eSN TechWatch: Two Million Minutes -- February 18, 2008

[Esquillama]

thats my birthday:-)

[hilldominator27]

ummm. its not the kids.... colombia. my native country only goes till 11th grade. im a sophmore. math in my grade is geometry or algebra 2, in colombia in sophmore grade their already doing trigonometry as a standard class. us education system is by far not the best in any way.

[nynyrocks]

Just goes to show how lazy and self gratifying on average our kids are today. Do all of yourselves a favor, turn 0ff the reality shows and Jon Stewart and hit the books.

[rdxpspo]

Americans started it, Indians will take over and continue.

[laurahlove]

There is a major problem with this video's assumption that schooling in the US is broke, while students in India and China are much more advanced. First of all, not ALL children in those two countries are in the education system. So, take just the top 90% of kids and you automatically have an "improved average." Here, we educate EVERYONE, at least in the public schools.

[styleraju]

@laurahlove looks like you did not take numbers into consideration. Suppose 50% of INDIA's kids are in schools, that would be at least 3-4 times the total number of kids in all the schools in USA. Its not just quality that American schools lack, its also Quantity. The only way for USA to stay on the top is by being the best developed nation in education.

[11141983]

only 4,528 views at the minute for this video , it's clear that Americans are more interested in watching britney's videos , they all have million views. Little by little the asians are overtaking the lead in the global economy. Just take a look, general motors and ford are in shambles and TOYOTA is the largest car manufacturer on earth

[styleraju]

@11141983 People dont understand that as the bandwidth of the Internet grows, the world comes even more closer. The more the closer the world becomes, the more the competition for all jobs from INDIA to USA.  Either be prepared or be ready to perish..

[71days]

Compton has "rounded down" the 4 year minute total from 2,102,400 to 2,000,000.

That is 71 days.

Parents, think about the meaning of the loss of 71 days of your child's life.

Compton's core idea is a fiction maintained through unethical accounting.

He cares more about a film concept than reality.

[saikiran1711]

71 days can be the time you would spend sleeping :P

[71days]

71 days.

That is 4.86 percent of the total of 1,460 days in (4 calendar years).

Since Compton doesn't think this is a significant number (It has been "rounded down"), he should donate this percentage of his 2008 portfolio profits to public education initiatives.

[passwordthisasspart2]

#1 United States: 2,078,570 prisoners

#2 China: 1,549,000 prisoners

#3 Russia: 846,967 prisoners

#4 India: 313,635 prisoners

#5 Brazil: 308,304 prisoners

#6 Thailand: 213,815 prisoners 

#7 Ukraine: 198,386 prisoners

#8 South Africa: 180,952 prisoners Total prisoners !

[IamEris]

passwordthisasspart2, one thing I'd like to add to your list there is the fact that the US doesn't take prisoners' organs as China does.

:)

[KosmicQi]

Have not seen movie but this clip's focus is of Competition for world control, monetary superiority via technocrats for example, rather than a better education via system restructuring. This clip does not mention individuality, evolution of mind, focus towards a better communication or world peace. I suspect this movie would stress out some american students to anger and frustration! I'm sick of excuses for wars. There is a better way, I know there is a better way!

[readmorephilosophy]

Here! Here!

Thanks for the good words!

[styleraju]

@KosmicQi A good dose of anxiety is needed for every student. When i went to engineering school in 1996 I had to fight with 100,000+ students to get into 2600 Engineering college openings. After getting through Engineering School i felt i got there because i worked hard to get there and i deserved every minute of it. There were a lot of stressful days and nights during my 11th and 12th grade. But then i came to a realization that nothing in life comes easy.

[ploohapictures]

it's amazing that this video has only 1785 views for now... I think that shows the problem really exists...

[ichida007]

god this is troubling....this is very evident in almost every were in our school system, even students from africa are at the top in my engineering department..we need a wake up call

[readmorephilosophy]

The supposed problem of a lack of student engineering excellence is little better than a red herring.

The film takes a prima facie stance that the school experience is a Darwinian contest in which the best wage earners are selected. The film's website frames this in terms of a "global battle." This resonance with growing US militarism should alarm both parents and students.

[readmorephilosophy]

John Ralston Saul has called Friedman's The Earth is Flat an "embarrassing self help tract." Saul's book Voltaire's Bastards should be basic reading.

For a withering critique of India's failed education system, read chapters 3 & 8 of Martha Nussbaum's The Clash Within.

Resist the unexamined and silly ideas that are marketed in films like Two Million Minutes and books like The Earth is Flat. They are puffery - cash cows for their proprietors.

[Greyhound95]

I actually go to carmel high school

this sturred up alot of interest but not what it should have

Underwood, our department head of Ed. says that we should continue the way we are going, that we have a good balance of real world and learning

[davidrsch60]

smart

[itrod123]

I wonder why the Caribbean or south America was left out because I know for a fact their standards are higher than the U.S.A. as well yet the U.S. is a super power. This documentary only look at certain points, but in fact those countries has different culture and life

style. For instance the Chinese are more control by their government,India is a nation of some of the poorest people in world and the U.S. is dying of Materialistic things like fashion and celebrity status. Weak points in all.

[lsudolemite]

I think the focus is on India and China due to their rapidly increasing wealth, and because much of the U.S. economy is dependent on their resources: manufacturing (particularly electronics) in China, outsourcing of tech jobs to India (lower wages, well-educated workers). And these trends show no sign of slowing down.

[styleraju]

@lsudolemite you forgot the population and the % of world market that these two would become in years to come. FYI China and INDIA are going to be 1st and 3rd biggest economies of the world, sandwiching USA by 2040 or so.