In the June 24, 2011 issue of Science [1], Deborah Stipek, Dean of the Stanford University School of Education, spoke about against the dominant educational paradigm we impose on our children:
The film “Race to Nowhere,” which continues to receive attention since its release a year ago, documents the unhealthy consequences of the competitive “teach to the test” climate that many U.S. students experience. The film, in which I was interviewed, puts in clear relief the pressures that youth are under to amass large numbers of Advanced Placement (college-equivalent) classes, win science fairs, excel in the arts and sports, and in other ways distinguish themselves from the competition for admission into a few select universities that parents and schools believe are critical for future success. Research on motivation makes it clear that focusing attention entirely on performance, whether grades or test scores, destroys whatever intrinsic interest the subject matter might have had.
I suspect that there is no way to succinctly discuss education. “Race to Nowhere” features lots of highly motivated students, the kind of students that Stipek seem to have in mind. Here’s the trailer:
Compare “Race to Nowhere” to “Waiting for Superman [2],” featuring students desperate to get out of crappy schools. This is night and day, a completely different situation from that discussed by Stipek.
What’s really scary is that both of these situations are being characterized as failures by the respective documentaries.
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