The executive producer of the provocative documentary about global education “Two Million Minutes” Robert Compton debated the findings of his film with Yong Zhao, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor and Director of the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence on September 15, 2008. While Compton is alarmed at the progress of Chinese and Indian students as compared to their U.S. counterparts, Zhao says the Chinese way of education is not something U.S. schools should emulate.

Compton is a venture capitalist with a Harvard Business school degree who became interested in doing his first film comparing the educational systems based on his interaction with Chinese and Indian business partners. The film follows six high school seniors, including two from Carmel, Indiana, and two each from China and India, as they navigate their final year of high school and make plans for the future. The documentary presents great contrasts in the lifestyles and education habits of the students from Indiana to those from the up-and-coming economies of India and China. The name of the film comes from the number of minutes in the four years of high school.

The film has received considerable praise and criticism for its representation of U.S. education compared to the emerging countries. Some education organizations have said the comparison isn’t valid since the U.S. commits to educating all while India and China promote only the best students.

Watch the first CEEP Policy Chat of the 2008-09 year in this video (note that it is a large file and may take some time to download).