Los Angeles Education Films and the Rhetoric of Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind, and Race To The Top

The perception of Los Angeles's public school system reflects the predominan way our populace views public schools—negatively. Urban schools, such as the Los Angeles Unified School District, acknowledge that public education is struggling with keyproblems: high dropout rates, overworked teachers, and underperforming students. At the same time, public school teachers and administrators are attempting to accomplish more and more with less and less resources. While public school representatives—such as the Los Angeles public school teachers—would argue for reform efforts that would garner greater funds being allocated to the school system, others—including RepublicanGeorge Bush and Democrat Barack Obama—argue that the increase of charter schools and a voucher system is a better resolution. I argue that part of this debate has beenshaped on the federal level, and this federal rhetoric has influenced not only the public, but also popular culture