Race to Nowhere

Last weekend, I watched the movie Race to Nowhere, a documentary claiming that the Race to the Top initiative and No Child Left Behind have taken away childhood and put more emphasis on test taking than actual learning.

Nathan gets annoyed when I start talking about the sad state of education, but now that we have a baby on the way, it seems like I have to speak out so that her education is not the fill-in-the-bubbles type that the American system is becoming. Have you ever heard of expectant parents dreaming that one day, their child will be an excellent test taker?

I get angry when I see those Exxon commercials saying how far behind America is on international tests. People like to blame the teachers for this, when really it's the testing itself.  Most of the countries that outperform us do not have a yearly standardized test that is offered. In fact, many Asian countires that once used standardized testing realized how harmful it is, and have moved away from it (I'm reading a book that talks about this in depth.)   So why are Americans so stubborn?  Because there is big money in standardized testing. 

There is a lot more information out there on this topic, so do some research to figure out what you think about it. If you have children, have infants, or hope to one day have them, this does affect you. Politicians are stifling creativity, critical thinking, and general enjoyment of learning and replacing it with convergent thinking, rote memorization, and big-business. That's not what I want for our baby's future.