2 Million Minutes depicted a declining America, falling behind other nations in mathematics and the sciences. I'm aware of The U.S.A current position in the world relative to other countries, so it actually doesn't surprise me that the students in India and China seemed so much more developed and motivated.
However, the average American probably would've been shocked, outraged, and befuddled at what tey were seeing if they were to closely examine the film, and realize that we are not the top tier country in the world today.
America is mentally ill; by that I mean we are a very narcissistic, arrogant society. We are stuck in a 1950's fantasy world mindset when it comes to education, when America was on the top of the world producing the brightest minds. That is no longer the case, and if we wish to stay competitive we cannot hold onto this belief that we are a great, invincible super power.
We are ignorant to the drive that these students in other countries have when it comes to their education, they push themselves much farther then an American student would. Even those students in the documentary, who went to one of America's top public schools, did not push themselves nearly as much as the Chinese and Indian students.
They seemed much less focused on school work, even if they were bright. The other students had almost full attention on their school work at all times, and when they made college plans, their decisions were based on the type of education they wanted to receive and how it would help them in the workforce in years to come. The American students were much less focused on their school work and instead of devoting themselves entirely to it, attempted to balance it with many other social events. When making a decision on colleges, Brittany, one of the American students at Carmel, seemed to be more concerned with joining a sorority then actual academics.
With this mindset, even for the top American students, I do not believe we can succeed in this new world. We need more drive and ambition to succeed in this country. We need to realize that we are competing and that to stay ahead of the pack we must step up our game and perform. If we keep turning a blind-eye to what is happening in the world of education, we will fall far behind other countries. We have the resources, we need the ambition and drive.
