Academic Rat Race a Race to Nowhere

[n2doc]

Dr. Jim Taylor

Race to the Top is the name given to President Obama's education-reform program that is supposed to change the education system in America. But what it should be called is Race to Nowhere, which happens to be the name of a powerful new documentary by Vicki Abeles that explores, as the film's subtitle states, the dark side of America's achievement culture.

I saw Race to Nowhere recently with my wife and was blown away by its message. As the father of two young girls, it scared the heck out of me what lies ahead for them. And as the author of two parenting books with similar messages as the film, it was a real reminder of the very human and societal costs of our current education system. Through interviews with students, parents, teachers, and other educators, and bookended by a story about a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide after failing a math test, we see the price that so many young people are paying for trying to hang onto the runaway train of academic overachievement.

The pressure young people are under to achieve that elusive notion of success has become, for many, a crippling weight on their shoulders and the price tag is high. Race to Nowhere presents some compelling arguments against the emphasis on test scores that increased exponentially with the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (it should be called the Almost Every Child Left Behind Act, given its abysmal record in raising test scores or graduation rates, much less actually educating children). Students now focus on memorizing facts (and then forget them shortly after), find learning to be aversive rather than inspiring, and see no problem with cheating to get ahead (in the 1940s, 20% of students admitted to cheating in high school; today, well over 75% make the same admission).

The physical and psychological toll is heavy as well. Students rate academic stress as their greatest source of stress, exceeding family problems and bullying. Rates of stress-related illness, depression, anxiety, and burnout are on the rise. Academic-performance-enhancing drugs, such as the ADHD drug Adderall to enhance energy and focus and beta blockers to reduce anxiety, are SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) on high-school and college campuses. And teenage suicide rates, particularly among teenage girls, have increased dramatically in recent years.

more

http://blog.seattlepi.com/jimtaylor/archives/206153.asp

[Speck Tater]

1. The Underachiever's Manifesto

http://www.amazon.com/Underachievers-Manifesto-Accomplishing-Little-Feeling/dp/0811853683

The Underachiever's Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great by Ray Bennett

Product Description
Lower the bar. Turn it down a notch. Get off the Stairmaster. The Underachiever's Manifesto is the playfully persuasive pocket guide to living life to the least and loving it. With sharp humor and genuine wisdom, this welcome little book extols the fabulous benefits of underachievement in our overextended society. A witty introduction makes the case for the right amount of effort -- a lot less than we've been led to believe. Ten principles of underachievement establish the basics (#8: The tallest blade of grass is the surest to be cut); and practical applications show how mediocrity is the key to happiness at work, in relationships, dieting, exercise, investment, and more. Devilishly enlisting examples from philosophy, economics, science, and good common sense, The Underachiever's Manifesto is a lighthearted, life-changing rallying call for those who dare to do less and enjoy more.

[Go2Peace]

3. Scientific Study Reveals Lazy People Live Longer

http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?c=120&a=1503

"Our data suggests that there is a clear correlation within the life expectancy of humans who like to take things easy, to lounge around and not get stressed, to paint, make love slowly and generally enjoy life without the rigours of hard work. The controlled study subjects who were deemed 'lazy' lived longer by about 15-20 years on average. Those subjects who had hectic jobs or lives with busy schedules on average lived shorter lives."

The data also suggests that subjects who enjoyed a life of leisure were more content with their lives and could indulge in their hobbies whereas those who had hectic lives were limited in time for themselves.

Key study findings found that most of the population routinely work themselves to death and by the age of 45 or 50 are so decrepit and destroyed inside that their remaining years alive are limited.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Actually I think part of the problem is abdication by parents, often encouraged by the schools

and teachers. More than once we were told in the US public school system that as parents we really had no voice and no role other than ensuring that our students were there on time, make sure they were fed, and to help sell candy bars as fundraisers. In one case my daughter and her friends were accused of cheating because she was getting tutoring outside class in AP Calculus. The teacher claimed it was horribly unfair that the marching band students in his class were getting 2-3 hours a week of extra help from parents. FWIW, they were the only students to get a better than a 3 on the AP exam. Not all parents can teach calculus, but they can instill in children a love of learning and of growing by learning new things. That is clearly not happening enough in our society today.

The bar is not set all that high, the material is easily mastered. One of my daughters passed all of the ones administered to graduating seniors at 14. I think anyone can rear well rounded children. Its starts early with encouragement and time spent and needs to be refreshed throughout their young lives. What bothers me is that is happening for so few of them.

I'll get off my soapbox now, its been that kind of day...

[LisaM]

4. My father taught in the public school system for over 30 years and at no point

did he think that parents shouldn't be involved, nor do I think our school system ever sent out that message. Maybe you are mis-reading the concept - no one wants parents to set curricula, or try to do a teacher's job, but I don't know any teacher (and I know many) who don't like it when the background at home is conducive to a child's doing well in school.

I also never met a teacher who considered getting tutoring cheating. The only way I could see that it might cause a ruckus is if one student could afford it, the others couldn't, and it was a class that graded on a curve.

[tonysam]

5. Obviously tutoring isn't "cheating" when many teachers do it after school

or work for places like Sylvan or Huntington.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. It certianly was in his mind...I have hardcopies. He was new and IMO was more insulted by it

than anything else.

[harry_pothead]

8. Sylvan is a scam.

I tutor independently for less money, with more effectiveness. And I get to keep more on the back end because I'm not subsidizing CEOs and salesmen.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. I would tend to agree with you, shocked the hell out of me at the time

I actually have the cheating charge in writing. He was fool enough to put it in an email and repeat it in person. Later he said (to his class no less) that it was unfair to the other students. The test results spoke for themselves.