Saturday, October 15, 2011
2 Million Dollars... (Minutes)
The argument that 2 Million Minutes puts forth is, at best an unbalanced view of the United States school system compared to others, and at worst is outright propaganda for other countries about the downfall of the United States.I totally believe that the views presented in 2 Million Minutes, such as the fact that China and India spend more time in the classroom, are not valid enough to make points that Americans are losing their competitive edge in the world. They showed none of the extracurricular's that American kids do in their free time that better themselves and their communities, and absolutely none of the activities outside school in general, besides being lazy and playing video games.Reading "I Just Wanna Be Average" did not help much to better that idea as well, although even though he gave an example of a terrible school experience here in the United States, he did end the story with a glimpse of hope that he was escaping that predestined fate by hard work and help from others. 2 Million Minutes was so biased it was hard to watch, but since it was against the United States it is considered fine to watch. I would love to see a documentary about how bad China or India's schools are compared to here, and then see all the outrage and critics of that documentary arise. I think that we do need to take a long, hard look at our educational system here, and make some serious changes, but contrary to the 2 Million Minutes belief, we are not endanger of losing our competitive edge if we take the right steps, and we are not endanger of being overrun by China and India either.
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You're right, the film basically said, "Americans are lazy, they will fail." This weekend, I was visiting colleges in Colorado. One of the professors from University of Denver spoke at my visit there. It started off as a motivational speech, but he somehow transitioned into calling us the lost generation. He talked about how we are lazy, unethical, and selfish. I don't exactly know how his motivational speech turned into him bashing our entire generation, but all i do know is that it made me really frustrated. My mind instantly went back to this film and I realized how truly biased and slanted it's portrayal of American students was. There are plenty of motivated, intelligent students in America. The point you make about extracurriculars is important as well. Even though American students may not spend as much time studying, most people I know are involved in multiple sports, clubs, and volunteer programs. You make a good point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, quinn! i creeped hard to find this so you better appreciate my feedback. the movie only depicted the pure educational side... of course india and china are going to be smarter when they spend 30 hours a week studying and doing homework! a well-rounded lifestyle is emphasized in the world, if someone doesn't know how to balance their life and put a large amount of effort into everything they do, they will not be successful. i know it's not impressive that i have nothing below a b right now. but, i can say it is somewhat impressive to know that taking into consideration i have three hour practices six days of the week, knowing i am involved in my church and have to make time for that, and i still make time for my social life. balancing all those things is a skill, one other countries just don't possess. the video did not hint at this once, which also made me very frustrated.
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