Race To Nowhere....

As a child and even now as a teenager nobody told me that success is not defined by how good your grades are, what ivy league college you attend, and how many extra curricular activities you take. It’s about your determination to never quit, having goals, believing in yourself, and going after what ultimately makes you happy. The world and the educational system has to change the concept of what success really is. Race to Nowhere is a documentary I watched on Friday, April 29th at Oakland Early College that  focuses on the pressures of school that lie on the backs of most teenagers today.

As I was watching the documentary, I saw myself in some of the teens that were speaking. I honestly don’t believe that the students needed to watch the video as much as the teachers and parents. They are the ones who don’t really know how serious the pressure of school can affect a teenager. “ I wish when I looked behind me that the place was filled with parents” said Emily Seward, a fellow OEC student. Parents don’t understand the stress on teenagers today. Some parents think that teenagers complain a lot and have nothing to worry about. That is not true. The stress to get grades, please parents, and attend a good college is a lot on just one person. Because kids are still young, some teenagers don’t know how to cope with stress. For example, the 13-year-old girl, Devon, committed suicide  after receiving her first “F.” She did not even get a chance to go to high school. When a teenager in the documentary said that they didn’t sleep and had headaches, I thought about myself and how those naps and headaches after school were due to stress and I did not even know it.

After we watched Race To Nowhere, all the students went to what we called break out sessions. In the break out session, a group of students spoke on their feelings on the documentary. Each and every student that I talked to could relate in some way to the documentary. The pressure of getting good grades so we can get into our favorite or great college and the heavy expectations of reaching success and becoming known to the world can be very stressful on a teenager. In this realistic documentary, they show millionaires and billionaires who are successful with little to no college degree. Society has the wrong views on what is required to become successful. Starting from first grade all the way through high school one is constantly asked “what do you want to be” and “what college do want to go to?” What I interpret from these questions are you are suppose to graduate with good grades and attend a four year college. These questions create stress and very high expectations in a teenager’s mind. The documentary talked about how those small comments and questions about school can easily add on even more pressure. All the stress that teenagers face is really unnecessary. If there are many successful people in the world today, some with no college education why is society stressing teenagers to have this big educational plan?

This eye-opening documentary shows the different issues in the education system. Race to Nowhere is something that everyone must see to understand that school is serious but it doesn’t have to be so stressful. School shouldn’t be something students dread when they wake up in the morning. Society needs to change their perspective on success. Changes definitely need to be made to make the education system better for everyone. I recommend Race To Nowhere to everyone; it is something that is necessary for everyone to watch.


If given the oppertunity, please watch this documentary; it is a MUST SEE!!!!
Website Link: http://www.racetonowhere.com/

~Taylor Nicole~