It's one documentary at a time for Davis Guggenheim

"Waiting for 'Superman' " director

Davis Guggenheim

("An Inconvenient Truth") says that his documentary topics find him.

And they find him slowly.

"Guys I know who make documentaries sometimes make three or four at a time," he said earlier this month at Philadelphia's Sofitel Hotel.

"But I have to figure out a unique story angle before I start. I need a way in to the point of attack, so I'm cursed to do them one at a time.

"Before 'An Inconvenient Truth,' " he said, "the writing was on the wall about global warming, but no one was reading the wall. Al Gore connected the dots and the film brought clarity to the issue."

It also brought a lot of anger.

"The issue of climate change is so politicized," he said, "so confused by rancorous debate. Movies are supposed to speak to regular people."

Guggenheim didn't seem particularly disturbed about the different passions his "Inconvenient Truth" stirred up, but he did appear somewhat relieved that "Superman" is enjoying bipartisan support.

"What's great about this movie," he said, "is that it's been embraced by everybody."

Not everybody.

Asked about curriculum changes around the country involving the teaching (or lack of teaching) of history and evolution, Guggenheim responded, "There are always going to be some idealogues and nuts. Let's not focus on them."

An admitted Democrat, Guggenheim sees his own party as one of the key obstacles to the reform of the educational system, but believes that there's a window in the Obama administration for progress.

"A basic principle of the Democratic Party is to fight for the disadvantaged," Guggenheim said.

But in the case of poor education (which affects the disadvantaged the hardest), "they have been quiet on the issue because they have a cozy relationship with the teachers' union.

"Obama is trying to push past that. [His education secretary] Arne Duncan sometimes sounds like a Republican."

Guggenheim added that it won't be easy for Obama and Duncan to get some of their reforms through some congressional members of their own party (or members of the Republican Party), but he believes that "this is a really big moment for education."

"People want a magic solution," he said, "but there isn't one. Charter schools are a great experiment, and we need to learn from the good ones and shut down the others. Just because a school is a parochial, charter or KIPP [Knowledge Is Power Program] school doesn't mean it's a great school.

"But reforming education is possible," he said.

"The question is do we have the will to remove the impediments."

And do we also have the ability to make great teachers?

"They're doing it in Finland," Guggenheim said. "Here, we're not doing a great job. We're not even at Step One of evaluating our teachers. We have to get better at recruiting, developing and rewarding our teachers, and moving out the ones who are ineffective."

Dumber, less hopeful, less ambitious kids are among the byproducts of poor education.

Another is a diminished skilled workforce needed to compete in the global economy.

And a third byproduct may be the most important: "Our democracy is predicated on an informed electorate," Guggenheim said.