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Life & Times Transcript
12/20/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- The mayor has won control over five low-performing schools. Can he make good on his promises? Eloisa Espinoza>> It is time for a change. Watts has been waiting for it. Our parents have been waiting for this and our children, and they deserve it. They deserve a better education. Karla Espinoza>> I would like to see changes in everything. Val Zavala>> And then, our critics argue the merits of "The Great Debaters" and choose sides in "Charlie Wilson's War". It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> You may recall when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tried but failed to take over the huge Los Angeles school district. Well, now he's managed to pull a small victory out of that failure. A handful of low-performing schools has voted to break away from the district and cast their futures with the mayor. So can he do what LAUSD couldn't? Sam Louie went to one middle school to size up his chances. Sam Louie>> It's early in the morning, the start of the school day at Markham Middle School in Watts. Over the past decade, students here have ranked near the bottom of academic achievement in the state. Markham is among seventy-five middle schools run by the Los Angeles Unified School District, but that's about to change. Antonio Villaraigosa>> Well, as I've said a number of times now, the vote is in and the status quo is out. Sam Louie>> Last week, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Markham Middle School was among six LAUSD schools that voted to join the mayor in his effort to dramatically improve education. Antonio Villaraigosa>> People are looking for change. They want reform. They understand that parents and teachers need more voice in our schools. Sam Louie>> Parents and teachers at Markham voted to take the school out of LAUSD control and hand it to a nonprofit set up by the mayor called Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. Antonio Villaraigosa>> It's about giving parents and teachers more control over the decisions, of budget, priorities that occur in school while at the same time saying to them, "You also have more responsibility, more accountability." Sam Louie>> Other schools who voted for the mayor's plan include Roosevelt as well as Stephenson, Hollenbeck and Gompers Middle Schools. Here at Markham, ninety-seven percent of the parents voted in favor of the mayoral takeover. Eloisa Espinoza>> I'm hoping that these kids do get a better education. We have administrators that are going to listen to our children and it's going to listen to our teachers mainly. Sam Louie>> Eloisa Espinoza has been waiting for change ever since she noticed her daughter's performance lagging behind peers from other schools. Eloisa Espinoza>> My child is far below basic even though she's As and Bs. But it is time for a change. Watts has been waiting for it. Our parents have been waiting for this and our children, and they deserve it. They deserve a better education. Sam Louie>> Her daughter, Karla, acknowledges there are good teachers at the school, but they're often overshadowed by rowdy students. Karla Espinoza>> Students are interrupting. They don't pay attention. We can't actually learn anything. I mean, the books are torn. We can't study right. Sam Louie>> Verna Stroud is the second-year principal here at Markham. She recognizes the school's challenges, but is hopeful with the new partnership. Verna Stroud>> I have to say I have mixed emotions. There is some excitement because it's something new and I love going outside of the box and trying new innovative ideas. At the same time, I'm looking at what type of plan are we going to have and how is it going to work? Sam Louie>> One of her first priorities is to boost security at the school. The school is in a high-crime area caught between several gangs. Under the mayor's plan, the school would have more control over spending. Verna Stroud>> One of the examples is to be able to purchase additional campus aids and security aids on the campus that we so need to. We have limited resources that can actually purchase as many as we feel we might need. Not that I want to change the school into a police school, but one of the comments that our students have made is that more adults on campus makes them feel safer. Sam Louie>> Are people afraid to go to school, then, with the violence? Karla Espinoza>> Yes. When I was a sixth grader, I was afraid to come to school. But now, why should I be afraid? I mean, I need to get an education and come and learn. I don't care about what they're doing. I just need to come and I want to be somebody in life. Sam Louie>> Markham also has high teacher turnover. Last year alone, fifteen new teachers had to be hired. Stroud would like incentives to keep teachers from leaving. Verna Stroud>> Making sure that, number one, it's a commitment from them that they want to be here, but incentives to encourage them to want to stay. Sam Louie>> Financial? Verna Stroud>> Financial, if we can make sure that they are compensated for the extra hours and the time that they're willing to put in. Sam Louie>> So what does the teachers union think of transferring power from the district to the local school? A.J. Duffy, President of the teachers union, applauds the mayor's plan. A.J. Duffy>> That he wants to empower teachers and parents to make local decisions, he wants to cut back on bureaucracy, and that's been UTLA's plan for twenty-five plus years. So we're on board with that. Sam Louie>> Duffy says that this partnership will also tap the expertise of public universities and private businesses. A.J. Duffy>> Our goal is to revolutionize public education in Los Angeles. We believe that the mayoral partnership, the partnership with LMU, the partnership with the Urban League and the Bradley Foundation, the partnerships we hope to create with Northridge and other entities, is the beginning of that revolution, to bring local control to schools. Sam Louie>> Another issue is the quality of teachers. Under the new partnership, schools may be able to hire who they see fit. Right now, they must accept teachers and staff assigned to them from district headquarters. A.J. Duffy>> It's important for local schools to be able to hire their administrators, their teachers, and they're classified. It's important in these schools that they not be required to take any must-place personnel. When we talk about local control, we mean from top to bottom. We mean that those local schools should be able to set up a mechanism where they interview and hire whom they feel would be best for the education program. Sam Louie>> But not everyone was behind the mayor. LAUSD fought against the plan hoping to keep the six schools under LAUSD's jurisdiction. Antonio Villaraigosa>> "We live in a great, beautiful country." Sam Louie>> However, they believe Villaraigosa's plan is vague and lacks specifics. Still, union president Duffy is optimistic that the mayor will succeed. A.J. Duffy>> I believe his heart is in the right place. I believe that, you know, he wants to help. As long as we still maintain local control of schools and our teachers have not traded one master for another master and they are truly the center of decision-making, then we can move ahead together in a partnership that will be meaningful for public education. Sam Louie>> Control of the schools won't be transferred until July of 2008. In the meantime, each school must set specific goals it wants to achieve and outline the steps they'll take to reach them. So will this upcoming change signal a new day for Markham Middle School? As far as the mayor is concerned, the answer is yes. Antonio Villaraigosa>> I think we need to look forward. We can't look behind. That's what this effort is all about. Sam Louie>> I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> So what do you think of the mayor taking over a few low-performing schools? You can post your comments by going to kcet.org/lifeandtimes/blog. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Are you more likely to eat fast food if there's a Burger King on every block? Well, one Los Angeles City Councilwoman says yes, and that's why Jan Perry is proposing to put a stop to any more fast food restaurants opening in South Los Angeles. She says it would improve the health of the people who live there, but would it? For a debate on the fast food ban, we brought three people together at our Kitchen Table. Aurora Flores is a public health advocate who supports the fast food ban. Onkar Ghate is with the Ayn Rand Institute. He says the ban would violate the free market and individual choice. David Lehrer of CommUnity Advocates kicks off our conversation. David Lehrer>> We're here to talk about an interesting subject that is more complicated than it appears on the surface, the presence of fast food in South Los Angeles and an ordinance that's pending before the City Council. Aurora, could you just explain briefly what the ordinance is about? And it says for a given period of two years or so? Aurora Flores>> It's for a year with a two six-month extension. David Lehrer>> No more fast food. Aurora Flores>> No more fast food. David Lehrer>> Is there a lot of fast food in South Los Angeles? Onkar Ghate>> Oh, yeah, definitely. Compared to West Los Angeles, the number of fast food restaurants compared to other restaurants is significantly greater, so that's definitely true. David Lehrer>> What is your feeling about the initiative, the moratorium? Onkar Ghate>> I'm against it. I don't think this is the responsibility of the government to tell people what they should be eating. The purpose of the legislation is to say, well, we are making unhealthy food choices. We're going to restrict your food choices, so you're going to make healthier ones. I don't think that's the government's responsibility. I think it's the individual's responsibility to say this is the diet I want to eat. This is what I'm willing to spend on my diet. These are the restaurants I want to go to. Then to figure all that out for himself and then to do it. David Lehrer>> Is there a particular difficulty for residents of South Los Angeles to get the healthy food that Onkar says, if they want, they should be getting? Aurora Flores>> Most definitely. You know, I work at the accelerated school in South Los Angeles. They just filmed a documentary on the lack of access to fresh food. One of the students had to take a bus on a three-hour ride to Third and Fairfax to the nearest Whole Foods to her home to be able to purchase good quality vegetables and fruits. David Lehrer>> So between South Los Angeles and Third and Fairfax, there was no place -- Aurora Flores>> -- it took her three hours to get to a quality, affordable -- not affordable because it really isn't for a community of low income. David Lehrer>> Yeah, Whole Food is not affordable (laughter). Aurora Flores>> It's not, but is certainly the best quality. Onkar Ghate>> I think that points to one of the reasons there are so many fast food restaurants in that part of town compared to other areas. That is the fact that it's fast and that it's cheap. There's a lot of people in those areas, a lot of single parents, single moms, who need fast food. They don't have the time to spend three hours in a restaurant. They've a lot of other chores and errands to run and they don't have the money to spend at a Whole Foods. That's one of the reasons that you don't see those kinds of things in an area that's lower income. David Lehrer>> But why do we lower our level a bit from Whole Foods? I mean, don't most of these businesses locate where they locate because they view a demand and have studied to find that there is a demand in the neighborhood? So fast foods are present because, apparently, there's a demand for fast foods as opposed to suddenly they weren't just dropped in there because somebody decided they want to be mean to people in South Los Angeles. Aurora Flores>> Well, you know, there's also a demand for grocery stores in this neighborhood where there is a lack of grocery stores. There's been a flight of supermarkets for many years now in this community, but I don't see them coming to the neighborhood either. I don't know the reasons why they are not coming to this area. David Lehrer>> So wouldn't that be an answer, then, to encourage markets to come to South Los Angeles rather than discourage fast foods? Aurora Flores>> There certainly have been incentive packages for markets and other types of sit-down establishments to come to this neighborhood, but again, we're not limiting peoples' choices by putting a moratorium on fast food outlets. It's just stopping the proliferation of unhealthy food. David Lehrer>> Now are you offended by the notion of government telling people what they can and can't eat? Onkar Ghate>> Yeah, and I think it is a restriction on peoples' choices. Any time you say I'm going to restrict the supply of something, the reason you're doing that is so people don't make that choice. They make some other choice because now it's a hassle to go to a fast food restaurant. It's no longer fast. There's huge lineups at the drive-in. So people say, okay, I'm going to go somewhere else, but that's not what they would choose to do if they were free to make the choice. So you're actually restricting peoples' freedom. I think it's interesting when you look at the grocery stores, for instance, why they're not in the area. I think it's a combination when you look at the economics of it of two things. There's not as much demand for the kinds of products and for huge grocery stores that you see in other areas, and because of the crime. The crime makes it economically worse for them to be in those areas. It's hard for them to make a profit. So if I were a Council member, the biggest thing I would do, and I think this is the government's responsibility, is to crack down on crime in these areas. You would see businesses and more high-end businesses where the product is really valuable. If they're vandalized, if they're subject to robberies, if people come in and rob them, they just choose not to open. David Lehrer>> How do you respond? Aurora Flores>> Well, I'm not going to argue with him. I mean, in terms of, you know, crime and having to do something also about that issue in our community. But I can tell you that there is a demand for groceries and better quality food because I work with these communities and I hear it every day. I hear it from families and I hear it from students. They're tired of seeing junk food in their neighborhood and they want equal access to healthy food. David Lehrer>> Part of the response of the market, haven't most of these fast food facilities established menus with more healthy foods than they had five or ten years ago? You can go to McDonalds and get salads and you can go to other fast food joints and get a variety of things, not just trans fat fries, hamburgers and whatever else they're offering, chicken. Aurora Flores>> I believe some of them have salads now on their menus. David Lehrer>> You don't frequent them enough. I can tell (laughter). Aurora Flores>> No, I do not. David Lehrer>> And the county recently issued a report about obesity among young people. One of the suggestions of their findings is that it's class-driven. If you look at lower socioeconomic status people and you look at the single family households and the inability to move around, that they tend to be higher levels of obesity. They didn't mention the proximity of fast food establishments, but it seems to be a very complicated phenomenon and the accessibility of fast food is just one aspect of a very complicated social phenomenon. Aurora Flores>> Yes, most definitely. There are multiple factors associated with childhood obesity, so the proliferation of fast food restaurants, of junk food, lack of physical activity, of course, lack of safety places for children to play, you know, not enough physical activity hours in school. I mean, there are many, many different factors associated, so it's going to take a lot of different approaches to curb the epidemic. David Lehrer>> And you think this is one? Aurora Flores>> I think this is one. Onkar Ghate>> I don't think it is. I don't think it should be, more importantly. I don't think it's government's responsibility to crack down on obesity because obesity hurts the person who's obese. It doesn't hurt someone else, and he has a choice in regard to that. If he's gaining weight, he has a variety of options, restricted diets, exercise -- David Lehrer>> -- speaking of gaining weight, we're going to stop talking and start eating. Thank you both for coming in today. We really appreciate it. Onkar Ghate>> Thank you. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Larry Mantle>> Welcome to FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC. First up this week is "Charlie Wilson's War". It's based on the true story of an American member of Congress who gets the United States heavily involved in supporting the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan. Tom Hanks stars as Wilson. Julia Roberts is in the cast. The film is directed by Mike Nichols from a script by Aaron Sorkin of "The West Wing". [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Lael Loewenstein of Variety and Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media. Jean, what did you think of "Charlie Wilson's War"? Jean Oppenheimer>> I found this to be a hugely entertaining film. On the surface, it seems to be this outlandish satire about how American foreign policy is conducted. The thing is, it's all true, so it really falls into that group of films like "Three Kings" and "Lord of War" which are really serious political commentary, but they're dressed up in just a lot of humor, and black humor at that. This is a fascinating story to me. I think Tom Hanks is wonderful in the part. I think that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is wonderful in his part. Very entertaining. Larry Mantle>> Tim Burton continues his career-long streak of off-beat films with "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". It's the Stephen Sondheim musical brought to the big screen. Johnny Depp stars with Helena Bonham Carter. The film is rated "R". [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Lael? Lael Loewenstein>> I could not have been more surprised by how much I liked this, Larry. You know, I had driven by the bus poster of Johnny Depp with the Medusa-like hair and the eyes afire and I thought, "God, I don't want to see that." But I did and I really enjoyed it. Terrific match of director Tim Burton to the Stephen Sondheim gothic musical about an ex-barber who kind of goes crazy and ends up killing a lot of people and turning them into meat pies, along with Mrs. Lovett wonderfully played by Helena Bonham Carter. Terrific acting all the way around from Johnny Depp, Carter, Alan Rickman, even Sacha Baron Cohen. Wonderful production design by Dante Ferretti. Just a very rich, rich look to the film despite the fact that it's very de-saturated in its look. There's a lot of blood and, you know, I thought, "Oh, am I going to grossed out?" Actually, the blood-letting is very integral to the film and it really works. Frankly, it's the most surprisingly poignant movie of the year, I thought. Larry Mantle>> Denzel Washington both directs and stars in "The Great Debaters". It's based on the true story of a 1930s black American college in east Texas where there's an inspirational professor who pulls together a nationally accomplished debate team. Forest Whitaker co-stars. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "The Great Debaters", Jean? Jean Oppenheimer>> I was really high on this film too. I think it's extremely well-acted, very well directed by Denzel Washington. It's his second film after "Antwone Fisher". Even just the opening sucks you in immediately. Each character is introduced. The editing is marvelous. The editor is a man named Hughes Winborne who won the Oscar for "Crash" and I think does just as good a job here. It introduces the characters, but also places them in their milieu that we're going to get to know them and the different themes that will come out in the film. I just really enjoyed it. Larry Mantle>> Lael, what did you think? Lael Loewenstein>> Not quite as high on it as Jean, but I also liked it. I think Washington does a great job directing and really pulls strong performances out of his cast. It's a tremendously inspirational drama and, of course, it's fact-based, so that works for us on a number of levels. I think the issue for me was just this sort of high-gloss sheen of the kind of Oprah Winfrey Presents, almost Hallmark Hall of Fame kind of sense of importance that came with it. It just sort of announces itself as a very important film. I did think Washington acts great and, you know, all the cast is terrific. I just felt we've sort of seen this story a little bit before. Maybe the drill sergeant or the teacher who brings together this kind of rag-tag bunch and whips them into shape and they end up doing something quite meaningful with their lives. I liked it, but I had a little bit of some mixed feelings about it. Larry Mantle>> And finally this week, "There Will Be Blood", and apparently the film has a lot of it. It's based on Upton Sinclair's novel, "Oil", set in central California, and it stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, and is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "There Will Be Blood", Lael? Lael Loewenstein>> This is a remarkable film by Paul Thomas Anderson and the Los Angeles Film Critics gave it our Best Picture Award. It's the story of greed and corruption, religious zealotry in the early part of the twentieth century in central California. Wonderful performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as this corrupt oilman, Daniel Plainview. Also, I liked Paul Dano in a supporting part as a minister who's just kind of over the top. Really great sense of time and place and also wonderful production design in this film by Jack Fisk. Just the great detail of drilling for oil and, you know, this great sense of the dust and the dirt that gets under your fingers. I hated the score. I have to say that. A lot of people liked it, but in general I think it's a really remarkable and unusual film on a great epic scale. Larry Mantle>> Jean? Jean Oppenheimer>> I agree. I didn't like it as much as Lael did. I think it is a remarkable film. I think the score is dreadful. It's very anachronistic. It's very sort of modern, almost science-fiction type to go with this film from the 1930s. The cinematography is exquisite. The directing by Paul Thomas Anderson is stunning, as is the central performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. My problems with it, in addition to the music, were that, at the end of it, I felt it just went way over the top and it really lost me. I had one other problem with it which is the Paul Dano character who Lael was talking about it in the whole religious element. For some reason, it didn't work with me. It wasn't weighty enough or heavy enough to act as a good counter-balance against the part of the film that had Daniel Day-Lewis in it. But the stuff that was good was extraordinarily good and, therefore, I really would urge people to see it. Larry Mantle>> Well, thank you so much for joining us for FilmWeek on Life and Times. This is our final presentation. As Life and Times comes to a close, our FilmWeek portion does as well. It's been such a pleasure to come your way with our critics reviewing the week's new films and also a delight to work with producers Vicki Curry, Rosanna Emanuelli, Brent Wood and all the other terrific cameramen who helped us on the program and, of course, Val Zavala of KCET. Thanks so much for joining us. For our critics this week, Lael Loewenstein and Jean Oppenheimer, have a great week. Val Zavala>> As you may know, Life and Times is coming to a close next week. I'd like to extend a special thank you to Larry Mantle and his film critics for giving us such great advice over the years. You guys are real pros and you've been a joy to work with. And all next week, we'll be looking at the best of Life and Times and we'd like to invite you, our viewers, to share your thoughts and memories. You can do so by going to kcet.org/lifeandtimes/blog. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. We'll see you tomorrow. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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