"Race to Nowhere" Coming to Coginchaug

Do today's educators and parents expect too much of students? Are schools too preoccupied on achieving high test scores and not enough on developing critical thinking skills? Are students over-scheduled and over-worked?

These questions and more will be raised during a screening of the critically acclaimed 2009 documentary "Race to Nowhere," on Monday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Coginchaug High School.

"You see it from one perspective as a parent about your own child, but I also think that it's good to think about what kids in the community are going through," said Superintendent Susan Viccaro about the message parents and educators may take away from the film.

Viccaro said she had not pre-screened the film, and was anxious to view it along with parents, students and educators.

"Race to Nowhere," by first-time filmmaker Vicki Abeles, challenges today's teaching methods and expectations for students in the K-12 education system.

Abeles did not set out to be a filmmaker, according to a letter she posted on the film's official website. Like many modern parents, Abeles battled with her three children about completing their homework assignments while juggling getting them to their extra-curricular activities.

However, when her daughter ended up in the emergency room, doubled over in pain from what doctors diagnosed as stress-induced illness, she started talking to other students, to parents, to teachers, and to experts in the field of education. According to her letter, Abeles concluded that today's educational system is driven by a high-stakes, high-pressure culture.

"Race to Nowhere" claims that a tremendous preoccupation with performance, whether it be from parents, educators, or students themselves, particularly at the middle school and high school levels, has resulted in too many of today's children becoming over-stressed, depressed, and, on rare occasions, suicidal. 

In "Race to Nowhere," the mindset of achievement at any cost has become firmly entrenched in today's culture and everyone is culpable. Anxious parents worry that their children won't get into top colleges. Good teachers, whose hands become tied by a bureaucracy that stresses high test scores over developing a joy of learning, end up leaving the fold.

Unreasonable expectations for achieving not only high grades, but holding leadership roles in sports, clubs, and other extra-curricular activities leave students exhausted and petrified that they won't get into the right school and nab a good job after graduation.  

Despite the heavy focus on testing and homework in today's educational system, "Race to Nowhere" makes several thought-provoking claims, including a statistic that a full 50 percent of University of California entering freshman are required to take remedial classes to get them up to college level work.

Tickets Available

As of Tuesday, about 80 tickets to the event - which was organized by Coginchaug High School teacher Lisa Larson - had been sold. Tickets to the film are $10, which can be purchased on the district's website, or $15 at the door (the money pays for the film).

Immediately following the screening, a panel lead discussion will take place at which time attendees can offer comments or suggestions.

The panel includes Franciene Lehmann (school psychologist), Christen Bertz (science and health teacher), Kelly Davis (parent) and Darryl Abbott (Coginchaug HS senior). The discussion will be moderated by Carol Luckenbach, Director of Curriculum for District 13.

Viccaro is also encouraging students to view the film because she's interested in their feedback.

"There are a lot of pressures on kids today. It's really about getting a perspective," Viccaro said. "Are we providing the kind of support we need to for kids and do we need to rethink some of the things that society has labeled 'priorities'."