AURELIUS - A documentary comparing the education systems of the United States, India and China concludes that American high school students are behind in math and science, but two local educators aren't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

Cayuga Community College President Daniel Larson and teacher Carolina Harris, who taught math and science in Stockholm, Sweden until moving to Syracuse two years ago, said there is plenty Americans can learn about India and China's education systems and adapt it to its own, but there are still core American values that are important.

“Americans have a very strong focus, not only in the academic part of schools, but also in social skills, doing extracurriculars, playing sports and music, working on the school newspaper,” Harris said. “That's still very important in American culture, and as long as that's important, should you change that? Absolutely not. There are flaws in the American system, absolutely. But should you change the entire system? No.”

On Wednesday, all five Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services New Visions programs and 25 high school juniors assembled at the BOCES Regional Education Center to screen the documentary “2 Million Minutes.”

A panel comprising Larson, Harris and Amm Panthira Chuethonghua, a high school student from Bangkok, Thailand, who is now spending the year as an exchange student at Dana West Jr.-Sr. High School in Port Byron, later convened to discuss the documentary and its implications.

According to the documentary, from the moment a student completes eighth grade, the individual has approximately two million minutes until high school graduation and to develop a foundation for future learning and a career.

The filmmakers compare top achieving high schools in Indiana, Bangalore, India, and Shanghai, China, to see the similarities and differences in education, values and results.

The case studies indicate Indian and Chinese students are working harder than their American counterparts, are stronger in math and science than Americans, and are much more competitive in the global market.

New Visions Teacher Education teacher Natalie Scavone - whose two students Carrie Rooker and Sheree Francis organized the event - said the hope was to show students a world outside of their own. That came to fruition after Scavone previewed the documentary to her students prior to the larger event.

“One of the things that came out of that discussion was they felt really bad that they weren't working harder,” she said. “It was a little wake up call for them. Our students are usually the highly motivated and academic oriented ones, and I think it was good for all the New Visions classes to see that there's even more that every individual can do and without any comparison, that's much more difficult.

“I think this film was an attempt to get them thinking and the few that I spoke to after the film said they liked it and it was a way a thinking they haven't thought before.”

Chuethonghua said her education in Thailand is similar to that of China. Their school day is longer, going from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and sometimes she doesn't get home until 8 p.m.

“In math and science we are better,” she said, “but English here is very hard for me.”

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net