The New York Times described this movie as presenting “a blood-curdling, nightmarish picture of monstrous disorder in a public school.”

Variety said the film displays a moral rage at the “pattern of society acceptance of things as they are because no one troubles to devise a better way.”

Critics across the country agree that few movies have been so ground-breaking and controversial.

There is no question that “Blackboard Jungle” was one of the most important movies of the 1950s….what’s that? You thought I was talking about “Waiting for Superman?” Oh.

I guess I should have been more clear. After all, it’s difficult to keep track of all the Hollywood movies that depict the lousy state of America’s public education system. Let’s see, there’s “Blackboard Jungle” (1955), “Up the Down Staircase” (1967), “Stand and Deliver” (1988), “Lean on Me” (1989), “Dangerous Minds” (1995)…and those are just the memorable ones. There’ve been scads of films and TV shows over the past four or five decades with the same theme. “Waiting for Superman” (2010) is just the latest installment.

And that, dear reader, is the point. Americans have been talking about the need to fix our public schools for decades. There have been movies, documentaries, books, newspaper stories, panel discussions, academic studies, and presidential speeches all pointing to the problem within America’s public school system.

And yet here we are – still talking.

Our leaders promise reform, but each spring, too many kids graduate high school full of hope and dreams, only to quickly find out they don’t have the skills necessary to compete in a global economy.

Our public schools have failed them.

That must change.

The good news is, it can change.

During the week of January 23 – 29, 2011, concerned citizens from all across the country are joining together to promote school choice as the best way to reform our nation’s failing public education system.

The message of National School Choice Week is very simple: let parents decide which kind of school works best for their child. It might be a charter school (which is just another type of public school), a cyberschool, a private school, a religious school, or a traditional public school. Whichever option they choose, parents should have the right to decide which school will best help their child to learn and grow.

Remember, we’ve been talking about the need to fix our public schools for over four decades. How many more children must fail before we will act?

Allowing children to remain trapped in failing schools is unfair. Not only is it unfair to the child who will leave school unprepared for life, it is unfair to the future of this country. For if our schools fail, we all fail.

Rose Friedman spent much of her life advocating for school choice. Here’s how she framed the issue:

“If you end up with a population that doesn’t know how to read, doesn’t know how to write, knows nothing about history, knows nothing about geography, who’s going to conduct the affairs of the country?”

Critics charge that school choice advocates secretly want to do away with public education. That’s simply not true. School choice advocates want all children to receive the best education possible. Instead of questioning our motives, teacher unions and their political surrogates should join the effort to do what is best for each child.

That’s the message of National School Choice Week. Americans interested in joining the cause can visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com to learn more.