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Two Million Minutes film maker announces release of two new DVDs on global education; one takes a deeper look at India, the other China
New documentary films compare Indian and Chinese education to that in America,
with roundtable discussions and interviews
(Washington, DC – March 2, 2009) – Bob Compton, creator and executive producer of the provocative documentary Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination, announces the release of two follow up films – Two Million Minutes in India and Two Million Minutes in China. These new films take a deeper look at Indian and Chinese education, as they compare to that in America, and as seen through the eyes of the students in the original documentary and their high school principals.
In these follow-up documentaries, filmed a year and a half after the original Two Million Minutes, Compton conducted roundtable discussions that reveal a lot about all three countries. In the films we hear from the students from India, China and the U.S. – who were all in their first years of college during this second round of filming. Questions addressed include: How well did high school prepare you? Do you wish you had done things differently? How do you see your peers in other countries now? What has the first year of college been like? How different is the college experience among the three countries?
In addition to speaking with the students, Compton interviewed principals of Indian and Chinese high schools, Ms. Sundari Rao, former principal of St. Paul’s English School in Bangalore India, and Dr. Min Lin, headmaster of Xiwai International School in Shanghai, China. Compton addressed issues with the principals that included: What is it like being a principal of a K-12 school in India/China? How does the curriculum differ? How do teacher credentials differ? What challenges do Indian/Chinese schools face compared to U.S. schools? What can Indian/Chinese educators learn from America? What can American educators learn from India/China?
The original Two Million Minutes received national attention – being screened at dozens of colleges and universities, secondary schools, corporations, and both public and private events across the country. Various political and business figures have seen the film, including President Obama, Senator McCain, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. The film also generated considerable media attention across America – being featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, FOX News, C-SPAN, various NPR programs, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Compton has screened portions of the film at various prestigious events including the Aspen Ideas Festival in July 2008 and the Republican National Convention in September 2008.
For more information on the Two Million Minutes series or to purchase copies of the documentaries, please visit www.2mminutes.com.
About Bob Compton
Bob Compton is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who has invested in numerous companies over the past twenty years. He started his career with IBM, and after attending Harvard Business School began the venture capitalist portion of his career. He now serves on numerous company boards and has just recently released his first documentary film. Titled Two Million Minutes, the film takes an in-depth look at secondary education in the United States as compared with India and China and examines the implications this may have on the U.S. position in the global economy during the 21st century. Two Million Minutes is currently screening across the country. For more information, please visit www.2mminutes.com.
