Race to Nowhere: It's Time to Save our Children from School Stress

"We teach the majority of kids as if they're in the top 20 percent."

"We're turning kids into little professionals."

"Our kids look good on the outside but they're bleeding underneath."

"Stress is the common force that drives kids to negative behaviors."

These are just a sample of the many powerful messages that had hundreds of parents, educators and mental health professionals nodding in recognition and applauding the work of Vicki Abeles for her film, Race to Nowhere, last night at the Bethesda Landmark Theatre. This documentary, based on the director's experiences with her own children, has the potential to shake up the way we educate our children in this country, and the sooner the better.

Abeles and her family were feeling the stress of modern life with school, homework, tutoring and extracurricular activities filling up the calendar. But when her daughter who was in middle school was diagnosed with stress-induced gastric bleeding, she knew it was time to advocate for change.

We all know of kids (and maybe they're our own) who are feeling this stress. Perhaps they've lost or gained weight. Maybe they're withdrawn or start cheating, skipping school, crying, cutting, doing drugs--they can get as desperate as committing suicide. They're in elementary, middle, high school, and especially college. 

We've created a test-based educational model in this country, which, as it turns out, is vastly different from a learning-based educational model. Money to schools is based on test scores. Teacher's jobs are based on test scores. Entry into college is based largely on test scores. The success of private tutors is also based on test scores because we hire tutors to improve our childrens' test scores.

But what about the health and well-being of our kids? If homework is the priority, followed closely by sports, music, "finding their passion" and building their resume for college, there leaves little time for anything else, including developmentally important unstructured play and family activities.

We also don't allow much of a chance for trial and error. Not everyone is good at everything--nor do they have to be--but our current system doesn't provide the space and support for failure. What kind of adults, professionals, parents and future leaders are we creating?

Not all kids are good test-takers. What is the point of cramming a thousand-page world history book into your head only to spit it out on a test and forget about it for the rest of your life? Is the value of an artist, musician or actor less important because there is no standardized test for these bodies of knowledge?

The film hit home for one Kensington resident, Eden Durbin.

"I found that movie terrifying and I am changed because of it," Durbin said. "What did I ask [my daughter] yesterday when she got into the car after school? What homework do you have and what did you get on the math test? I also do Kumon [private tutoring], two days of reading tutoring, soccer, swimming, Girl Scouts--and I expect her to be a star in each of these endeavors. I have a lot of work to do on myself, but I start today. "

The aforementioned are only the beginning of the issues and questions that parents, educators, administrators and policy-makers need to start tackling, and we can't do it soon enough.

For more information on Race to Nowhere, visit the film's site. Other screening opportunities can be scheduled for our area, and the film is scheduled to become available for individual purchase before the end of the year. 

If you are interested in advocating for change in our schools now, let's get organized. Message me by clicking on the "E-mail the author" button at the top of the page, or let me know in the comments.