean of the University’s College of Education; Kelly Horwitz, a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education; and Mary Boehm, from A+ College Ready in Birmingham.

“We decided to put on a film series for the Honors College, and eventually the theme just emerged,” Nolan said. “This series is currently an important topic for a lot of students interested in education in the Honors College and around the U.S.”

“Waiting for Superman” is a documentary about the failing American public education system. The movie documents the lives of five students in the public school system.

“I have seen the documentary before and it has an important message,” Horwitz said. “It is important for people to realize that all children are able to learn at higher levels.”

Horwitz has been a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education since November 2009.

Horwitz said she feels there is a disconnect in the college system today and that some students still need remediation when enrolled at the University.

“My hope for this movie is to motivate people to be more involved in public schools,” Horwitz said.

For more information about the event contact Nolan at [email protected].