There is a silent epidemic infesting American's public schools, and a new, widely-lauded documentary will expose it to the public and parents in the coastal and county area with the debut and single showing of Race to Nowhere at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 1, at Laguna Middle School, 11050 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo.
"Race to Nowhere points out how ludicrous over-testing can be when it overshadows the importance of teaching to the whole child," Bruce Badrigian, president of the San Luis Coastal Teachers Association, emphasized. "This salient and timely film reinforces the inspirational teaching that takes place in our public schools every single day. It encourages teachers to fight the good fight and continue to use their expertise to motivate and excite their students to the joy of learning and discovering--a must see film for parents and educators."
Tickets can be purchased online at Laguna Middle School for $10 each at the door for $15 . A percentage of the ticket sales will go to the San Luis Coastal Teachers Association to be used for college scholarships to students who want to become teachers and who graduate from Morro Bay, Pacific Beach, or San Luis Obispo high schools this year.
"Race to Nowhere is the only film that shows what is actually happening to our kids as a result of current policies and practices obsessed with testing, performance, and competition rather than meaningful teaching and learning," the film's producers said.
But it's not mainly the brainchild of film producers. It's the work of a concerned mother turned filmmaker who aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that has invaded our schools and our children’s lives, creating unhealthy, disengaged, unprepared, and stressed-out youth.
Vicki Abeles, first-time filmmaker, was inspired to make Race to Nowhere out of concern for her children. A mother of three and former Wall Street attorney, Abeles awakened to this crisis as her 12-year old daughter was being treated for stress-related illness. She saw personally how the pressures were overwhelming not only to her own kids, but to students everywhere—in every kind of school environment and community.
"As a mother, I experienced the stress firsthand and realized that no one was talking about it," she said. "I saw kids who were anxious, depressed, physically ill, checking out, abusing drugs and, worst case, attempting suicide. I felt compelled to speak out about this crisis by making a film and giving voice to the students, teachers, and parents. I wanted to expose a deeper truth about our education system. We are graduating a generation of robo-students, unable to think and work independently, creatively, and collaboratively."
Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people in all types of communities who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace; students are disengaged; stress-related illness and depression are rampant; and many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.
In a grassroots sensation already feeding a groundswell for change, hundreds of theaters, schools, and organizations nationwide are hosting community screenings during a six month campaign to show the film nationwide. Tens of thousands of people are coming together, using the film as the centerpiece for raising awareness, radically changing the national dialogue on education, and galvanizing change.
The Washington Post reported: "Riveted to this disturbing tableau were more than 300 parents and educators, including Elise Browne Hughes, 46, who wiped away tears one recent evening in Bethesda while watching the documentary 'Race to Nowhere,' which is becoming a growing grass-roots phenomenon in the achievement-minded Washington area and beyond."
"Every once in a while, a film comes along that has the potential to change the culture," said author Rachel Simmons (Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls). "Race to Nowhere shines a light on the crisis of learning and meaning facing American education. The film is both a call to arms and a beacon of hope, a source of relief and outrage and a way forward for all of us."
The film's producers describe the problem this way: Students in all grades are burdened from undue performance pressure, an emphasis on standardized testing and a quantity driven model of education, too much unnecessary homework, and too little sleep and exercise. Teachers throughout the nation are deprived of adequate resources and support while plagued with pressures from federal, state, district, and board mandates that devalue their profession and force them to "teach to a test." As a result, students are no longer in classrooms that challenge them to solve complex problems, think creatively, work collaboratively, explore issues with real-world connections, or develop the cognitive, social, and emotional skills needed to be healthy, contributing members of society.
They call for communities to come together to:
—Support a broad based quality curriculum (including the arts and physical education) and teaching in every school;
—Eliminate the competitive allocation of resources based on high stakes tests;
—Reflect quality research and practices supporting the developmental needs of "whole" children and adolescents;
—Foster diverse talents, develop 21st century and citizen skills, and encourage the growth of individual students and teachers and respect for both; and
—Restrict the number of hours students are in school and working on schoolwork outside of school hours.
