'Race to Nowhere' Film Screening Brings Awareness and Questions

Concerned parents, educators, school administrators and students gathered Thursday night at Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack for a viewing of the groundbreaking and riveting documentary Race to Nowhere and to begin a dialogue on educational issues facing American kids — including excessive homework, testing and time management.

The forum was organized by Clarkstown schools Superintedent Margaret Keller-Cogan and Dorothy Atzl, president of the Clarkstown Council of PTAs.

The film, directed by Vicki Abeles of Lafayette, CA,  captures the very essence of schoolwork saturated students across the nation. The film documents the many factors complicating the American education system today, from teaching methodology, the college admissions process, the metamorphosis of college from education haven to big business, the No Child Left Behind Act, cheating, and the remediation that becomes necessary for undergraduate students who have the grades but not the ability to think critically.

The film was dedicated to Devon Marvin, a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in 2008 after experiencing increased pressure to do well in a math class.

In an increasingly competitive society, American children are constantly told to work harder and succeed at any cost. But as the workload gets heavier and begins to manifest at an earlier age, many stressed and overworked children are finding themselves pushed to the limit — and being faced with adult health issues as a result. Concerned parents across the nation are beginning to think something needs to be done in the American school system in order to ensure children's physical and mental health. Many feel that the nation should rid itself of its obsession with testing and bring back creativity and passion to the classroom, while all the time understanding that not all students are destined to follow the same educational and intellectual path.

An audience discussion followed the film, which was facilitated by Ralph Donnell, an admission representative for Rider University and Westminister Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and Francine Cuccia, principal of Link Elementary School in New City.

"This film can serve as a catalyst to help us as a community to bring about change- for families, in the classroom, college and [school] administrative [personnel]," Donnell said. "We need to take the feelings in Clarkstown [on the film's subject matter] to a state and federal level- we have to stand up and say enough is enough."

Many others in the audience spoke during the discussion after the film, from concerned and outraged parents eager for change, to current Clarkstown High School North and South students relating their own experiences with having a hectic schedule and not enough time to attend to all the extra work school requires outside of the classroom.

"This [evening] was meant as an open dialogue to hear concerns from parents and students," said Cuccia. "If we all discuss and come to an agreement [on homework and school concerns], though there are differences between [all of us personally and philosophically], in ther end we are all here for the children.

Cuccia went on to mention how the administration is currently reviewing the homework policy, and more discussions are certainly to follow.

Dorothy Atzl was pleased with both the film and the questions raised, and hoped to see further talks on this matter in the future.

"I am thrilled with the turnout, discussion, dialogue, passion and concern of our administrators, educators, and students," said Atzl. "It is really important to raise the awareness to provide our children with the inspiration to work toward a more educational and creative [school] environment.

Blue Rock School, which serves K through eighth grade in West Nyack, screened the movie in January.

"What kind of childhood do we envision for our children?" said the school's director Caty Laignel in response to the film. "What is the importance of interest and inquiry in the learning process? What kind of human beings do we wish our children to become? These are fundamental questions that should guide our educational practice and the way we spend our family time. Candidly, the students, parents, and educators in the film Race to Nowhere unveil alarming aspects of the relentless conveyor belt we have turned our children over to in a misguided attempt to secure their future success. In our eagerness to give our children everything, we have lost sight of their need to be passionate about some things and not necessarily excel at everything, to enjoy down time and family time, and to be interested in learning for the sake of learning, not just to achieve a grade. Our fear that they may not get into the 'best colleges' and the pressures this imposes on them come at an enormous cost to students’ emotional, psychological and moral well-being."

"If as a society we stop and question what we are doing, we have a wonderful opportunity to enrich our children’s present experience and shift the role of school from a place where you 'just get it done' to one where you can embark on a fascinating life-long journey of inquiry, discovery and mastery," she added.

For more information on the film and its message, visit www.racetonowhere.com.

Download the movie