The Lottery, doc about charter

[Anonymous]

http://thelotteryfilm.com/

Has anyone seen this? It's on Netflix on streaming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://thelotteryfilm.com/

Has anyone seen this? It's on Netflix on streaming.

Heard it was very, very good. I wasn't up for it at the time. Apparently it follows some families going through a lottery in NYC. The number of applicants to placements is insane and sad.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I just saw the trailer and got me teary. What a crazy system we are in! I have been so involved in this lottery thing, so anxious... it sucks!

[Anonymous]

I'd spend my time watching Waiting for Superman instead. Not getting into a decent school, if you're poor, if much more heart-breaking to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd spend my time watching Waiting for Superman instead. Not getting into a decent school, if you're poor, if much more heart-breaking to watch.

I didn't see that, but I heard it was rather laudatory of Michelle Rhee. Is that true? While I support school reform, I don't approve of how Rhee went about it here. The Lottery is about the students and the process, not about a personality-driven "leader."

[Anonymous]

I was trying to explain our lottery system to a cousin in Albany, thinking it would be foreign to her, and she was all too familiar because Albany does it too. She's also lived in NYC. She literally described the process as "soul sucking" and said they struck out for three years, and she cried a lot because of it. Comparatively, we are lucky here that everyone can at least go *somewhere.*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd spend my time watching Waiting for Superman instead. Not getting into a decent school, if you're poor, if much more heart-breaking to watch.

I didn't see that, but I heard it was rather laudatory of Michelle Rhee. Is that true? While I support school reform, I don't approve of how Rhee went about it here. The Lottery is about the students and the process, not about a personality-driven "leader."

I have no horse in the Rhee debate since I didn't live in DC during her time here. However, "Waiting for Superman" was not about her. She was simply one of many education professionals they interviewed. In my opinion, that part of the film was less about her and more about how insane the DCPS system was/is. People seem to hate her so much they discount what a mess the system was and focus solely on the steps or (misteps) she took to change things.

[Anonymous]

For better or worse Rhee used that movie and other opportunities to "agrandize" herself and how she could come to DC and save the poor children.

I saw the lottery movie when it first came out and had not idea I would be going through pretty much the same ordeal trying to get my kids into a decent school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For better or worse Rhee used that movie and other opportunities to "agrandize" herself and how she could come to DC and save the poor children.

I saw the lottery movie when it first came out and had not idea I would be going through pretty much the same ordeal trying to get my kids into a decent school.

Again, I have no horse in the Rhee debate but everyone of those administrators featured in the film used it as a platform to further themselves. I see them everywhere now and "I ain't mad at 'em." They took an opportunity and used it.

It just seems to me (as a former outsider) that the energy some people spend on hating Rhee, should be spent demanding more change in a system that (although is getting better) is still anemic at best. I mean, come on, the stuff that was going on in DCPS 10 years ago was unconscionable.

[Anonymous]

PP I agree with you. I am not a Rhee hater. She put DC education in the spotlight and raised a lot of sensitive issues most people were afraid to address like firing teachers. I just feel she should have been more focused on showing how addressing the various issues benefited us before using it as an opportunity to tout on herself.

I would like to refocus this thread back to the OP and discuss the lottery movie more though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For better or worse Rhee used that movie and other opportunities to "agrandize" herself and how she could come to DC and save the poor children.

I saw the lottery movie when it first came out and had not idea I would be going through pretty much the same ordeal trying to get my kids into a decent school.

Not to belittle anyone's frustration with the lottery process, however I do think what the film documents (in NYC) is an order of magnitude more agonizing. There were literally thousands of people competing for a handful of slots. It had more in common with Powerball than with the DC charter lotteries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For better or worse Rhee used that movie and other opportunities to "agrandize" herself and how she could come to DC and save the poor children.

I saw the lottery movie when it first came out and had not idea I would be going through pretty much the same ordeal trying to get my kids into a decent school.

Not to belittle anyone's frustration with the lottery process, however I do think what the film documents (in NYC) is an order of magnitude more agonizing. There were literally thousands of people competing for a handful of slots. It had more in common with Powerball than with the DC charter lotteries.

If I watch it on my lunch break will I be in tears? I cried through a lot of "Waiting for Superman." I'm sensitive in that way .

[Anonymous]

Not to belittle anyone's frustration with the lottery process, however I do think what the film documents (in NYC) is an order of magnitude more agonizing. There were literally thousands of people competing for a handful of slots. It had more in common with Powerball than with the DC charter lotteries.

I disagree. my DC is 602 on the waitlist for LAMPCS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not to belittle anyone's frustration with the lottery process, however I do think what the film documents (in NYC) is an order of magnitude more agonizing. There were literally thousands of people competing for a handful of slots. It had more in common with Powerball than with the DC charter lotteries.

I disagree. my DC is 602 on the waitlist for LAMPCS

Not the PP but you're obviously not from New York. Frustrations there are magnified for EVERYTHING . Look, I know you're bummed with that 602 waitlist number. However, if you're on DCUM you probably have more options than most featured in the documentary. You see in NYC, you just DON'T move around. So where you live, is where you live unless your pockets run exceedingly deep. In DC, particularly DCUM posters, you have the option to move SOMEWHERE else, even if it's just a half a step up from where you are now. Most of us--given time--can move from a crappy school district to a less crappy one. Real estate is so expensive in NY that if you're lucky enough to live in an apartment that's been in the family for a while, your rent is controlled. If you move, you pay the market rate. My sister has been living in her 2 bedroom Queens apartment for 30 years. Here rent is $900 per month. If she wanted to move in to that same apartment today the rent would be over $3000 (and that's for Queens!). That's common in NY. So, if you live in a zone where the public school is totally crappy and you can't even afford the neighborhood catholic school, getting into a charter is the only hope for your kid. Now, magnify that by the fact that people live on top of each other in NY so, thousands and thousands of people vie for a handful of spots.


I know that doesn't help with your 602 waitlist number but, things could always be worse. Besides, you're probably trying for a PS3 spot. Most states don't even have free Pre School, some don't have free PreK. If you're patient, you will get into your top choice here in DC. It may however, take a year or two. I unfortunately can't say the same for our New York counterparts.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't NYC have many fine public schools?