Lake Theatre Presents Documentary: Race To Nowhere October 2, 2010

The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture -

In today’s increasingly globalized world, educators and students face alarming pressure to develop the skills necessary to stay competitive and prepare for their future careers. In the documentary film Race to Nowhere, the filmmakers chronicle the challenges faced by these young people and their teachers: the students share heart-breaking stories of how they’ve been pushed to the brink while teachers worry that their students are not developing needed tools to succeed in the global economy. This thought-provoking film will be shown on Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the Lake Theatre in downtown Oak Park. The screening will begin at 10 a.m. and admission is $8 per person. Immediately following the screening will be a Q&A session with local educators and child welfare experts.

Race to Nowhere investigates dropping test scores, a shrinking global economy and the increasingly unrealistic expectations of parents, universities, school districts, and society at large. In a grassroots sensation already feeding a groundswell for change, hundreds of theaters, schools and organizations nationwide will host community screenings in October. Tens of thousands of people will come together, using the film as the centerpiece for a growing national dialogue on how we can end this “race to nowhere.”
Among the many experts who weigh in on the subject in the film are Dr. Madeline Levine, author of the best-seller The Price of Priviledge, Dr. Deborah Stipek, dean of Stanford School of Education, and Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, an adolescent medicine specialist at the Children’s Hospital.