New Trailer for Two Million Minutes

[arjunbais1]

i can only say what what i have seen.. i am an engineering graduate from India now doing masters in UK and i have seen that people here are behind in most of the subjects. though i came here because here there are lot many facilities than India but the main reason was i couldn't get into top colleges in India. Most student who come here or go to USA are there because they lack the competitiveness to get to top Indian colleges. Secondly in my course there r 4 Indians 2 Mexicans and 1 UK national

[MegaPacman25]

India and china maybe smarter than us but we can choose what we want to do AMERICA!!!!

[sebwingfield]

Our corporations have betrayed us. They higher professional mythmakers like Bob Compton to mislead and demoralize us. And they will ultimately force our country into third world status if they are not required to stop engaging in labor arbitrage.

[sebwingfield]

Do not believe them when they say they must destroy the economic opportunities of their fellow US citizens and give them to foreigners because that's where the "talent is." There is already a surplus of talent for those jobs here in the US. The only reason they offshore, and they import labor, is because it saves them money (they can pay less benefits, there are tax advantages, lower salaries - look at the damn numbers and open your eyes).

[furyofbongos]

Americans have lost their edge because the momentum of capital investment which brings more and better opportunities has been squelched by massive government intervention of all kinds.

American youth have had the carpet pulled from under them. There is very little opportunity here. There is a whole lot of opportunity in far less regulated China.

America is slowly but increasingly falling by the wayside.

Economic freedom = prosperity. U.S. is rapidly losing economic freedom.

[ryanpaulmr]

America lost the bigger picture. you should travel to asia and see how people live 8-16hrs of work is normal to them.

[whoo689]

Interestingly, there's a group of Americans who made a documentary saying the exact OPPOSITE of what this documentary says: that American students are WORKING TOO HARD. I know, right? Ridiculous. "working too hard" my ass. American public schools are EXTREMELY lenient. I forget the name of it, tho. The trailer kind of makes me crack up for its stupidity.

[arzama1]

How will America spend their time?:

America-get fat on the couch, watch American football (a pointless non sport event). Talk shit about other countries....... while their ignorant minds are on the most brain washing media out there!

[sdfkjllshadflhadfshl]

We will never see real reform while the teachers unions are pumping money into the political system to fund the status quo.

[tennismaster3211]

People always try to bash the top country. It may seem that America is losing on the surface to India and China but its not.

American kids get more applicable education and are more creative. On the other hand Indian and Chinese kids are more book worms. They are not gaining many skills. Eventually their education system will fall.

for the past 50 years Indian and Chinese education has been the same but US has still made more advancements because of creative minds not robots.

[divyang7777]

no future for present super power country ...

[lloydsrochester]

But there ARE Americans who are quietly breaking out of that pathetic mold, and many of them are homeschooled or are people who have learned how to get a serious college education through distance education without wasting money, time or their lives. THEY don't fall for the "education is only about socialization" crap which breeds the kind of barely educated blobs that I can barely find jobs for in a temporary agency. BTW - their social skills are usually poor, too.

[2MillionMinutes]

While I too have become pessimistic, I am reminded of Winston Churchil's observation about Americans:

"America will always do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options."

The last 30 years we have been exhausting all other options to meaningful improvement in K-12 education.

We are very close, with the President and Sec Duncan's leadership and courage, to "doing the right thing."

[MrSPAero]

@jisangNY1 America given up too early !!

[moistpup]

All the education in the world won't make you innovative or creative. While the Indian and Chinese kids are spending every moment of their lives conforming and not living, the American children are. If you had to place bets on which one was going to invent a "fun", "cool" or "entertaining" product, which one would it be? The person who has never lived and doesn't know what fun, cool, or entertaining is, or the kid who partied and still managed to do well in college?

[2MillionMinutes]

As we bask in our apparently permanent advantage of being the "most creative people on Earth", let's pause a moment to reflect on the realities of US High School: Only 70% of US kids complete high school By 12th grade: 97% - African Americans 96% - Hispanic 80% - Caucasian 66% - Asian ...are NOT proficient in math. 40% take only 1 science class Biology 55% dont go beyond Algebra and Geometry 11% are functionally illiterate We are "fun" "cool" and "entertaining" - I'll grant you that !

[moistpup]

So what? They aren't proficient in math, big whoop. I've been a software engineer for 10 years doing cutting edge website creation using enterprise Java... and I never touch math... ever.

[2MillionMinutes]

Well, I'm happy for you moistpup.

Unfortunately, not every job in the 21st century will be Java programming without any use of math. There will be some, of course, but why not excel?

As Pres. Obama recently stated "the best jobs will go to the best educated." I believe him.

As one thinks about the new industries of the 21st century, many (not all) of the highest paying careers WILL require regular use of math more advanced than Algebra - nano-tech, alternative energy, genetic therapies, etc.

[rockingnandpatel]

@moistpup so does that mean you dont need math?? and if someone do not have to use marh ever THAN WHY OUR SCHOOLS PROVIDE EDUCATION FOR MATH in us? YOU DONT NEED TO COUNT 1 TO 100 EVER IN YOUR LIFE but than also TO SUSTAIN you have to learn it..you are using softwares for designing but who are designing it STILL NEED TO LEARN MATH.and documentary does not focused on math only it just suppose to show us whats our position today?

[moistpup]

The other thing is that we tend to learn what we need on the job, or in order to get the job. It is better we got the "fun" years early on. I know the Indians NEVER get the "fun" years. they are practically drones.

[2MillionMinutes]

I'll let Indians comment on your view of them as "drones" and that they are with joy in their lives.

I find your remarks offensive, but I'm not Indian.

[moistpup]

You were quick to pull the racism card weren't you. You made the assumption that I didn't think similar things about many of the people who are white working at most 500+ employee corporations. All I have to do is look at San Jose to know that there are many white people who are drones as well. The life of a Drone: Wake up. Get Dressed Get In Car Open Garage Door Pull Car out Close Garage door Drive to work. Work 8-16 hours. Drive home. open garage door Drive in. Close garage door go to bed.

[2MillionMinutes]

I only said I found your comments offensive, but if you feel you are a racist, ok by me.

Moistpup, I thought Silicon Valley was the heaven of the creative class...

Now I'm getting disillusioned. I thought you were in that "fun" "cool" "entertaining" place where no one needs to know math and they live an idyllic, creative, well-paid life.

What about the "non-conforming" Bay Area people? You make it sound like...like...India or China! :-)

Say it ain't so, moistpup!

You're not a drone, right?

[JDisTheDeceiver]

I have a feeling this film will focus on the negativity of the American education which is a very cultural based system. American culture includes free time for leisure wheras Chinese and Indian culture requires education to be central to make a living at all. Going to school 6 days a week might make you smarter but that's a rather hard and dismal education.

[2MillionMinutes]

Two Million Minutes - The 21st Century Solution celebrates an American Charter School - BASIS Tucson- that educates ordinary US kids to an extraordinary level - above the global standard.

It achieves that feat in 180 school days - the same as most US government schools.

And the school is anything BUT dismal. It is hard work, that is true.

Succeeding at a global level in any activity takes effort - athletics or academics - wish I could change that for you.

[HailRasec]

This film should address primarily the backward status of the US educational system and how it affects society.

There is no competition for innovation. If India has major market share in the future thanks to its pending innovations, so then be it. In this case, nobody loses.

[2MillionMinutes]

No one loses in economic competition? Yikes! Tell that to the 300,000 US former auto workers...

Wow - I'm stunned you believe America doesn't need to compete economically to maintain our standard of living.

Maybe you were being sarcastic :-)

[TommyRastafari]

This is, in my humble opinion, an evolutionary, modern, mondial scale example of "Only the strongest will survive.". And it IS. Really. Happening.

US and Europe = Fail :(

[sunswadesh]

How many of you think it is propaganda to get some funds for education in the US? How many American kids go to India-China to study technology (culture is not what they are worried about)? The reverse is true, the american higher education is still a lot more effective. I guess if we can bind the Chinese and Indian primary education system with the american higher education system the kids would be much more capable. It is not US vs THEM race.

[thewayoutofdarkness]

I grew up in California, and have worked for many technical corporations. The top engineers here are immigrants. We are behind... while we as Americans spend a lot of time on entertainment, partying, sex... China and Indians are studying... take a look at your fellow WASP graduates, most are in construction or marketing, and not hard sciences. We are capable of excellence, it's just a simple matter of applying ourselves, and where we put our time.

[xover76]

what does the author think of the assertion that once the students reach college, the top US students are still trying to reach reach the top graduate schools whereas in East Asian countries, the students are set on a track already and do not have that same incentive? I have heard that college is where the US makes up its ground.

[J0kerofHearts]

From what I understand, the problem is more of a cultural ambivalence towards education rather than a weaker education system. From what I know, undergraduate and graduate level education in China are developing quickly under the central government, and the culture is prime to jump on board. On the other hand, in the US, keeping up by restructuring high school culture is much less straightforward.

[2MillionMinutes]

Interesting point.

China has doubled the number of colleges in the past decade to nearly 2,000.

The US has approximately 3,000 colleges - a static number for 25 years.

[pwang2006]

The translation of that Chinese male student is not exactly right, should be more like this:

This is ..."Strength In Numbers."

Lately I've been reading this book every night before I go to bed.

This is how I encounter calculus for the very first time

It explains calculus in a super simple way.

[xingfenzhen]

high school is 3 years in China though, since they are on a 6-3-3 system. So do you include the last year of middle school for the Chinese students?