Two Million Minutes

After 8th grade, the clock starts counting down on the two million minutes that a student has in school and at home studying, playing, working, sleeping, and socializing until high school graduation.

A new documentary titles Two Million Minutes is a comparison of education in the United States to that of India and China. The premise is that that amount of time is the same for all (though the amount spent in school or studying varies) and will determine their economic prospects for the rest of their lives.

Some questions the film asks: How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student's choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country's economic future?

It follows two students (a boy and a girl) from China, India & the U.S. to create a global snapshot of education. To put things in some context, there are also interviews with specialists like former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, Congressman Bart Gordon, chair of the House Committee on Science, Harvard economist Richard Freeman as well as top Indian CEOs, and leading scientists in America.

Some of the statistics for American high school students you've heard before and they don't ever seem to improve.

• less than 40% of U.S. students take a science course more rigorous than general biology
• 18% take advanced classes in physics, chemistry or biology
• 45% take math coursework beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry
• 50% of all college freshmen require remedial coursework

On the other side of this flat world, India and China have made strides in educating their growing middle classes. Each of those middle class groups is comparable in size to the entire U.S. population! China now produces eight times more scientists and engineers; India is 3X the U.S.

The filmmakers reference the "Sputnik moment" when the Russian launch of that satellite kicked off both a space race, and a new urgency for American schools to improve science education.

What will be the next event that launches American education? Will it be towards science, technology, engineering and math?

Watch a video report on eSchoolNews

Visit the film's website