Race to Nowhere

So I have been hearing a lot about this Documentary , "Race to Nowhere" regarding the pressures parents and schools are applying to our children.  I finally managed to get into a screening of it last night and felt really empowered as a homeschooler and even opened my eyes as a parent, but even more so...it made me want to advocate for all the other children out there.  The message is so simple, it makes me wonder why these thoughts and ideas haven't been presented before.  Some of it seems radical to parents, while others are totally behind it.  The basis for this film is that we are putting way too much pressure on kids to be everything---not only that, but to be the BEST at everything.  It's unrealistic and sets them up for failure.  Why not focus on the child's strengths and emphasize and empower them with those?  Why do we ask that they be the best at EVERYTHING and not simply one or two things?  


It questions the methods of teaching at this time and the constant testing.  It questions the unnecessary homework being dumped on kids by the truckload after teaching them for 7 hours of school.  It opens your eyes to the fact that these children today are being robbed of their childhood.  They are no longer allowed to be free thinkers, problem solvers or even just average and happy.  


It made me realize as a parent many of the mistakes I made when my kids were in public school by getting caught up in the trap of asking about homework, quizzes and tests and not as much on friendships, highlights and other social parts of their day.  We are sending a message to these kids that their worth is determined by a letter grade on a piece of paper and they deserve so much more than that.  Are we even looking at their other talents, interests and anything/everything else they may have to offer the world other than a test they have been forced to to memorize and regurgitate only to forget it over the next few weeks?  What happened to the real learning opportunities?  The teachable moments?  The real life experience.  We all know there is so much more to learning than a piece of paper and cramming random facts into our brain.  Learning has to have meaning and purpose and when it does, it is actually retained.  


Imagine the possibilities if a child is encouraged to follow their passions and interests and taught more about them.  If we focus on their strengths and know that as they develop (because the all develop differently), they will get the other stuff that they might struggle with today.  


We live in a world where we are trying to raise baby geniuses.  One of my favorite quotes from the movie was when the narrator spoke of this and said (not exactly, but close)...these babies should be sucking on their fingers and toes, not sitting through lessons with flashcards (Your Baby Can Read, anyone?).  That really stuck with me.  How very telling that is of our society today.  How many of us have fallen for that?  We want our kids to be smarter, faster.  We are robbing them of their childhood and it isn't right.  There is a time for them to learn what they need to learn and they will (faster & easier, when they are ready), if we don't make them hate schools and learning by teaching for tests and not for life.  But the message they are currently getting is that we want them to come home with trophies, and "A" letter grades.  Setting them up for complete disappointment and failure if they get a "B" or a "C" or if they lose the game.  What are we teaching them?  According to the students here, we are teaching them to either cram until they make themselves sick (and play the game), or to cheat.  Neither of which is preparing them for a real life and future.  


Their self esteem is suffering, their stress levels are rising and depression and teen/youth suicide is on a major uprise.  I cannot even begin to do the justice this film does by interviewing the teachers, parents and students and getting to the bottom of these issues.  I highly recommend you see it.  Track down a local screening and go to it.  If you can't find one, HOST one.  Then get all the parents, teachers and people who care about this and future generations and do something about it.  Speak to the school districts, principals and government.  Tell them that we are taking back our children's future.  They are more than little robots.  Some of the suggestions made are throwing out homework altogether.  That has got to be my kids favorite piece about homeschooling.  Once we are done, we are done.  Then the evenings are all theirs, and ours as a family.  They can play and think and explore, they can relax and bond with their family, they can get bored and find new things out, they can create.  They can do so much if we allow them to.  But they can't when all they are doing is school and extra curriculars and homework.  We need to stop "resume building" with our kids and start "relationship building", "self building", allow them to become who they were meant to be (that we often don't give them enough (if any) time to figure out).  We have so many people graduating college and still not knowing what they want to do with their lives and we wonder why.  


Another thought is to remove the grading system and replace it more with a portfolio of their work.  What does looking at a letter grade really tell us about a person.  When we hire people at a job, we need to know a lot more about a person that a letter grade based on how well they tested in a subject.  We need to know chartacter, experiences, talents, beliefs and even goals.  Why not set goals with each child and track their progress in accomplishing those goals? 


Ugh, I could go on and on...but I'd rather you see the film and form your own ideas, thoughts and opinions (like we should be teaching our kids, lol).


Here are some quotes from the film that stand out (they are close, but not exact)

1. I can’t really remember the last time I just went outside and ran around
2. We do whatever it takes to get an A
3. When I had kids, I didn’t think that the only time I’d see them was for 20 minutes at dinner
4. These kids are so overscheduled and tired … I’m afraid that our children are going to sue us for stealing their childhoods
5. We want the best for them [so] we put pressure on them to be what we want them to be
6. [All of this pressure] ends up turning kids into little professionals
7. I figured out that not eating gave me more energy … but it still wasn’t enough to get everything done
8. My school principal told me [when I tried to return from a treatment facility for anorexia and anxiety] that she didn’t want the teachers to have to worry about me – I was too much of a distraction for them [and other students]
9. We lose boys because they tune out and we lose girls to depression
10. The countries that outperform us on international tests actually give less homework than we do in the United States
11. At what point did it become okay for schools to dictate how we spend our lives after the bell rings? [regarding homework]
12. Parents need to educate themselves that homework isn’t going to make their students any smarter
13. When American kids encounter questions [on international assessments that don’t look like what they’re used to from their rote practice], they fall apart
14. These tests that they do so horrible on - they don’t test my kids on the curriculum, they test them on their culture and their culture isn’t represented on the tests
15. I tell my [urban] students that learning is power – to do whatever you want to do in life, you have to be a learner and you have to care – that is not what the district wants from me as a teacher
16. If we forget this [question] or do a different one, then we’re going to get in trouble and we’ll lose 5 minutes of recess [4th grader]
17. Your 6–month-old is supposed to be sucking on his toes and thumbs, not doing flashcards
18. [Students say] ‘The teacher doesn’t care – it’s just busy work - why CAN’T I just copy my homework?’
19. The point of education is to learn, not memorize
20. It’s impossible to cover all of the material for the AP course in one year. Literally impossible.
21. After my daughter passed her AP French exam, she said, “I never have to speak French again.”
22. So much of [kids’] time is structured. The only unstructured time they seem to have is the time they spend on the computer.
23. What’s happening these days is that kids aren’t getting a chance to find out what they love to do.
24. They’re 4 or 8 [years old] and they’re resume-building
25. Parents say ‘My child is a good kid.’ No, they were a good performer. You never found out if they were a good kid. You just know they’re a good student, not a good solid kid.
26. I stopped trying because if you don’t try, you can’t fail.
27. I think that success in America is measured by how much money you make, not how happy you are in your life
28. The environment and culture are so competitive that kids don’t feel like they can ever let people see their true selves
29. If you’ve always had As, there’s only one way to go and that’s down, so that B feels like a failure
30. We need to redefine success for kids … We have to get off this treadmill together. [We have to discuss] what does it take to create a happy, motivated, creative human bei

Here is CNN coverage of the film.  Here is a small clip of highlights covered on Dr. Phil.

If you didn't click on the link above, here is the trailer.

**UPDATE**I also found a great blog post about it here.  Very nicely worded.

If you want to do something, start here..."like" their FB page, find a local screening and join the grassroots movement. Make your voice heard. Blog about it.  Facebook about it.  Share it.  At the very minimum, this will open your eyes to the pressures a parent gives and help you to ease up on your own children and demand your school stop applying unnecessary pressure as well.

"You have to be smart, but also you have to be pretty, and also you have to do sports and you have to be involved in the arts, and you have to find something unique about yourself, because if you don't know yourself before you do all that, you're going to lose yourself."

~Kelly 9th Grade


Ugh, Poor kids...


There is another film out there right now changing the nation as well.  I have not been lucky enough to see it just yet, but am doing everything I can to find a local showing.  It's called "Waiting for Superman"  I suspect it is doing a lot of what Race to Nowhere is and that is challenging our current educational system.  If you can find a showing near you to this film as well (or at some point get your hands on a DVD of either)...Do so!


Here is an extensive interview of Katie Couric and the filmmaker of "Waiting for Superman". 


CBS "The Talk" is due to cover it tomorrow Jan, 27 2011.  I will post what I can find on that as soon as I can get it.