Heavy Hitters!

'2 Million Minutes'

As soon as a student completes the 8th grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has 'Two Million Minutes' to go from a teenager to an adult.

Film raises troubling questions about U.S. students

See film trailer HERE:
http://www.2mminutes.com/trailer.html


The brainchild of Memphis businessman Robert Compton, Two Million Minutes takes its title from the amount of time most students spend in high school absorbing, one hopes, enough math, science, literature and history to compete in an increasingly flat, competitive world.

Two Million Minutes finds plenty to be worried about: not enough study or homework time, not enough parental pressure, not enough focus on math or engineering. American teens, it argues, are preoccupied with sports, after-school jobs and leisure.


The film is a surprise hit among high school teachers, who see in it a clear message for students. Work harder.

Compton, 52, grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and attended public schools. A venture capitalist, he ran a medical-device company that he sold in 2000. Since then, he has been running a series of high-tech start-ups.

The idea for the film came to him during a 2005 trip to India, where he hired about 100 programmers and would often treat them to dinner; they'd fall into conversation on a huge range of topics.

"They could talk about U.S. history, European history, Shakespeare. They could talk about Peter Drucker's books on management. They were just so well-read and knowledgeable, I couldn't believe it."

Compton acknowledges that extreme poverty prevents many Indian and Chinese students from getting the world-class education depicted in the film. "But I don't think we should take comfort in that, because they want good education. The government is trying to get them good education."

Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the 8th grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has approximately....

…Two Million Minutes until high school graduation…Two Million Minutes to build their intellectual foundation…Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately career…Two Million Minutes to go from a teenager to an adult?

How a student spends their Two Million Minutes - in class, at home studying, playing sports, working, sleeping, socializing or just goofing off -- will effect their economic prospects for the rest of their lives.


How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student's choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country's economic future?


This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century ?China, India and the United States ?are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students ?a boy and a girl ?from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

Here is the main page for 2 million minutes:

http://www.2mminutes.com/index.html