Race to Nowhere and What We Can Do

So I did something out of the ordinary today. I actually went to the Grad school I am enrolled in (I have been taking all online courses so far) and attended a screening of Race to Nowhere.  From my viewpoint, this film is about the U.S. Educational system and how it affects children.  It talked about pressure, homework, stress, suicide, adolescence, teaching to the test, the value of education in our society, No Child Left Behind, standardized testing, and so many other critical issues that we need to look at.

I highly suggest seeing the film.  Here’s the trailer:

At one point in the movie, it shows the concrete steps everyone in the system can take and I’d like to share them with you:

Students:

• Speak to the adults in your life about how you are feeling.
• Make sure you get plenty of sleep.
• Unplug and slow down.
• Make time for things you enjoy.
• Limit AP classes to subjects you enjoy.
• Limit extra-curricular activities.
• Seek colleges that use a comprehensive approach to looking at applicants.
• Learn about the long-term impact of caffeine and performance-enhancing medications.

Parents:

• Discuss what success means to your family. Do your actions as a family reflect your values?
• Reduce performance pressure.
• Avoid over-scheduling.
• Allow time for play, family, friends, downtime and sleep.
• Ask your children how they are feeling.
• Allow your children to make mistakes and learn from them.
• Dialogue with your children about their experiences in school.
• Know the signs of childhood depression. Follow your instincts.
• Attend school board meetings and other venues where education is discussed and policies are established and reinforced.
• Form alliances and organize other parents to join you. As a group, talk to your children's teachers, school administrators, and attend School Board meetings.
• Challenge accepted homework practices and policies and the imposition of state and national standards that have narrowed curriculum.
• Advocate for a later start time in high school.
• Eat dinner regularly as a family. 

Teachers:

• Become knowledgeable about research in the area of homework and the importance of play and downtime.
• See what happens when you assign less homework.
• Empower students with more voice and choice in the classroom.
• Find opportunities to evaluate children aside from tests.
• Share your voice on policies impacting education in your school community and at school board meetings.

Administrators:

• Develop a “plan of action” to create a positive and healthy educational environment that supports the “whole child”.
• Support "multiple pathways" in school integrating academics with career and technical education.
• Consider a later start time for the school day in high school. 
• Address sources of stress for children, educators and families.
• Set expectations with faculty at the beginning of the year: ie. if homework takes longer than a set amount of time, child should not continue to the point of frustration and should not suffer any consequences at school.
• Make sure that elementary school students have recess and older students time for lunch.
• Consider the way your school recognizes students and include opportunities for a broad range of young people to be recognized.
• Consider block schedules which reduce the number of transitions and contacts for students and teachers.
• Re-think AP programs. Work closely with college admissions offices to share how your students are evaluated. 
• Ensure that school websites are focused on school communications rather than grades.
• Create calendars to reduce overlapping demands and establish guidelines for tests and projects immediately prior to or after holiday breaks.
• Provide opportunities for open communications between teachers, parents and students.
• Create a vision for change with the emphasis being on engaged learning rather than teaching to a test.

Teacher Certification Programs

• Include classes in child development and the importance of relationships and how to develop them.
• Include classes on how to create engaging lessons.
• Include classes on different intelligences and how to develop curriculum that includes social and emotion learning.
• Include education on the research around the issue of homework and educate teachers on how to assign high quality homework that is meaningful and on the importance of downtime for children and adolescents. 
• Take the lead in putting research into practice.
• Offer continuing education courses for educators in your area.
• Include classes/information re: family engagement --how to enhance family/parent engagement; how to establish and maintain supportive and positive communication; and cultural responsiveness.
• Include classes/information re: identifying and understanding the pros and cons of different ways to assess and evaluate students; understanding what type of assessment is appropriate for garnering what type of information; and the uses and misuses of assessments.
• Include classes/information re: resilience of teachers: maintaining your own resilience in a job that is known for high-stress and high-burnout.

It seems difficult to do some of these things, but if something is not done, we’re going to have to pay as a society for it.