Throughout the duration of the documentary film “Waiting for Superman,” a total running time of 111 minutes, one statement struck me harder than any other. And that’s saying something because the entire film, which takes an inside look at the country’s public education system and its countless flaws, will blow your mind.

The statement was said by former Washington D.C. chancellor of schools, Michelle Rhee.

“There is an unbelievable willingness,” Rhee said, “to turn a blind eye to the injustices that are happening every day to our children in our classrooms in the sole interest of harmony among adults.”

Those injustices Rhee was speaking of are outlined in the course of the documentary, and they’re not just a matter of shrinking funds.

They don’t just pertain to inner city schools where the culture differs from the serene scene of the suburbs.

Those injustices are a culmination of elements, of bureaucracy, poor teaching and an incredibly strong resistance of many to change the system.

Ultimately, it’s the entire country that suffers, as we fall behind other nations. But what director Davis Guggenheim does is show viewers how we suffer through the eyes of four children desperate to learn and finding their only chance to study at schools that actually can show they produce results when it comes to a student’s academic achievement, it rests in the luck of a lottery.

Such practices are happening more and more across the country, leaving parents like those featured in the documentary film asking the question: What happens to the other students, whose names aren’t picked, whose numbers aren’t chosen and who continue to go to class every day in a school that simply isn’t doing its job to prepare students for the world?

With the recent announcement of severe cuts in funding to school districts in Michigan and with the constant suffering of school districts everywhere, the future looks bleak for our schools.

If it wasn’t hard enough to equip those who lead our children in the classroom with all the necessary tools to do so — it just got a hell of a lot harder.

But it also means that in the coming days, weeks, months and years the time is going to come for us all to demand some tougher questions asked of our legislators, our district officials and yes, even our teachers.

Those questions revolve around standards and the fact that they vary from state to state, meaning students are not uniformly taught. And when they sit down with each other at a four-year university where they and their parents will likely go into debt, they could be struggling three steps behind the kid sitting next to them.

Those questions revolve around how districts are using the money they have. The fact of the matter is they don’t have complete control over the dollars they get. Just like any other organization, our school districts pay a majority of their funds to their employees. But because of the contacts developed through the unions, it is almost impossible to hold teachers to standards of performance. In some cases, there are thick process manuals on how to terminate a poor performing teacher and even then, it’s tough to get through.

For this reason, there is a grumbling amongst some to change the system and challenge the teachers unions and legislators to performance based pay.

I can already hear the hate mail pouring in.

To clarify — I’m no expert, I don’t claim to be one and I’m not criticizing the schools in our district. But I am challenging our country’s education system. And I am someone who would ask these questions before sending my child to one of our country’s public schools.

Those questions revolve around a closer look at what happens to our kids when they move from one school to another eventually become the adults that run our businesses, work in our factories, manage our financial institutions and lead our country. What those questions come down to is, are we doing what’s best for our kids?

The point is the debate. The point is we start asking the questions. Because if we don’t, we fail them again.

I encourage anyone who cares about children to pick up a copy of “Waiting for Superman.” I highly suggest if it’s possible for you to purchase a copy that you do so. Inside many of them is a $25 gift card to DonorsChoose.org, a website in which you can donate to specific projects at specific schools that need help. Most of them expire by March 1.

Today, I donated to Mrs. Robinson’s class at the Creative Arts Academy in Benton Harbor. The website allows you to choose schools by state, city and school. Because there were none listed in our immediate districts, I wanted to at least choose a school in Berrien County.

With help from the community, Mrs. Robinson’s class just might get the reading comprehension kits they need to help them when it comes to standardized tests.

It’s not a lot, but it helps.

Tomorrow, I’ll educate myself some more on the state of education in this country. Because nobody likes failing.

To learn more about schools in need of help for projects or if you want to add your class to the list, go to DonorsChoose.org. To learn more about a movement to change our public education system, visit www.StudentsFirst.org.

But most of all — just talk about it.

Jessica Sieff is a reporter for Leader Publications. Reach her at jessica.sieff@leaderpub.com.