Letter from the Director

Dear Parents, Teachers, Students, Administrators, Coaches and Friends:

Race to Nowhere came into being after a series of wake-up calls in my own family made me look closely at the pressures kids face today.  I began to question the changes I saw in my children as they navigated days filled with school, homework, tutoring and extracurricular activities. 

When my daughter became physically sick from the stress she was under, I was determined to do something.  While I started to make changes in my home, the demands seemed more systemic and beyond my immediate control.  I was compelled to do more so I turned to the power of the media.

I realized the role of the media in contributing to the widespread fear that our education system is failing our students. Furthermore, as policies and reforms in education continued to be discussed and implemented, I began to consider the potential a film could have in giving voice to those most intimate within the educational system yet often last to be heard--students and teachers. I wanted to create a vehicle powerful enough to raise awareness and galvanize ALL stakeholders towards positive, sustainable, systemic change.

My journey of exploration began by attending meetings with knowledgeable experts in the fields of education, pediatrics, psychology, sports, psychiatry and education. The soaring statistics associated with youth depression, suicide, cheating and drop out rates stunned me. I started to wonder why so many caring adults – parents and grandparents, teachers and administrators, doctors and psychologists, college admissions officers and business leaders – felt powerless to protect our children’s health and well-being.

While I knew the pressures facing kids in my own community were great, I wondered whether these issues crossed economic and geographic lines.  So I interviewed young people, educators and parents across the country, from public and private schools, from suburbs and inner cities.  I learned that kids everywhere, regardless of their background, are under a new kind of cultural pressure to perform, the kind of pressure that impacts physical and emotional health and development.

Our numbers driven society perpetuates this pressure. High stakes testing has taken the place of meaningful teaching and learning. Teachers express frustration over federal and state curriculum and testing mandates yet are required to teach to a test and cover an unrealistic volume of content.  College endowments depend on donations based on the GPA and honors status of their student body.  All of which adds to an education system focused on competition, scores and rankings.

Today’s education often depends on memorization of facts rather than critical thinking skills. As a result, many business leaders and colleges are concerned that the current crop of graduates are uninspired and unprepared for life in a complex global world. We are graduating a generation of young people who have been trained as robo-students, unable to think and work independently, creatively and collaboratively. Industry is spending billions retraining these graduates and colleges are spending their money remediating them.

It’s difficult to express feelings about being caught in a pressure cooker, especially for adolescents and teens. It takes a lot of courage to tell a personal story of struggle, of overcoming adversity, of giving up because they are overwhelmed by the quantity of work or lack of relevancy of the education that are receiving.

What finally emerged is a close-up look at the unintended consequences of the achievement-obsessed way of life that permeates American education and culture. Young people are our most valuable resource.  In them lie our future scientists, doctors, lawyers, legislators, teachers, nurses, and parents.   They will be the stewards of our communities, our nation, and our planet.  By forcing developing minds into a one-size-fits-all mold of learning, we are shortchanging the vast diversity and vibrancy of our country.    

For too many, childhood has become a period of productivity and performance.  They no longer have time to play, to discover passions, to rest, to make mistakes, to reflect or to build the resilience needed for a balanced and healthy adulthood.

After viewing the film, we hope you will be inspired to take action.  As a parent, I’ve experienced the frustration of attending meetings where these issues are discussed and life for my children remaining unchanged the following day. Let’s not let this pattern continue.  Let’s make a commitment to work together towards productive change.

We at Reel Link Films are dedicated to helping your community find solutions to this flawed system and providing you with the resources to do so.  

We need to agree to work in partnership to transform education to better prepare our children for life after high school while making their health and well-being a national priority.

Sincerely,

Vicki H. Abeles