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Georgia Southern to host free screening of educational reform film, ‘The Cartel,’ Q&A with area experts to follow

On March 5, Georgia Southern University College of Education (COE) will host a free screening of “The Cartel,” a film that examines concerns for educational reform such as the dangers of teacher unions, administrative waste and performance of charter schools. The screening, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. in the Ogeechee Theatre, located in the Student Union on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah.

The documentary captures multiple vantage points of the educational system and attempts to take viewers beyond the statistics, generalizations and abstractions that typically frame debates about education. The film’s director Bob Bowdon, a former reporter and news anchor, tells the story of a national crisis that underscores issues of dropout and school failure despite funding being available to U.S. educational systems.

Bowdon explains that the increase in educational spending has long been speculated to be the remedy for problems in public schools, however where spending has increased locally, regionally and even nationwide, the country continues to lag behind most other large, industrialized countries in educational efficiency.

At the time of the film’s creation in 2009, Bowdon highlighted that New York had the largest investment in state education expenses. Spending exceeded $400,000 per classroom, yet only 39 percent of the state’s eighth-graders were proficient or advanced readers, and only 40 percent of its eighth-graders were proficient or advanced in math.

Following the screening, the COE will host a Q&A session with local professionals in the fields of education and government, as well as board of education members.

This screening is a part of the Education Exposed Film Series that is taking place on the Armstrong Campus during the Spring 2019 semester. A Campus Life Enrichment Committee grant written and received by COE faculty members Regina Rahimi, Ed.D., Kathleen Burke-Fabrikant, Ed.D., and David Owens, Ph.D., is providing funding for the series.

Remaining screenings include: “The School in the Cloud” on March 27 and “Elementary Genocide” on April 16.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 institution founded in 1906, offers 141 degree programs serving nearly 26,500 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.

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