Two Million Minutes
Westminster didn't have school last Friday as we teachers had a teacher in-service during which we watched the short film, Two Million Minutes. Here's the spiel:
"Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the 8th grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has approximately Two Million Minutes until high school graduation…Two Million Minutes to build their intellectual foundation…Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately career…Two Million Minutes to go from a teenager to an adult."
While I bristle at the melodrama of the last few lines, I was intrigued by the film's goal:
"This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China, India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students - a boy and a girl - from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future."
As you might imagine, American students come out on the short end of the stick compared to the Asian work ethic and commitment to academics instead of extra-/co-curriculars. The film exploits the stereotypes a bit as a whole, but the American students from Carmel, Indiana, don't necessarily fight the typecasting (the arrogance is almost too much to take).
Some interesting quotes and notes from the film:
Nearly 40% of U.S. high school students do not take any science class more challenging than general biology.
55% do not take any math courses beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry.
70% of parents think their child's high school is teaching the right amount of math and science.
79% of high school principals say they are not worried about low academic standards.
American students score highly in one area relative to their international peers: self-confidence.
A few more:
66% of college-bound high school seniors have no more than one hour of homework per night and none on weekends.
110 million students in China are studying English.
50,000 American students are studying Chinese.
Nearly 60% of engineering PhD degrees awarded annually in the United States are earned by foreign nationals.
For a look at how American high schoolers stack up with their Finnish counterparts, read this article from the Wall Street Journal, a piece more focused on liberal arts/humanities studies than the film's math/science preoccupation. Oh, and here's a decent summary NY Times op-ed on the issue from last week.