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TWO MILLION MINUTES: A GLOBAL EXAMINATION by Robert A. Compton (executive producer), Adam Raney (producer), and Chad Heeter (director). Broken Pencil Productions, 2008. Documentary film, 54 minutes. $25.00.
Some facts: Two million minutes stand between the end of eighth grade and high school graduation. The typical American student will spend 382,400 of these minutes in school, while the average Indian and Chinese student will devote 422,400 and 583,200 minutes to school, respectively. And a threat: The United States may soon lose its preeminent status in the global economy.
What's the connection? Two Million Minutes, a documentary film by Robert Compton, Adam Raney, and Chad Heeter, profiles six high school students from three high schools: 4,000-student Carmel High School, a high-performing public school in Carmel, Indiana; 1,600-student Shanghai Nanyang Model High School, located in Shanghai, China; and St. Paul's English School, a forprofit K-12 school serving just 300 students in Bangalore, India. The film's message is clear: The rigorous in-school and extracurricular experiences of Indian and Chinese students far surpass an American education system more dedicated to serving the demands of adolescents than the economic needs of a nation.
The featured American students-Neil and Brittany-are...