Re: Race to Nowhere

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

The stars of this film are parents and kids, including Vicki Abeles' 
own family. The message isn't just about testing, but about the whole 
high pressure emphasis on academic achievement, largely defined as 
test scores. It exposes the same absurdity as Stephen Krashen's essay 
on prenatal phonemic awareness training. But it has a dark side: the 
portrait of a beautiful and talented child who was bothered so much 
she took her own life - a suicide at thirteen.

At 05:17 PM 1/16/2011 -0500, Art Burke wrote:
> Undoubtedly some children are stressed out by tests, but national 
> polls show that on the whole testing doesn't bother parents and kids 
> very much at all.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>
> TSent: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 2:03 pm
> Subject: [arn-l] Race to Nowhere
>
>
> After premiering in New York and Los Angeles, the producers of Race 
> To Nowhere
>
> are now scheduling showings nationwide. Rather than playing 
> theaters, they are
>
> specifically seeking to partner with unions, parent groups, and others who
>
> believe that standardized tests are part of a culture of placing 
> inappropriate
>
> demands and excessive stress on young people, often beginning in the primary
>
> grades. (The subtitle is "The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture.")
>
>
>
> Producer-Director Vicki Abeles presented the film in two showings and a
>
> discussion group at the CTA Joint Issues Conference over the Martin 
> Luther King,
>
> Jr., weekend.
>
>
>
> People interested in arranging a showing or being invited to one can 
> register on
>
> the website, www.RaceToNowhere.com




George Sheridan