Race To Nowhere

I was talking to a teacher at my children's school the other day and she said something that really made me think: "The children here are overachievers, they are WAY ahead of students at other schools, however, they have no confidence."  Interesting.  As we talked more, I realized that the pressure to succeed was so great that these kids were terrified of failing or doing anything the slightest bit wrong for that matter.  Scary thought.  I've seen first hand the pressure these kids are under and it scares me.  Race To Nowhere is about these pressures and what they are doing to our children.  In Director Vicki Abeles documentary she takes a look at our culture - one that is obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform.  I believe our job, as parents, is to engage our children, help them WANT to learn and learn how to have fun doing it.  I haven't seen Race To Nowhere yet, but I plan to.  There are screenings all over California - click here to find one close to you.  I believe it's the EXPERIENCES we have that make us who we are.  It's through our experiences that we find out what we are most interested in, what we will excel at and what we won't.  I'm hoping my love for taking my kids on vacations, adventures, museums, art classes etc will help them acquire a thirst for life - something I think will take them a lot further than any test score!