Sep 15, 2009 Posted | 2 comments

Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution Debuts Thursday

Nothing in media, let alone film, has captured so well how American schools are being outperformed as Bob Compton’s Two Million Minutes. The original 2MM showed how 6 high school students - two each from the US, India and China - spent their two million minutes in grades 9-12. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin it for you, but I’ll tell you this: there’s a difference.

The film raised several general questions: What do we do about it? Is anyone already doing anything? Is it even possible?

Sounds like “Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution” addresses a few of those questions. I’ll find out Thursday night what this mystery school does that the others don’t.

Event will unveil new documentary, Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution, demonstrating that ordinary students can excel if given the right environment

(Washington, D.C. – September 15, 2009) – The Education Equality Project (www.edequality.org) and American Solutions (www.americansolutions.com) announce today that Reverend Al Sharpton and Former Speaker Newt Gingrich will host a major education reform event on Thursday, September 17 in Washington, D.C.

The event will feature commentary from Gingrich and Sharpton and be the platform for the world premiere of a new documentary called Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution. The film, conceived and produced by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Robert A. Compton, is a sequel to his 2007 internationally acclaimed film Two Million Minutes – A Global Examination. This first film analyzed how six students from the U.S., India and China prioritized their four years or “two million minutes” of high school and demonstrated that the Asian students were, academically, years ahead of their American peers.

Now, two years later, Compton will unveil the sequel. In Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution, Compton discovers and reveals an open-enrollment school in the U.S. that teaches “ordinary” students at an extraordinarily high academic level. This school, located in a largely low-income area, beautifully demonstrates that American students are capable of competing academically with the best in the world given the right curriculum, the right teachers and the right inspiration and expectations for success.

“I was shocked to find what I consider to be the world’s best high school in one of the poorest parts of America,” said Compton. “This school is educating its students at a level that is globally competitive and preparing them to compete in the 21st century economy. As Education Secretary Duncan and President Obama have both stated, charters are supposed to be laboratories of innovation that we can all learn from.” The U.S. needs to take some pointers from this school and apply them widely across our public school systems to sufficiently prepare our students for the global workforce.”

The school and its location will be revealed during the film’s premiere on Thursday.

“This is one of the most important events I will participate in all year,” said Gingrich. “Education reform is crucial to America’s success, and Compton’s films bring the issues and solutions into light. I implore every American to watch these films and demand change. Our future depends on it.”

The event and film premiere will take place on Thursday, September 17th from 6-9pm ET at the National Association of Homebuilders, located at 1201 15th Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20005. Attendance is by invitation only.

For more information on Compton or to purchase copies of his documentary films, visit www.2mminutes.com.

2 Responses to “Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution Debuts Thursday”

1. Judy Jacob says:

   October 6, 2009 at 6:38 am

   I have shown this to many of my friends and everyone is awestruck at the end.
2. Amy Bresnahan says:

   February 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm

   I plan to see Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century. I think it’s wonderful that a school, located in a low-income area, has taken ordinary students and had extraordinary results.