FILM SCREENING & DISCUSSION: 2 MILLION MINUTES

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On November 20, 2008 over thirty teachers, administrators, and other education professionals came together at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School to view and discuss the film Two Million Minutes: Examining the Global Divide.

Information and discussion highlights are grouped in categories below. We encourage you to read the highlights and then add ideas of your own.

What do you think contributes to differences in how students, families, and schools in different countries prepare for competition in a global economy? What, if anything, should we do differently in the U. S.?

About the Film

Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the 8^th grade, they have just two million minutes to prepare for college and ultimately a career. How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends, and society influence a student’s choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country’s economic future?

This film takes a deeper look at how the three super powers of the 21^st Century – China, India, and the United States – are preparing their students for the future. As the film-makers follow two students – a boy and a girl – from each of these countries, they compose a global snapshot of education from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

The Facts

1. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. high school students do not take any science class more challenging then general biology. (Source: “Math and Science Education in a Global Age: What the U. S. Can Learn from China,” Asia Society, 2006.)

2. In the U.S., 55 percent of students do not take any math courses beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry. (Source: “Math and Science Education in a Global Age: What the U. S. Can Learn from China,” Asia Society, 2006.)

3. Close to half of American students who enter college need remedial courses. (Source: “At 2-Year Colleges, Students Eager but Unready,” New York Times, 9/1/06.)

4. Seventy percent of high school parents in America think their children’s schools teach the right amount of math and science, while 79 percent of high school principals are not worried about low academic standards. (Source: “Reality Check 2006,” A Report from Education Insights at Public Agenda – http://www.publicagenda.org)

5. Over 90 percent of students in grades 509 are taught physical science by a teacher lacking major or certification in the area. (Source: Rising Above the Gathering Storm, National Academy of Science, 2005.)

6. Only 48 percent of eighth grade math teachers have a degree in math. (Source: “Before It’s Too Late,” National Commission On Mathematics and Science Teaching For the 21^st Century, September 2000.)

7. In 2003, U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 24^th out of 29 developed countries in mathematics. (Source: Organization For Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Pisa 2003 http://www.oecd.org)

8. By the 12^th grade, only 2 percent of African Americans are proficient in mathematics…compared to 4 percent of Hispanics…10 percent of Native Americans…20 percent of whites…and 34 percent of Asian Americans. (Source: Competitiveness Index, “Where America Stands,” November 14, 2006.)

9. The average U.S. student spends about 900 hours in the classroom and 1,500 hours in front of the TV each year. (Source: Center for Screen Time Awareness)

10. Only 5 percent of American students have more than two hours of homework per night. (Source: The Brown Center on Education Policy, The Brookings Institution.)

11. Nearly 60 percent of engineering PhD degrees awarded annually in the U.S. are earned by foreign nationals. (Source: Where the Engineers Are, Vivek Wadhwa, 2007.)
12. Indians have founded more engineering and technology companies in the U.S. during the past decade than immigrants from Britain, China, Taiwan, and Japan combined. (Source: Where the Engineers Are, Vivek Wadhwa, 2007.)

Discussion

"When you look at India and China and you are dealing with a consistent culture. When you look at the U.S. you are looking at multiple cultures and multiple viewpoints on education. It poses a challenge. You may not see as much variance in other countries in the world as you do here."

“This film just showed one perspective. We didn’t see how the other half lives in all these countries. There are so many more other issues that are involved when you are talking about the educational system. They didn’t show us if you don’t succeed in school, what happens to you in China and India? We have to take that into consideration.”

“They talked about motivators. In India an engineering degree is a ticket to success. Here nobody knows. A college degree doesn’t guarantee you a better income or higher life.”

“We hear that our math curriculum is really wide but not very deep. There are many standards for each grade level, so we can’t dig deep when we have to cover so many. I want to know how we can really develop our curriculum—perhaps on a national level—for better math and science learning. That’s something we have a little bit more control over. We can’t transport other countries’ cultural beliefs into our culture.”

“Asia, India, China have made being great at math cool. We need to make math and science cool again—to show technology as a viable option to our children. In our own approach we need to be up to date on how we can have them view it progressively—using pop culture.”

“We need to see what it takes to get to college and work backwards. We need to take what it takes to get to college and trickle that down through the grades.”

“When my father went to school the guidance counselors really ended up guiding students. Now it’s more about asking kids 'What do you want to do?' Guidance counselors should tell you, 'These are what your grades are and these are your options. What speaks out to you among these?' We’ve got an easy-going approach that is not being honest about what the economic situation is in the world.”

“In education, we seem to always go to that bright, shiny, new thing—instead of taking what you have and tweaking it. No matter how complex a concept becomes we have different ways to break it down. When we are switching models so much we don’t have as much time to stop and ask—Is this really in the best interest of children?”

“I’m curious if they would have done a parallel study in youth crime rates in these countries, what we would have seen. In India and China, the entire country seems preoccupied with progress and opportunity, which probably causes the crime rates to be lower. Maybe then it would convince this country that better education is a model that could work. All the money we pout into prisons—that could finally go into education and opportunity.”