Bob Compton, an Indianapolis venture capitalist-turned-film producer, has produced a controversial new documentary called "2 Million Minutes" that looks at education in the United States as it compares with other countries.
The film follows two students from Carmel High School in Indianapolis, who have since graduated and gone on to study at Indiana University and Purdue University, as well as two students from India and two from China.
Twenty months in the making, "2 Million Minutes" highlights the pressures and priorities of these students and their families, providing insight into the changing nature of competition in a technology-based global economy.
"As a high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist for the past 25 years, I can tell you the people who have reaped the greatest economic rewards in the past two decades have been those with the most rigorous and thorough understanding of technology -- and thus a solid foundation in math and science, and who have an ability to solve problems and possess entrepreneurial skill," Compton said.
The film looks at how American students fall short in those categories and ways to change the education system.
"2 Million Minutes" is not without its critics, however, including many educators in the U.S.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals put out a statement that outlines some of the group's problems with the film. The NASSP says that the film engages in "statistical sleight of hand," by providing statistics about dropout rates in the U.S. but never mentions similar statistics from China or India.
The group also says that the film focuses exclusively on math, science and engineering but doesn't consider excellence in other subjects, and that the film compares students of different achievement levels.
Find out more about the documentary at www.2Mminutes.com.
News Source: abc News
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