The Race to Nowhere

I saw another movie last night that I think everyone should see, "Race to Nowhere." This movie is about the pressures of being a student in this day and age. I went to see it at a middle school in Haley's district. It was awesome to see the gym filled with parents, kids and educators. The idea that the community knows that education needs major reform was very reassuring that we are moving in the right direction.
Some points that stuck with me:
1. We need to let kids be kids. They NEED to play, at any age, to learn essential skills.

2. "Since when did schools have the power to dictate kids' lives after 3:00?" referring to the massive amounts of homework. Research shows no correlation to homework and success in k-5. there is a correlation in middle school, but after an hour it is ineffective. In high school it is 2 hours.

3. One high school abolished all homework and AP scores went way up.

4. Kids need sleep. We are over scheduling them. They need time to "be bored" in order to be innovative.

5. In other countries (those that are "beating" us) they offer the top 20% of their classes a full ride to go to college and train to be a teacher. The quality of the teacher is essential.

6. School is a place to learn life skills. Employers don't look at your standardized tests. They look to see leadership qualities, how you work in a group and how you manage different personalities. School allows children to interact in both academic and social situations. These skills are important for life.

7. The system is flawed and it takes EVERYONE to change it. Awareness is step 1. We need to talk to our kids. We want them to love learning and just just learn how to "pass."

This has been quite a year for me in my profession. I am learning more and more every day about who I am as an educator (as you have read in my posts). I find it no coincidence that two award winning films have been released in the same year that I feel the most passionate about this work. Having a child in her first year at school has added to my passion. I find it crazy that we have this system in place (everything is based on test scores) and I cannot find one teacher who agrees with it. Basically we are being hired to do a job that we don't believe is the right way of doing things. Teachers are so creative in their work, that most are able to do what they think is right while still preparing their students for what is reality.
WE CAN CHANGE THIS! And we are. Already, colleges and k-12 schools are making changes to produce productive thinkers and not stressed out kids who just know how to cram and make the grade.
See this movie. Oh, and "The King's Speech." Not a movie on education, but a brilliant film. Maybe the best I've seen all year. Ok, done with my plugs.