Are Your Kids in a ‘Race to Nowhere’?

It’s a question many parents face, with no easy answer—how can I encourage my kids to reach their potential and be successful, without them pushing so hard that they burnout?

In today’s competitive society—particularly in an area of high achievers like Silicon Valley, where millionaires like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg could very well be one of your neighbors—it’s easy to develop a complex and a desire to compare yourselves to others and feel the need to do more to stay in the race.

However, how hard is too hard? At what point do goals become too unattainable or start to hurt more than help?

Vicki Abeles, a mother, set out to answer those and many other questions in her documentary film, Race to Nowhere, which has swept the nation and sparked powerful debates since its release in 2009.

When Abeles dove deeper into the topic of overstressed students in America, she confirmed many of her worst fears. Through real, heartbreaking interviews with students, educators and parents, she discovered horrifying trends of what many high-striving students are willing to do to get the grade, make the team, be the top in their class or get into the best college—and the toll it can take on them.

Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose will host a screening of Race to Nowhere on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and Mountain View Patch will be there. Will you?

We want to hear from you—have you seen this film, or do you plan to attend this screening? Parents, what are your thoughts on the issue of stress in our local students and the pressure on them to succeed?

 Bret Harte Middle School is at 7050 Bret Harte Dr., San Jose. For ticket information, visit racetonowhere.com/screenings/bret-harte-middle-school.