Christopher Wong’s masterful documentary "Whatever It Takes" is a must-see for anyone interested in education reform. The film, which aired yesterday (March 31st) on PBS, focuses on a small public high school in the South Bronx, an area with some of the highest high school dropout rates in the country – under 40% of South Bronx students graduated high school before 2002. In an effort to improve these numbers, the South Bronx split their underperforming schools into three smaller schools, one of which is the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics.
The documentary follows two characters at the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics closely throughout the duration of a single school year: Ed Tom, the charismatic rookie principal who left his high-paying position at Saks Fifth Avenue to pursue his calling as an educator; and Sharifa Baskerville, a ninth-grader struggling to succeed despite a problematic home life and poor academic performance.
This film is a moving character piece with larger political implications. By following Ed and Sharifa, viewers gain an up-close-and-personal perspective of the limits and abilities of the crumbling public school system that extends far beyond the school walls. In addition to their disadvantaged schools, students like Shafira live in dangerous neighborhoods with high crime rates, gang activity and few community resources, and homes with drug-addicted or absent parents. And although Ed Tom and his small staff of teachers passionately strive for the success of their students – especially pertaining to the mandatory NY state standardized tests required for high school graduation – even Ed himself expresses concern that such efforts may be "asking too much" of the students whose academic, community and even family systems have essentially failed them by the time they enter high school at the age of 14.
This documentary rang particularly true for me – for the past two years I’ve worked with high school students in Oakland through an organization called College Track. This after-school program strives to provide tutoring/ mentoring, community service, and college application assistance to students from under-resourced schools not unlike those featured in "Whatever It Takes." I love my job. I know it makes an enormous difference. I think programs like College Track and educators like Ed Tom might be the only hope left for public education at the moment. However, despite all the success stories that emerge from these programs, I’ve had to accept that it’s sometimes not enough to turn a teenager around whose education, thus far, has essentially failed them. And according to an article in the Oakland Tribune in February, even students graduating with 4.0s from Oakland high schools are often not proving themselves ready for college-level work.
"Whatever It Takes," through an intimate look at both characters, extends beyond the scope of the classroom to show the factors that are symbiotic with the failure of our public schools – the community, and the home life of students like Shafira. It draws attention to the everyday heroes like Ed Tom who work unbelievably hard to increase opportunities available to under-resourced high school students, and at the same time, exposes the limits of such people and programs. It's also artfully shot and edited, including some striking animation and artwork over voiceovers rather than the typical "talking head" camera shot. I highly recommend anyone interested in education reform watch it.
Check your PBS listings – it should be showing again this week or next. And the full 90 minute version can be pre-ordered on DVD at the Whatever It Takes website.