Saturday, April 17, 2010

The achievement trap, another inconvenient truth

Go the the website for the "Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture". Watch the three-minute trailer.  Look for a screening near you.  Heck, organize a screening. It's a documentary film by a parent, Vicki Abeles, for parents, educators and anyone with an empathetic heart about the staggering increases in homework kids get and the resulting sleep deprivation, sedentary lifestyle and depression - even suicide - among kids who pick up on the pressure to 'excel', 'succeed', 'achieve' and 'win'. This is the other side of the 'achievement gap'.  This is the 'achievement trap'.