2 Million Minutes

To make up for my absence in March 17th I chose to watch the documentary “2 Million Minutes”. I found it as a great starting point for a classroom discussion on at least three levels, factual, emphasis on career choice and the author’s message.

First, focusing on just the obvious facts presented, we could discuss on the educational differences among India, China and the US. The documentary provides a lot of numbers and facts that show the US students using between 30 to 50 % less time studying than those in India and China. The facts and numbers can provide for a rich discussion about what kind of cultural values lead to those differences and what does it say about each society. I was glad to see some recognition that a lot the time the American students are not studying is not just idle time. They may not use it to study but they are highly involved I work or activities.

Secondly, the focuses on a very specific group of students, those choosing science-technology careers. I guess there is a need to narrow the scope to produce an effective documentary, but I think it says more about the producer than about the students it compares. Nevertheless this is to me most valid point of the documentary. The declining interest in Science and Technology in America is a sad fact. It is clear that India and China are placing a large emphasis on technological careers. Great point for a discussion with teenagers and their career choices.

Thirdly, a meta-movie discussion can take place around the choices made by the director. It is clear that his opinion of the American educational system is very poor. He chose to portrait the US students in a very poor light (THE study group session chose is during “Grey’s Anatomy”? Please….). The facts are the facts but how it was edited and directed shows quite a bias.