Terry Bradford
IVYT-34F
Deborah Austin
8 November 2012
2 Million Minutes Two million minutes is a short film that argues United States students are preforming at or under average in math and science in comparison to China and India. The title of this film indicates the amount of minutes a student has in there four years of high school. This documentary follows students in three countries it shows there daily curriculum and what the students value. The American students show that they don’t have to work nearly as hard as the other students. It shows that American kids are slackers, but still somehow receive good grades. It shows that they have more opportunities than most other kids and that they don’t have to work as hard as they do to get it. The film explains that kids in the United States are spoiled and already rich while the their kids in China and India have to work hard to even break out of there placement in society. It shows how the students in India and China spend studying twenty-four seven that they work harder than the American students. They think that the American students have more fun than they do that they are pusher by their parents to excel in school and the American students aren’t. It shows that the foreign students are just plain hungry for success. Two million minutes shows us plenty of reasons to be worried about not enough study or homework time, not enough parental pressure, not enough focus on math or science. American teens are preoccupied with sports, after school jobs and leisure time. Hanging with their friends is more important than studying and parents go along with this. The film clip repeatedly contrasted foreign students’ drive with what seems like American cluelessness. In one scene we see the Chinese girl, who is a math whiz, practicing her violin as soon as she gets home on a Friday night then the film cuts to loud rock and roll music showing the Caramel football team having fun. In another clip we see the American girl I think her name was Brittany, and her friends watching Gray’s Anatomy while supposing to do homework. There is another clip the boy from India I don’t remember his name, but he is under intense pressure from his parents to get into a top engineering university, but it shows that he loves singing with his boy band I would lay money on it that until this documentary came out his parents didn’t have a clue he spend free time doing this. They wouldn’t approve of it. In two million minutes I think understanding the true meaning is how the United States is behind in our educational system. Parents have let the ball drop not caring enough to see that our children get the type of education they will need in today’s world. India and China have a competitive advantage over the United States their intense curriculum with longer school hours a day and school on Saturdays. It’s almost like they were born to study where we as Americans were born to play. In viewing the American students compared to the foreign students I kind of got upset with myself. It never occurred to me that how we as Americans operate as students until I saw it in action in the film. Both of the American students were differentiated based on the degree program they were trying to get into. The American guy didn’t appear very motivated to me.
His actions explained how he would do homework at the last minute, he wouldn’t study for test. The American girl made the statement that students needed time to hang out and fun. I do believe that American students will see that they have to work harder because of the competitive requirements to get a job after school. I am worried about how our country is providing leadership and what it’s going to take to compete efficiently with those that live in China and India. It’s sad to see American students put so little effort in their studies while those in China and India are working extra hard to receive their prosperity, their education and one day their jobs. We as Americans are spoiled with all the extracurricular activities in schools today with publicize sports and music as if they were a way to gain wealth. What happened to pushing for math and science programs in such a way?