Thursday, March 10, Race to Nowhere, a film about the dark side of America’s achievement culture was shown at Kennewick High School. Among the viewers were Kennewick Superintendent Dave Bond, school board members Kathy White and Wendy London, Assistant Superintendent Bev Johnson-Torelli and KEA president Mary Shaw.
This showing was approved by the Kennewick Education Association executive board with funding and arrangements by KEA.
Filmmaker, Vicki Abeles, was motivated to understand what was happening in her community after seeing stress levels rise in her own children and the suicide of a local 13 year old girl. What she has learned is represented in this film which premiered in October 2009. Her documentary examines the pressures faced by students, teachers and parents in our high-stakes education culture.
A goal of the film is to raise public awareness and to start a dialogue about transforming education by redefining success and achievement for our children to safeguard their health and well-being.
Abeles is critical of our numbers-driven society which perpetuates pressure through high-stakes testing which has taken the place of meaningful teaching and learning. She characterizes our educational system as focused on competition, performance and rankings which shortchanges the vast diversity and vibrancy of our country.
Race to Nowhere features interviews with students, parents, educators, psychologists and others telling their stories about their experiences in schools. A theme throughout the film is the impact of homework on students and families.
Numerous recommendations for stakeholders are presented at the end. Among recommendations is attending PTA and local school board meetings, advocating for policies and practices which foster a love of learning in all children, creating an educational environment that supports the whole child, integrating academics with career and technical education and emphasizing engagement in learning instead of teaching to the test.
After this showing I heard at least one person suggest another showing should be arranged so more community members can see the film to broaden the discussion in the Tri-Cities. Is there another group in the Tri-Cities willing to sponsor a second showing of this film?
We received this from a FaceBook friend in PA:
Alan Fiermonte 9:45am Apr 12
One of my friends asked me what I thought of Race to Nowhere…here’s what I responded:
The movie was touching, sad, emotional (as it should) but seemed to meander a bit through many issues. It did not really get to the heart of the matter over massive and obsessive Federal intrusion into state and local education (in the name of reform) and these data driven performance and accountability regimes that are driving local education into the realm of “competitive advantage” building for transnational government, business and industry. Our youngest kids have now become pawns in a wider global quest for corporate profits and competitive supremacy. Thank Michael Porter. Rather than letting them have their childhoods and making them lifelong learners with a love and zeal, we’re making them the ultimate in labor inputs and we’re child abusers because we’re starting before they even hit kindergarten. Shame on us parents for buying into it all.