2 Million Minutes

I havent seen it yet, but it's always hard to compare educational systems. Obviously, we have shortcomings that need to be addressed. However, China and India do not face the same language and cultural differences that we face here. Also, most high schools in India and China are "tracked." Only the top students already identified as college bound or have a logical and abstract form of thinking as required in technical sciences would attend these special schools. If we took the top students in the US and compared them to the top students from India and China, the differences would not be so high. US students probably out perform them. However, we have compulsory education for all and for all abilities here. There are way too many different components to compare. I didnt even get to educational philosophies.

I haven't seen the complete documentary, but I did see an interview with the maker of the film on CSPAN which included several clips from the film. The film shows 2 students from each of 3 countries, China, India, and the US. It sounded valid as they tried to choose schools with similar social and economic populations in each country. The interview I saw showed several clips to demonstrate various points comparing and contrasting how Indian and Chinese students' view education (focusing mainly on the amount of math and science education) compared to US students as they go through their 4 years of high school (200 million minutes) before entering college. It makes a profound statement about a seeming lack of motivation for American youth when compared to the effort put forth by students in the developing countries when it comes to academics. It was brought up that in China and India, parents pay for special tutors if a student shows special interest or talent in a subject like math and science, while American students generally only get tutors if they are struggling in a subject. A contrast to this was that parents in America were more willing to spend money on special training and coaches when it came to athletic ability. I would definitely recommend the video to intermediate and high school teachers to show both students and parents. I think it presents some very interesting and hopefully thought provoking points regarding how our country views/values education compared to other societies. It also brings up some important questions about our global economy and where our American students are going to fit in it.

This is a great thread! I have actually been looking to compare American students with how they do with students from around the world. I have a good friend who is Indian and he lives in the Silicon Valley and is a computer engineer. Come to find out, many Indians who live here have jobs in the technology industry. I say this because he has a master's degree and is working on a doctorate. He tells me that education is huge in his family and that it takes precedence over many things. Thanks for the heads up on "2 Million Minutes" this will be interesting.

I looked for the film on Netflix, You Tube, and at the library to no avail. A link to the organization's website is provided below, and an evaluation can be found in "Web Resources", but to get the documentary through them costs $25. Where else could I get a copy of this film?

2 Million Minutes[Edit by="jwilhelm on Jul 27, 2:22:02 PM"][/Edit]

Best Website EVER!!!!

Ok, maybe not the best, but a great one that I will be using in class tomorrow as we study for the final of our World History course in summer school. I have not seen the movies, they sound really interesting. I love the title, to students the minutes seems like hours regardless of where they are going to school I must confess, depending upon the day they might seem like hours to educators, too!

Anyway...This website is super engaging because they have this challenge, the third world country education challenge. You can take a test that is representative of a test that a student would need to pass to test out the the 11th grade. Talk about a smash against the US educational system. Just a guess, but most of us fail?? Testament to the teaching? the resources? The dedication of students? the methods used?

I am not sure but I am anxiously awaiting my results right now. I just checked it and I received an overall score of good. Ok I am satisfied with that, I would pass the 11th grade, but I teach history for goodness sakes...At least I am honest!

A very useful teaching tool to juxtapose the sense of entitlement and elitism my students have. A little humilty never hurt anyone.

Our principal made us all watch it. I was pretty informative and an eye-opener to what is going on in china. We have to set our priorities strat as American do we want to compete with the rest of the world and stay at their level, or do we want to fall behind and become a 3rd world country. This will be hard work compared to what we want our kids to go through, but do we want kids that are lazy and will be non-competative because they are not being trained to do so. Are those video games and other forms of relaxation going to be the ruin of America, remember some of those entertainment modes that we use are created by China. Is this a ploy to get us to relax and have so much fun now that we forget about competing with the rest of the world to stay on top?

Yes, I watched it at school. I affirm the fact that if our youngsters don't take their education seriously, they will find it hard to keep up with the Chinese and the Indians. It is quite motivational and could be shown in the classroom. What each culture values is interesting.

I have not seen the movie yet, but judging from the posts I want too. I have always been troubled with the apathy of students. I believe we are facing a clear dumbing down of society. We most definitely will slip back if we don't change our ways. Unfortunately this will take strong government leadership that is willing to scrap the way we do things and move into the future. I think there should be three different schools in the US: one for the well behaved and motivated students who are willing learn and progress , another for students that can behave but are not academically motivated (A progressive vocational education down to the middle school), and lastly a school for kids who just cannot behave properly. I think most teachers would agree that if they could get rid of certain groups of students they could accomplish a lot more. At the same time all students would be getting an education that will help make them more successful in their future.
I wonder what China and India do with students like these in their classrooms. I find it hard to believe all are equally motivated. Maybe the unmotivated and the poorly behaved don't go to school. Maybe they get a less formal education that will help prepare them for a job, or maybe they just start working. I don't know the answers to these questions, and I'm not sure if the movie addresses them. I guess I'll see.

Wow... what a great concept! I had not heard of this film but I definitely want to view this and see if it is something I should engage my homeroom students in. For the most part, this generation of students live very comfortable lives because they have grown up in a decade or more of increased economic prosperity on a national level. This will not always be the case, especially as other countries attempt to achieve our standard of living, and the only way to do so is through economic competition and profit.

After watching the trailer on youtube I do have a few questions that I could not find the answers to on the website. How were the students chosen to participate in this documentary? Did they challenge the students in India or China to take our standardized tests? Does the film answer these questions? Nonetheless, I think this could be a wonderful tool to increase our students awareness of the world and their place in it. There is so much more to it than "myspace"...

I must agree with your contention about comparing students in the US against students from other countries. Beyond what you mentioned, we should remember that all other educational systems operate with a huge fork in the road that comes into play around the age of 16. This is the point where students are slated to go or not to go to college. Unlike the United States, the rest of the world looks at college as an opportunity reserved for the few rather than as a certainty guaranteed to the many. We do things differently here and that fact must be taken into account when comparing students from different countries.

I saw a copy on One Big Torrent for download, download at your own risk. (6) [Edit by="kspachuk on Feb 28, 2:01:37 PM"][/Edit]

Parents have a higher opinion of the schools their children attend than do Americans in general. A Gallup survey found that 76% of parents were satisfied with the education their children received. Only 45% of the general public indicated it was satisfied with schools.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122432/Parents-Rate-Schools-Higher-Americans-Overall.aspx?CSTS=alert