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After sending her daughter to school in tears, one Avery parent decided something needed to change.
“I sent my second grader to school in tears over a homework assignment, and then got a call from the nurse that she was in the office feeling sick,” Jennifer Barsamian said.
The Dedham Rocks blogger and Dedham Transcript columnist rallied to bring the documentary “Race to Nowhere” to Dedham in hopes it would provoke conversation on a local level.
“We are preparing our first and second graders for the third grade MCAS; it just doesn’t make sense,” she said. This past weekend, all of Barsamian’s hard work paid off when the Dedham Community Theatre was packed for two early morning showings of the documentary.
“Race to Nowhere” boldly explores the negative effects of increased academic and social pressure on today’s youth, as it challenges current assumptions of how to best prepare children for their futures. The 84-minute documentary dives into the “dark side of America’s achievement culture,” and argues that our current academic system, with excessive homework and high-stakes testing, is churning out a generation of overtired, disengaged learners.
Mother turned filmmaker, Vicki Abeles, was inspired to challenge current notions of how to best prepare children for their academic futures after her 12-year-old was diagnosed with a stress induced illness. In the film she interviewed experts in the field, health professionals, teachers and families to expose what she calls a hidden “epidemic” in our school systems.
“After months of long evenings battling homework assignments, studying for tests and panic attacks in the middle of the night, we found her doubled over in pain,” Vicki Abeles wrote of her daughter on the “Race to Nowhere” website. “I started to make some changes in my home, but the pressures on my children and family felt more systemic and beyond my control.”
The film points to restrictions imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which the filmmaker argues takes emphasis away from project-based learning and places it on preparing students to succeed on standardized tests. According to one teacher interviewed, the program bars creativity in the classroom and ultimately leads to students “cramming” information that they ultimately do not retain.
The two-day screening attracted nearly 400 people Many stayed after the film to participate in a discussion led by former School Committee member Fred Civian.
Selectman Paul Reynolds was one of the first to speak, and expressed delight to see almost every seat in the house filled.
After sending her daughter to school in tears, one Avery parent decided something needed to change.
“I sent my second grader to school in tears over a homework assignment, and then got a call from the nurse that she was in the office feeling sick,” Jennifer Barsamian said.
The Dedham Rocks blogger and Dedham Transcript columnist rallied to bring the documentary “Race to Nowhere” to Dedham in hopes it would provoke conversation on a local level.
“We are preparing our first and second graders for the third grade MCAS; it just doesn’t make sense,” she said. This past weekend, all of Barsamian’s hard work paid off when the Dedham Community Theatre was packed for two early morning showings of the documentary.
“Race to Nowhere” boldly explores the negative effects of increased academic and social pressure on today’s youth, as it challenges current assumptions of how to best prepare children for their futures. The 84-minute documentary dives into the “dark side of America’s achievement culture,” and argues that our current academic system, with excessive homework and high-stakes testing, is churning out a generation of overtired, disengaged learners.
Mother turned filmmaker, Vicki Abeles, was inspired to challenge current notions of how to best prepare children for their academic futures after her 12-year-old was diagnosed with a stress induced illness. In the film she interviewed experts in the field, health professionals, teachers and families to expose what she calls a hidden “epidemic” in our school systems.
“After months of long evenings battling homework assignments, studying for tests and panic attacks in the middle of the night, we found her doubled over in pain,” Vicki Abeles wrote of her daughter on the “Race to Nowhere” website. “I started to make some changes in my home, but the pressures on my children and family felt more systemic and beyond my control.”
The film points to restrictions imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which the filmmaker argues takes emphasis away from project-based learning and places it on preparing students to succeed on standardized tests. According to one teacher interviewed, the program bars creativity in the classroom and ultimately leads to students “cramming” information that they ultimately do not retain.
The two-day screening attracted nearly 400 people Many stayed after the film to participate in a discussion led by former School Committee member Fred Civian.
Selectman Paul Reynolds was one of the first to speak, and expressed delight to see almost every seat in the house filled.
“No Child Left Behind has held a club over kids’ and teachers’ heads,” he said, in reference to the additional pressure recently placed on the Avery School community. “God bless every person who showed up today.”
In August, Dedham parents were told the that under the federal No Child Left Behind Act the school was “preliminarily identified for improvement” in math in the subgroups of low-income and white children. Overall, Avery scored 79.10 percent proficient in math in 2009 and 80.80 in 2010, a number of points below the state performance target of 84.3 for those years. The numbers are based on MCAS results.
When a school fails to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive years, it must be identified for improvement, and then must develop an improvement plan. The administration responded by hiring a math coach, providing free MCAS preparation for students and professional development for teachers.
Oakdale School Principal Holli Armstrong attended the Sunday screening and shared her thoughts on what administrators could do as a “next step” to ensure a nurturing environment for students.
“We need to make some changes and start looking at these kids as whole people,” she said, following a brief discussion about the amount of time children spend studying verses exploring or creating.
Claire Landrigan of Newton, who runs a professional development company for teachers, commented that parents and schools alike are eliminating basic educational tools by forcing children to learn faster than they are developmentally ready.
“Dr. Seuss is lost. Nursery rhymes are lost. We need to think about what we are doing in our own homes. We don’t read big and hard, so why are we forcing our kids to read big and hard,” she asked.
Eighth-grader Zachary Castagnola, a student at Dedham Country Day School and one of the few local students in attendance, said he was impressed with the film. However, he said he had trouble relating to many of the stressed out teens because the teachers at his private school work to adjust lessons for every learning style. He also said that athletics scheduled into the school day provide much needed mental breaks.
“Teachers work really well with the school. They really prepare us,” he said.
Theatre owner and state Rep. Paul McMurtry attended both screenings, and said that he was pleased to see the large turn out
“I received many requests to bring this film to Dedham, and I would consider showing it again. As an elected official and theater owner, I really felt a responsibility to get this film for the town. It is really a public service, and I am proud to have been involved,” he said.
Curious and concerned parents made up the majority of the audience. Karyn Manning, who has children in the Dedham School system, said she enjoyed the film because the conversation it provoked could result in a healthier educational system.
“I think now everyone agrees that something needs to change,” she said.
