2 Million Minutes and Education in the US
Over at Homeschool Savvy there was a post this weekend on a film that I think I heard something on, but did not really jump on when it first came out. Now that I’ve gone to the site and really explored more about it I’m adding this DVD to my need to watch list. 2 Million Minutes.
This movie is an interesting, and it seems frightening, look at 6 students from 3 differnet countries. The U.S., China, and India. These 6 high school students are compared on how they study, learn, manage their time, and prepare for life after high school. From the trailor we don’t look too great. There is the girl from China who hates wasting her time and spends her after school hours playing the violin and studying, the boy from India who can do math in a few seconds, and then the US girl who looks forward to college so that she can join a sorority and drink a lot. In between are a lot of experts weighing in on the global economic, industrial, and technological future.
It takes me back to the old question, what is the purpose of education? What is the reason behind, the meaning of, the goals of education as it stands here in the US? And taken a step further, what should the goals be? Is the purpose of educating the youth to allow them to be competitive on a global basis? Should it be? And if so how are our schools helping or hurting this? These are important questions, even for those families not in the school systems. The children sitting in classrooms today will be out there, in the real world, running things in a few years.
I’m not advocating jumping up now and joining your local school board. That isn’t something in my line of site right now. My personal feelings are it would be stopping a broken dam with a bandaid. But they are serious questions to think about still. And who knows, you might b the one who finds the perfect answer.
education, school system, 2 Million Minutes
January 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I have seen the film and participated in a webinar discussion with Mr. Compton the producer. While the trailer is provocative, in my opinion the reality is not nearly as dire. Many of the contrasts are a result of cultural differences and do not take into account the years following high school. I know very, very few people who are still in the career they chose in high school yet the Chinese and Indian cultures require choices in high school that last a lifetime.
We cannot underestimate the role of our American heritage of liberty and self-determination that is for the most part absent in India and China. A universal question at Indian screenings of 2MMinutes is “How do we get the self-confidence and risk tolerance of Americans?” I think this comment is indicative of how culture plays a critical part in how we compete globally.
I congratulate Mr. Compton on a terrific movie that is sure to inspire great debate that I hope can help address some of the shortcomings in American k12 education.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I placed foreign exchange students with US host families for years. It was an eye opening experience for me. The vast difference in our educational standards vs most other cultures is amazing. Now, these were the brightest of the bright, however, these were also 16 & 17 year olds that spoke numerous languages and took their education very seriously. What I learned though, like Lynn mentioned, is most other cultures require their children to pick a career path before starting high school. Where they go to school for high school will depend on what they decide for a career and will be tailored to that career for preparation for college - rather than just regular core subjects as you see in the US. I have very mixed feelings on this. I see the importance of college prep - but also feel a 14 year old shouldn’t have to make those kind of decisions at such a young age….. The show sounds interesting. Can’t wait to see it!