2 Million Minutes Essay

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“2 Million Minutes” is an interesting film that shows the portrayals of high school students from the United States, China, and India. It follows two successful students in each country and describes their hobbies, work habits, and life goals as they prepare for college and beyond. One would expect that the American students would seem more intelligent, better prepared for college, and have more tenacity than the Indian and Chinese students since the United States is rich and can prepare its students with a quality education — but the movie shows that this is not the case. “2 Million Minutes” raises a very troubling idea that I find very interesting: are American students falling behind? This topic is interesting to me because I can personally …show more content…

After hours upon hours of homework, sports practices, and extracurriculars, I truly thought there was nothing else I could do to prepare for college and my future career. However, as seen in the “2 Million Minutes” movie, we still aren’t doing enough. Here in America, we have school five days a week, and we allocate two days for the weekend; our “mental break.” It gives us time to relax, catch up on sleep, and participate in any hobbies we have that we can’t pursue during the school week. Personally, due to the fact that I would get about four hours of sleep per night during the week, I would sleep through my weekends, go for a run, and spend my nights hanging out with friends. This is the opposite of what students do in India and China. They have six days of school per week, and their day off is full of homework and religious practices. Those students don’t “receive breaks.” In fact, they’re always studying and trying hard to learn more so that they can attend the best universities, make money, and provide a better life for the following generations. Here in America, we’re used to being the best and leading the pack. Moreover, we’re used to our current ways of life, and as the students in other countries adapt and try harder in school, they’re going to pass us. I find this compelling because unless we find a way to try

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