'Race to Nowhere' Spurs Strong Reflections on Education

Hewlett-Woodmere Central Council PTA showed a screening of the documentary film “Race to Nowhere” last Wednesday, prompting strong reactions from community members on the state of the education system.

In the film, director Vicki Abeles speaks with dozens of students, parents and educators on how too much homework is burning out kids, how standardized tests distracts from real lessons in a post “No Child Left Behind” world and how the college application process is malfunctioning.

The movie brings to surface several questions parents and residents can ask themselves about their school district: Should standardized test scores be such an important factor in judging a district? Shouldn’t college acceptance rates be more important? How much homework should elementary school children have? How many AP courses is too many? Should afterschool activities be limited?

Here are some reactions from audience members:

“The first thing I thought when the movie finished is ‘I have to do homework.’ The movie made me sad because I felt it was focused on me. There’s always pressure from friends, family and teachers.”
— Zachary Gershon, Hewlett High School student

“I’m not surprised by anything in this film. I try not to worry about my grades and just learn, but I can’t. I have to push myself and get good grades.”
— Sarah, Hewlett High School junior

“Numbers are not who you are or what you’re capable of. It’s the wrong message we’re sending to our kids. We have to think about what we can do here.”
— Nancy Greebel

“How did our kids’ lives get so scheduled? When did this happen?”
— Steve Sippin

“Homework should be to go out and play. We need to get together and say ‘what are we going to change?’”
— Jamie Marcus

“With No Child Left Behind, we lost one week of our curriculum to make room for reviews and midterms. Kids coming to my class know less and less each year. The irony is the tests did the exact opposite. The system does need to be fixed.”
— A teacher from another district who did not say her name

“I have been shocked by the amount of homework my daughter has. I see it having a negative impact on her toward education.”
— Frank DeCelie, teacher at Herricks School District

“We’re under immense pressure to be on top. It’s raised our stress levels. It’s all cyclical.”
— Stephanie Schwartz, teacher at Hewlett-Woodmere

“Some of the things we’ve been doing have aligned with the film. The will of this community to administer to the whole child speaks volumes.”
— Dr. Joyce Bisso, superintendent of Hewlet-Woodmere School District