Race to Nowhere: Powerful,
Alarming Documentary Asks “Are We Pushing our High School Kids Too Hard?”
Screening and Community Discussion at
Deerfield High School Sept. 24 at 7 pm
Race to Nowhere, called “one of the top
10 education documentaries you don’t want to miss” by Take Part.com, will be
shown at Deerfield High School Tuesday, Sept. 24, followed by a discussion of the provocative issues raised. Family therapist Debbie Gross will moderate, as the community discusses whether our own students are being pushed to the brink by overscheduling, overtesting and the relentless pressure to achieve.
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“Race to
Nowhere sheds light on the pressures our students face to keep multiple balls juggling at the same time,” says Audris Griffith, Principal, Deerfield High School. “One of the most important skills we can teach our teens is how to prioritize competing demands for their time and attention. As the adults in
their lives, we need to assist them with setting healthy boundaries with regard to time management."
in our schools, and challenges current thinking about how we prepare our
children for success. Since its debut in 2010, the documentary has been shown in 30 countries at more than 6,000 screenings, hitting a cultural nerve and
inspiring a movement for change in hundreds of school districts, including:
Walter
Payton High School in Chicago eliminated homework over holiday breaks and is working to implement many additional changes.
Ridgewood
High School in New Jersey has addressed homework, healthy balance and later start times; other schools in the district have followed Ridgewood’s lead and have created homework free holiday breaks.·
Great Neck
High School on Long Island—site of the SAT cheating scandals in 2012—eliminated all homework over Thanksgiving break.
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A popular and critical success,
the film has drawn enormous praise from thought leaders nationwide. Newswoman Katie Couric commented: “This film is a poignant reminder that straight A’s and high SAT scores are not the Holy Grail. We all want our kids to excel, but I’d take a happy child over a ‘depressed success’ any day of the week.” PBS
correspondent John Merrow stated: “I promise you that this movie is telling the truth … Race to Nowhere conveys important messages with power.” Former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education
Diane Ravitch called it: “a compelling film about the stress that kids today
experience because of high stakes testing."
The community is invited to see
this intriguing movie and join the discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Deerfield High School, 1959 Waukegan Road. The event is free, and open to all,
no tickets required. Screening will begin at 7 pm, followed by a question and
answer session with Debbie Gross, LCSW, a therapist specializing in both children’s developmental issues and individual, marital and family stresses. She is a frequent speaker to educators, parents, and community groups throughout the north and northwest
suburbs on topics such as stress and anxiety, positive discipline, bullying, and
other common parenting struggles.
