Documentary Review: Two Million Minutes

The time in a students life during their high school years, 9th -12th grade, is approximately two million minutes. How does an American high school student spend their time compared to students in China and India?  The documentary called, Two Million Minutes,  compares the lives of high school students in three different countries, the United States, India, and China, and the differences in how they spend their two million minutes.

 In India, high school students focus on purely academics. One student from India said, "It is academics and nothing else".  They rarely hang out with their friends, and they spend most of the day in school or studying. The intensity of their education increases as they go through high school, and they feel a lot more pressure about academics than American students. High school students in India have chose their profession by the time they reach 17, and they strive to get masters degrees. People in India strive to be globally competitive. Their life is simpler, but more in depth. I think the biggest difference between American high school students from students in India is Americans spend time doing other activities such as sports, jobs, or just hanging out with friends. Americans balance life with school and fun. In India, it is so much more than just going to college, because if they do well,  it is their passport out of poverty.

In China, they have a full month longer of school each year, plus they go to school for a longer part of each day. This adds up to a lot more time spent in school compared to American high school students. They study two times more than the average American high school student. Even though education is the top priority, they do take time for dance or music. They have the one-child per family rule in China, so parents in China put a lot of importance in the education of their one child. Studying is the top priority above all else. Students in China have very big goals, and most students will attend top universities. People in China believe that they are on a level playing field with the U.S. in education.

This documentary was very eye-opening for me about how starkly different high school students lives are in the United States compared to China and India. It seems to me that the United States is losing their competitive edge in education. Most Americans students do not see that they are in competition with other countries for good jobs. This has made me realize that Americans are not globally aware of what is going on in other countries, and I think that needs to change. I really hope that the future of our education systems starts to change for the better. I think education needs to be a top priority in the United States, because we are being out performed by other countries.