Morgan Hill Retired Teachers will host a free screening of the documentary “Backpack Full of Cash,” along with a panel discussion, at 7pm Nov. 1 inside the Live Oak High School Theater.
Backpack Full of Cash, a documentary narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon, explores the real cost of privatizing America’s public schools, according to the announcement. Filmmakers Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow now offer screenings nationwide.
Narrator Matt Damon commented about the documentary: “I got involved in ‘Backpack Full of Cash’ because I believe that every kid should have access to great public schools. I got a great education in public schools and my mom is an educator so I know just how hard teachers work every day.”
The film also showcases a model for improving schools, a well-resourced public school system in Union City, New Jersey, where poor kids are getting a high quality education without charters or vouchers, according to the description.
The documentary “makes the case for public education as a basic civil right (and) features genuine heroes like the principals, teachers, activists, parents and most hearteningly, students who are fighting for their education,” it reads. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, writer David Kirp and policy expert Linda Darling Hammond are among the national thought leaders who provide analysis in the film.
