Race to Nowhere To Be Screened at Farmington High School

News stories of students running away from pressure to excel in school, to achieve perfect scores on standardized tests, to get into the best colleges, have parents across the country asking themselves, is this really what we want for our children? Are we too obsessed with testing? Are our children at risk of feeling overwhelmed by homework, stressed by having no time to themselves, scared of bullying at school?

The community is invited to a free screening of the critically acclaimed film Race To Nowhere, The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture on Thursday, April 14, 7 p.m. at the Farmington High School Auditorium. Planned in cooperation with Farmington Public Schools, the screening is sponsored by Farmington Library, Farmington Police Union, Farmington Public School Foundation, Farmington Youth Services, FOCUS, and West Woods Upper Elementary PTO. 

Race to Nowhere “is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.”

“It is a documentary that has received national attention and has been screened in several area towns," explained Nancy Parent, Farmington’s Director of Community and Recreational Services. "As stakeholders in Farmington's youth, this is a great opportunity for us to come together to foster dialogue and support positive youth development.” 

“In talking with people who had seen the film in surrounding towns, we felt it would be a great opportunity to open this discussion in Farmington,” Parent added.

The film, rated PG-13, runs 85 minutes and will be followed by a moderated community discussion being planned by the Farmington Public Schools Superintendent’s office.

"As a parent of a second grader, I am often concerned about the amount of homework they get and the time it takes away from just being a child. I hear many other parents express the same concerns. The Board of Education has been invited to attend the screening and I am looking very forward to seeing this film and what it has to say,” observed board member Jon Landry.

The film has been shown in communities around the country and has led to conversation examining all areas of our current educational climate, going as far as to call for an end to standardized testing in some states.

State Sen. Beth Bye, (D -5), a member of the Education Committee, applauds the decision to show the film and discuss the topic as a community.

“This is such an important discussion," Bye said. "As a former preschool teacher and director, I think it is so important to think of the impact of the pressure we put on students. As a parent, it is our job to focus on today and making today the best day it can be for our children. As a legislator, I recognize we do need data to inform our decisions, but we need to know what good tests are. We lose a lot of instructional time to testing and need to know if our investment in standardized testing is effective.”

The issue may also be a factor when young people come in contact with the police department.

Farmington Police Department Youth Officer Susan DiVenere has found “most of my cases are directly due to stress of some sort, the stress students are feeling from school or sports or parents. I think the film and the discussion will be absolutely beneficial to the community. It is hard enough for adults to deal with stress, yet we expect so much from students. It is something we all need to deal with better and we need better tools.”

Thanks to underwriting by the sponsoring organizations, admission is free but pre-registration is required and seats are limited.

Tickets can be ordered online at http://rtnfarmingtonhsct.eventbrite.com.