The site 2 million minutes refers to the time students spend in school from ninth grade until high school graduation. Robert A. Compton and company follow the experiences of six students from the United States, China, and India through the course of what the filmmaker feels are the most crucial years in education. The documentary gives a glimpse into the attitudes and work ethics these students apply to their schooling. I feel that we as a country are falling behind in the global economy due to self inflicted wounds. This film shows the seriousness with which students view their education abroad in comparison to the more laid back approach U.S. students appear to take. Overseas they worry about competing in the work force while many of our own adolescents are concerned with getting into the right social group. Which is more important for U.S. schools to focus on; the academic, social, vocational, or personal needs of students? If knowledge is truly power, and almost fifty percent of students in South Carolina do not graduate high school, I think the future of our country is at great risk.
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3 comments:
Thanks for bringing the film to our attention! I will see about ordering it. Good post.
Does it matter that the makers of the film are not really educators, but rather businesspeople? (I know that two of the members of the production team are Teach for America graduates). Would that suggest something about their priorities in terms of the purposes of education?
What would the radical perspective say about all this?
Actually, only the executive producer lacks classroom experience. Heeter, the director and editor of the film, was a high school science teacher in Georgia. He then went on to teach in Japan. Raney, the producer, was a junior high teacher in New York City. He taught English, science and social studies. I think the radicals would be greatly offended at the capitalistic drive that generates such a study. To suggest that our youth should strive to do better so that we as a country could be of greater competition (another bad word for the rads) in the world market could very well be deemed child abuse! This entire video questions if we are preparing our youth for their best future, which the radicals would certainly carry a flag for if equal opportunity for all could be promised, but of course it can not. Because the students chosen for the film were those who were performing well in school already, the radicals might say the filmmakers were keeping those who were not performing as well out of the running to have their story told. Another plot to keep the balance off kilter!!!
Good catch on my oversimplification, Angie.
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