2 Million Minutes

Personally, I would be inclined to believe the majority of the findings in this documentary. I do feel that as Americans, our children are not coming out of schools equipped to deal with the "real" world. For example, in most U.S. schools, a second language is not taught until one gets to middle school. Even then, it is something that is just dabbled with, by no means do most typical students become fluent in the two semesters of a foreign language that are required. This is only one example, I am sure that there are many more as the documentary points out.

I do feel that we are not as serious about academics as other people in other countries that have been more oppressed in that area. We are often not as concerned, it seems, with our futures because in America, we are allowed to...how should I put this...remake ourselves at any time. In other countries, where people may not be so free to decide their own fate, academics play a very important role in who will become what. The real question is, how do you tell your students this without causing massive need for panic?

I think that we have to deal with it logically. We need to address the problem on many levels, such as the parent-child level, the teacher-child level and many more. We have to teach them to become more responsible, more able to stand up to the world and its expectations. We have to make everyone see that we as Americans are not stupid or lazy or...whatever. We can do just as much, just as well, if not better, than any one any where else.