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Race To Nowhere

directed by Vicki Abeles



About The Movie

RACE TO NOWHERE is the story of what happens when, through healthy, normal, developmental needs, a gap develops between inner needs and the high stakes, unyielding demands of today's preparation for young people to enter society. It is a groundbreaking documentary feature film that examines the colossal price being paid, by today's students, for the achievement-obsessed way of life that permeates America.

Abeles takes viewers to schools across the country to feature the stories of students who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burnt out and worried students who aren't learning anything substantive and college professors and business leaders, concerned the incoming young people lack the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century. The stories of several young people, parents and a teacher are intercut with scenes of family life and in-depth interviews with top experts in education, medicine, and psychology – providing a deep and varied context that underscores the enormity of a potentially looming crisis.

In 2010, competitive, self-assured, achievement-oriented, young people prepare relentlessly to enter a culture that demands nothing less than their personal best, all day, every day. From preschool through college, children are pressured, pushed, coached, sculpted, scheduled and reviewed, running a never-ending gauntlet towards adulthood.

What happens when personal best is not good enough? What happens when personal best changes into personal nightmare? The unintended consequences of an achievement-obsessed culture can be catastrophic for families and children alike. The mental health of young people may suffer, leading to depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, self-mutilation, and suicide – not to mention binge drinking, self-medication and drug abuse. We are graduating a generation of young people who have been trained as robo-students, unable to think and work independently, creatively, and collaboratively.

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