"Race to Nowhere" Shows that Homework and Academic Pressure Cause Student Stress

Yorktown High School freshman Amanda Garcia and her sister Danielle, a senior at the school, got emotional after viewing the "Race to Nowhere" film and said what they saw is exactly how they feel -- stressed out and pressured to succeed. 

The girls each spoke at a podium after the film was over, as part of an encouraged discussion by Superintendent of Schools Ralph Napolitano. 

The educational expectations, Danielle said, are conflicting with what she really want to do, which is to pursue her passion for acting.

"The pressure is crazy hard," she said. "I can't go to sleep, I'm thinking about everything I have to do to be successful. And on the outside I appear 100 percent calm and collected, a bright student, really social, but on the inside I'm just like 'I could be better.'"

The Pressure to Succeed

"Race to Nowhere" examines the high-stress environment that exists in schools nationwide, causing some students to lead stressed and over-scheduled lives. Some students cheat, take stimulating drugs, have emotional break-downs, don't sleep, suffer from anorexia, and even commit suicide.

Filmmaker Vicki Abeles decided to make the film after seeing the stress her three children were experiencing. She, like may other parents in the film, said every night was a "battle around homework."

"All three of my kids started complaining about headaches from school or stomach aches, or they would wake up in the middle of the night worried about a test the next day," she said in the beginning of the film. "And I didn't really know how seriously to take it. At that same time a 13-year old girl in my community committed suicide. "

The film was dedicated to Devon Marvin, a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in 2008 after experiencing increased pressure to do well in a math class.

In her film, Abeles made a point that children should have less homework and live free, playful lives. The film depicts a pressure-packed, test-driven educational culture, which was created by federal and state standards implemented through the No Child Left Behind Act. Students in the film said they worry about getting into college and affording college. Many of them memorize the test material instead of "studying it."

Starting the Dialogue

Organizers of the event, said they wanted to show the film not to teach a "lesson," but to start a discussion on the topic. 

"The biggest thing is balance," said Theresa Ryan-Onatzevitch, president of the Yorktown Council of PTAs. "You don't have to be the best at everything. Just find what you like to do."

Lisa Tomeny, coalition coordinator for the Alliance for Safe Kids, said the film is a starting point for community members to reflect on how they can support children and provide a safety net that would protect them. 

"There are no right or wrong answers and certainly no solutions  to the complicated issues that are addressed in this film," she told an audience of approximately 400 people. "But what is clear is our responsibility as individuals, parents, coaches, educators, the community as a whole to save not only their physical health but their mental and emotional health as well." 

Tricy Cushner, president of Alliance for Safe Kids, said the movie is charging adults to make changes.

"This movie gives permission to everyone to rethink the way they approach stress in their child's life," she said. 

Yorktown High School principal Joseph DeGennaro and Assistant Superintendent Florence O'Connor said school officials are planning more meetings and discussions to continue the dialogue. 

Napolitano asked parents that night to think about what they saw, felt and heard in the film and reflect on what they think they should do differently. He asked them to think about the pressures they had while growing up, and how they might be different from what their kids are experiencing today. 

Family Time

As required by the state, Napolitano said he that once a month he has to list on the school calendar and invite parents to have a "family eat dinner tonight" at their homes.

"If you need me to tell you to eat dinner tonight once a month, you need more help than this film is going to give you," he said. "And I mean that with all sincerity. I really hope you have dinner together more than once a month."

He said spending time with your family is important. He left off parents to think about if homework were eliminated from schools, what would they do- spend more time together or enroll their kids in another after-school activity?

Community Feedback

Speech teacher in White Plains and a mother of three children in the Yorktown School District, Joy Schneider, said she was guilty of pressuring her children.

Many parents were shown in the movie, asking their children, who had just come home from 6 hours of school, two hours of soccer practice and one hour of tutoring, whether they were ready to take the test, how they did after the test, and what their grade was.

She recognized she was one of those parents. 

"We certainly need to look at the way we parent and educate," she said. "I certainly will now. The pressure we put on high school kids to be the best is so unrealistic."

Paul and Diana Coniglio said they too put pressure on their two children-- daughter Dana, a freshman at Lakeland High School, and son Sam- a student at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School. 

After watching the film, Coniglio said, she would tell her daughter that if she is not interested in a particular Advanced Placement (AP) class, then she shouldn't take it just because that's what she thinks was expected of her. 

"We have big expectations for them, but we have to try to keep it at goals that are easily reached," Paul Coniglio said. 

Bruni Garcia, whose daughters took the podium after the film, said "Race to Nowhere" was an eye-opener for her. She has been putting a lot of pressure on her children, she admitted. But for her other child, 4-year-old son Nestor, she said it would be a learning experience as she would not want to put the same pressure on.

Danielle Garcia said she got emotional because she could see herself in the film and wanted to advocate for other teens. She said after seeing the stress that her sister Amanda is facing, she wants her to know that it's going to be ok. 

Amanda said she too has been getting headaches and stomach pains, just like what the students in the film talked about.

"I know I'm not the only one and a lot of people feel the pressure, but don't want to admit it," she said. 

For more information, visit www.racetonowhere.com.