 |
| Alex Grey |
Role: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Audience: Robert A. Compton (Executive Producer of 2 Million Minutes)
Format: Personal Letter to Mr. Compton
Topic: Interpretation of, and opinions regarding, Mr. Compton's film
This letter must include:
-3 vocabulary words from lessons 1-5.
-2 sentence types from The Wizardry of Sentence Variety (labelled in parentheses).
-a sound thesis statement.
-elements of persuasion.
-employment of Csikszentmihalyi's diction and style.
95 comments:
i like the Tool picture
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Firstly I would like to congratulate you on the immense success your wide-reaching documentary, 2 Million Minutes, has achieved. As relevant and important as the facts you have researched and presented were, though, I feel as if it’s only a tiny perspective of a huge cultural and economic issue. I also feel as if this presented that education is the only important aspect of a high school student’s life specifically in China and India. Before America and the rest of the world can create an education system which will be irrefutably viable we must reevaluate our sense of well-being and happiness. Improving education is a necessity but the sense of well-being we hoped to achieve from this keeps receding into the distance.
While I am not in any way discrediting your ideas and work I would just like to point out that if by constantly raising the bar once the goal is reached, one will feel as if they have never reached their full potential, something obviously detrimental to any students future. In order to be happy each and every individual, in this case the students, must feel in control of their own experience. Before this new generation of students can reach the expectations of their elders they need to realize their own attainable goals, and reach them. Along with this, these students need to enjoy themselves as they do this or they will feel apathetic and uncaring about their schooling.
Do not think I am disagreeing with the fact that education is important, it is of the utmost importance. I feel as if though, getting the A+ or into the top college cannot possibly be their goal; Overworked and under appreciated, the students will ever reach a goal (adjectives out of order). For them, they need to find their interest and be dedicated to it, for themselves, because the more they aim at solely the success of their grades, the more they will feel as if they have failed and no longer be exerting the necessary effort to make it in today’s school systems. These students will become engaged in their schooling if it is oriented towards them rather than competition with the rest of the world. This is because the best moment’s for them will be when their mind is stretched to it’s limit in a voluntary effort to accomplish something worthwhile, for themselves. To discover and be content with their existence should be the ultimate goal of an education system (infinitive phrase).
Overall, I think reevaluating and comparing the top-leading countries educational system is a positive. The only way a change will ever truly take hold though, is when humankind advances in terms of improving their content of experience. For if we cannot appreciate the incredible feats humanity has conquered we will always be dissatisfied. There is always more to be learned but the world was not designed for the comforts of human beings. If we continue to create insurmountable expectations the motivation in children will slowly dwindle and so you could have the greatest educational system ever created and find it useless. First contentedness needs to be evaluated them education will inevitably follow.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Alison Lynch
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Firstly I would like to congratulate you on the immense success your wide-reaching documentary, 2 Million Minutes, has achieved. As relevant and important as the facts you have researched and presented were, though, I feel as if it’s only a tiny perspective of a huge cultural and economic issue. I also feel as if this presented that education is the only important aspect of a high school student’s life specifically in China and India. Before America and the rest of the world can create an education system which will be irrefutably viable we must reevaluate our sense of well-being and happiness. Improving education is a necessity but the sense of well-being we hoped to achieve from this keeps receding into the distance.
While I am not in any way discrediting your ideas and work I would just like to point out that if by constantly raising the bar once the goal is reached, one will feel as if they have never reached their full potential, something obviously detrimental to any students future. In order to be happy each and every individual, in this case the students, must feel in control of their own experience. Before this new generation of students can reach the expectations of their elders they need to realize their own attainable goals, and reach them. Along with this, these students need to enjoy themselves as they do this or they will feel apathetic and uncaring about their schooling.
Do not think I am disagreeing with the fact that education is important, it is of the utmost importance. I feel as if though, getting the A+ or into the top college cannot possibly be their goal; Overworked and under appreciated, the students will ever reach a goal (adjectives out of order). For them, they need to find their interest and be dedicated to it, for themselves, because the more they aim at solely the success of their grades, the more they will feel as if they have failed and no longer be exerting the necessary effort to make it in today’s school systems. These students will become engaged in their schooling if it is oriented towards them rather than competition with the rest of the world. This is because the best moment’s for them will be when their mind is stretched to it’s limit in a voluntary effort to accomplish something worthwhile, for themselves. To discover and be content with their existence should be the ultimate goal of an education system (infinitive phrase).
Overall, I think reevaluating and comparing the top-leading countries educational system is a positive. The only way a change will ever truly take hold though, is when humankind advances in terms of improving their content of experience. For if we cannot appreciate the incredible feats humanity has conquered we will always be dissatisfied. There is always more to be learned but the world was not designed for the comforts of human beings. If we continue to create insurmountable expectations the motivation in children will slowly dwindle and so you could have the greatest educational system ever created and find it useless. First contentedness needs to be evaluated them education will inevitably follow.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dearest Mr. Robert A. Compton,
It has come to my attention that you see foreign nations as having an advantage over the United States in terms of education. You showed throughout your documentary that foreign nations pushed their students to achieve higher standards in the academic field in comparison to the education systems in the United States. The only way that students can properly accumulate and hold information is if they are given the opportunity to study subjects that they enjoy. To insure that the students are successful, they must take control of their own mind and use it in ways that interest them. (Adverbial Infinitive Phrase)
In American High Schools, students have the opportunity to select classes that are beneficial to the careers of their dreams. They are able to select their classes at their own volition and in doing so, they get more out of their classes. Were it not for their ability to select their own professions, students would not be able to reach their maximum happiness potential. (Verb-Subject Clause) This is a theory that I founded based on the principle that “happiness is not something that happens” but that it is “a condition that must be prepared for” (2). The students are happy, not because they are left to determining their own fate, but because they are encouraged to peruse their dreams. If they are given an opportunity with this much importance now, they are able to make even bigger decisions independently in the future. I believe that you should be highlighting more of the positive aspects of the American Education system because we are the picture of freedom. If you give the students freedom, the work force of America’s future will be all the more powerful because of it.
To overcome dull and mundane work based on the desires of their parents and society, one must “develop a set of [their] own” goals instead of using “others to bribe [them]” (19). In doing so, you are fulfilling the wants and desires of your own instead of doing everything to please others. In foreign nations, students have their futures pre-determined before they get the chance to make up their own minds. Their lives become filled with insipid and dull classes because of their lack of interest in their future careers. Each individual is not allowed to select their own future profession because letting them make that huge decision means that they will have the chance to choose mistakenly and fail. Letting the students choose their destiny is an elusive concept to parents of foreign countries. The parents’ irrational fears stem from their childhood frustration and this trend could continue if the education situation does not change. If the students were allowed to decide on their own career paths, however, their lives would become more fulfilling. Also I believe that our knowledge must change with our changing culture. If we based our education system on the present and not the past, our present and future generations will be forever grateful.
If you set the students up for success, their consciousness will be positively affected. This optimistic outlook will create a better life for them and their community because “the control of consciousness determines the quality of life” (20). If you give the students their needed dosage of nurture and love, they will be able to “achieve personal liberation” (22) and self satisfaction in the work force and the world. Thank you for your time and talents. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Sarah Tenglin
Mr. Compton,
After reviewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have been debating whether or not the students from India and China find themselves to be more or less satisfied with their lives than the students you interviewed from the United States. The students in India and China seem to strive for future success, spending their time studying and focusing on honing their abilities in chess and other meaningful areas such as music. It, however, proves true, as documented in your film, that striving for success seems to keep it forever able to elude our grasp on it. All of the students who spent all of their time studying, with clear goals for their future, were unable to get themselves accepted into their first-choice post-secondary educational institutions while both of the American students in 2 Million Minutes were accepted into their first-choice schools having devoted less time to studying and having less precise intentions for their futures.
The students in other countries are, in deference to their parent’s encouragement, engaging themselves in meaningful activities that promote mental growth and development (sentence type). The students in your film, those from India and China, were heedful of their instructors in the classroom and of their parents at home. Delving into their views of American culture, these students seemed not to envy the carefree, social-based society that teenagers in the United States engage in as might have been expected. Considering the American students’ opinions that foreign students lack social interaction, it can also be inferred that they believe that feelings of social acceptance and thus happiness lead to more complete individuals (sentence type). Instead, the Indian and Chinese students actually seem to be content with their lives while the American students seem to be searching for the next thing that will make their lives more enjoyable.
The American boy that you interviewed for you film was the captain of his football team until he quit to pursue other activities, perhaps he should have focused more on his school work and his college applications and he would not have had to immerse himself in so many things such as working, the school newspaper, and acting as the student body president.
Investigating the happiness of young people, or of anyone in any society, is difficult because to ask outwardly and obviously would most likely produce positive responses in which those asked will claim that they are content and are, perhaps, even happy with the overall direction of their lives (sentence type). Your film skimmed the surface of this inquiry and showed that despite all of the luxuries available in the United States and the range of poverty in other countries, the youth of America countries are no more or less happy than those of impoverished countries. Overall I found your film to be very insightful into the variance in happiness between the youth of varying societies.
Sincerely yours,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
My name is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I am also a creator, an author. Your film “Two Million Minutes” intrigued me, as well as caused me some controversy. The contentious film caused much quarrel between my colleagues as well. I do not intend to embroil you into this argument, but I have some concerns to address to you. By using the most successful students of each of the countries’ top schools, the viewers receive a skewed knowledge of the education systems (Gerund-Object of Preposition). Every school and area of the world has those who are not as hardworking or devoted. The general public in the countries may have a different attitude, but there will always be the students who are not blessed with those kinds of skills. The portrayal of America’s attitudes, compared to those of the other countries, China and India, came across in a haughty way, acting as if America is not as intelligent and focused. America is focused. However, the difference is the fact that America has perfected the balancing act. In the minds of students from China and India, they need to focus directly on schooling, in order to escape poverty (Introductory Prepositional Phrase). In the minds of American students, most need to focus on education, as well as having fun. Simply because American students can balance a social life and an academic life, does not mean they are less focused, or less intelligent, or bound to be less successful. The whole idea here is personal satisfaction and happiness. Graduating with a degree in something enjoyable, while maintaining a social life, could be more fulfilling than graduating with a master’s in engineering, while having little or no friends and freedom. But who is to say which is more fulfilling? Only ourselves. Each and every person has their own sense of what makes them happy. Perhaps, Chinese and Indian students are happy spending every one of their two million minutes on schoolwork, and especially happy with the results. Perhaps, American students are happy with their amount of studying and socializing, and just as happy with the results. The bottom line is, success is measured by personal happiness. The only person able to measure that is us. It is ludicrous and condescending to create a film highlighting the United States’ education system’s faults, hinting that we are losing our competitive edge, and in turn will not be as successful as other countries. As long as our students are satisfied with their effort, their grades, and their happiness, then they are successful, no matter what standards you try to compare them to. Your definition of successful has changed; it is no longer the way of life. Enjoying one’s life is the new meaning of success. Being able to understand our own minds and exactly what it is that makes us truly happy will result in a triumphant lifestyle, not what you believe to be hardworking or rewarding. You may judge yourself and yourself only. No one can tell you that you are not successful. Are you happy with your life? Then you are living a successful life. You cannot judge someone else’s feelings of rewarding. You cannot judge someone else’s feelings of happiness. You cannot determine someone else’s feelings of success.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
My name is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I am also a creator, an author. Your film “Two Million Minutes” intrigued me, as well as caused me some controversy. The contentious film caused much quarrel between my colleagues as well. I do not intend to embroil you into this argument, but I have some concerns to address to you. By using the most successful students of each of the countries’ top schools, the viewers receive a skewed knowledge of the education systems (Gerund-Object of Preposition). Every school and area of the world has those who are not as hardworking or devoted. The general public in the countries may have a different attitude, but there will always be the students who are not blessed with those kinds of skills. The portrayal of America’s attitudes, compared to those of the other countries, China and India, came across in a haughty way, acting as if America is not as intelligent and focused. America is focused. However, the difference is the fact that America has perfected the balancing act. In the minds of students from China and India, they need to focus directly on schooling, in order to escape poverty (Introductory Prepositional Phrase). In the minds of American students, most need to focus on education, as well as having fun. Simply because American students can balance a social life and an academic life, does not mean they are less focused, or less intelligent, or bound to be less successful. The whole idea here is personal satisfaction and happiness. Graduating with a degree in something enjoyable, while maintaining a social life, could be more fulfilling than graduating with a master’s in engineering, while having little or no friends and freedom. But who is to say which is more fulfilling? Only ourselves. Each and every person has their own sense of what makes them happy. Perhaps, Chinese and Indian students are happy spending every one of their two million minutes on schoolwork, and especially happy with the results. Perhaps, American students are happy with their amount of studying and socializing, and just as happy with the results. The bottom line is, success is measured by personal happiness. The only person able to measure that is us. It is ludicrous and condescending to create a film highlighting the United States’ education system’s faults, hinting that we are losing our competitive edge, and in turn will not be as successful as other countries. As long as our students are satisfied with their effort, their grades, and their happiness, then they are successful, no matter what standards you try to compare them to. Your definition of successful has changed; it is no longer the way of life. Enjoying one’s life is the new meaning of success. Being able to understand our own minds and exactly what it is that makes us truly happy will result in a triumphant lifestyle, not what you believe to be hardworking or rewarding. You may judge yourself and yourself only. No one can tell you that you are not successful. Are you happy with your life? Then you are living a successful life. You cannot judge someone else’s feelings of rewarding. You cannot judge someone else’s feelings of happiness. You cannot determine someone else’s feelings of success.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Tim Webberson
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your movie, 2 Million Minutes, I have noticed many things about your research (Appositive). It is clear that students from different parts of the world have certain levels of happiness. The surrounding environment, work load, and family expectation play a large role in the overall jolliness of individual students. I believe it is accurate for me to say that despite their laid back nature and lack of motivation, American students have the most happiness with their life.
Asian and Indian students spend a lot of their time doing work for school. Studying all afternoon is how the majority of their days are spent (Gerund Phrase). To them, it doesn’t make them less happy of a person but they are still not going out and partaking in fun activities. One of the Asian students claims that he really only goes out on maybe Christmas with his friends. This proves to us that foreign students do not always get to experience some of the things we Americans have fun doing and often times take for granted. It seems like their happiness is only transient, and it lasts only for a short period of the year. This is not how life should be lived. The parents have a large influence on this I believe, Mr. Compton. They have such high expectations and in return, the kids do not want to let their parents down. They fear ever doing this. With all this in mind, the students also say that American students are living the dream life. One Indian boy exclaims how American students study less, study when they feel like it, have easier and less work, and have more fun with their lives. They say that we have a plethora of fun opportunities that they do not have in their own countries.
From the evidence shown throughout your film, I notice that the American students are involved in more activities that are not academic. These students do sports, go to events, work jobs, and invite friends over all the time. Besides this, they run clubs and one student is class president. The work load here is a lot less it seems, because students are not coming home and doing homework from 3 pm until the late hours of the night. Our students are not as meticulous about their work and pretty much just go with the flow every day. The students of American High Schools gain their happiness everyday of their life and not only at specific times of the year, as in the cases of numerous foreign teenagers.
However, Mr. Compton, I do believe that your film could portray a better picture of American happiness. You should have taken two different classes of American students to portray happiness in different situations. Taking two pretty well off families only paints a picture of happiness coming from people who have a perfect life. What might have been a better choice would be to take a student who does not have everything in their life that they need such as money, great parents, and are intelligent. Taking someone without all these qualities would have helped prove your point that even without all of these things, a student could be happy with their life and what little things they have. It would also prove that, grades and intelligence is not the keys to success and having a happy, healthy life. The foreign students may all be extremely intelligent and study savvy, but sometimes they fail to envelope the greater things in life.
All in all, I enjoyed your film and everything you exemplified. There were parts that could have been different to make a better stance, but it was worth my time to view this. You are very much correct by portraying the American students as happier on a regular basis. Good work and best of luck with all your future projects.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
David Littlefield
Period C
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I just wanted to write in congratulation for the great success of your Documentary, “Two Million Minuit’s”. You have brought to the attention of the world of Americas biggest, insuperable problem, and what needs to be done about it. Your Documentary also shows the duality that persists with education and happiness. Granted the financial aspect has almost nothing to do with it, but the education itself, enlightenment is the true reward.
Happiness is an interesting concept. Controlled purely by a few Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen molecules bound in chains. The theory that happiness and content is in no way related to financial status above the minimal requirement line is maybe the answer to why the world’s education is so unbalanced. As you have clearly proven, American children are not challenging themselves enough, they are not undergoing the education required to sustain our nation at its current position. Whereas children of the impoverished nations, such as China, or India are excelling in all fields of education much quicker than we are. Again, as you have proven, this dedication is due to the children enduring the tortures of poverty, the children who refuse to endure invest themselves in education, and they know if they don’t succeeded, they may not survive. As anyone could imagine this is the most powerful motivation known to human kind. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum American’s exist. Caring, and comforting, a home always remains (Adj. out of order). Even the streets of a big city are more protected than the vast poverty stricken nations of India and China. American Children have no motivation as strong as their lives depending on success. This is purely human nature, when things are easy, why work hard? This proves why all the great nations of history have inevitably fallen. The strongest emperors, and the mightiest kings, all fall to our innate flaws. Because in our eyes, the good will always persists, and if things are good, we rarely ever take steps to ensure that it will always persist.
We as humans have countless flaws like this, but this is what distinguishes us as a race, however haughty we may act. In conclusion, we must remember to devote ourselves to our children’s education, because their education is the fate of a nation. And we must treat this brewing problem with reverence, for it will soon overtake us.
Dear Mr.Compton,
I found your film “2 Million Minutes” to be an attractive reflection to my own book “Flow”. Flow, or the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, relates to some students in the film. Although they do not discover the happiness that I discuss we are all looking for in my book, they certainly search for it in similar ways that I mentioned. The Indian, Chinese, and American students all focused on success throughout their life after high school education- the way they approached this goal however differed from each person. They search for success which will inevitably lead to money. That money however does not lead to happiness, which the students seem to think comes with the money.
The American students seem to be on the right track towards happiness more so than the others one would think. One would think this based on the children having a social life as well as an educational one. The “fun-factor” shouldn’t affect the children’s work all so much, but when the social element of school overpowers the learning element a problem emerges. I mention in my book that, “Power returns to the person when rewards are no longer relegated to outside forces” (19 Csikszentmihalyi). Although they live a social life and find pleasure out of ingratiating themselves to their peers, this results in the students focus of their own happiness to be misled to gratifying others.
Zin, a star student in China’s top school appeared quite haughty in the film. Inelegant and confident, Zin clarified his personal opinion on his work and work ethic (adjectives out of order). He feels that he is so successful with his studies, that it would be wise for most students to pick up on his study techniques. Against any assumptions one may have that Zin enjoys focusing on his school work, he made it obvious in the film that he wishes he had more time to enjoy with his friends (introductory prepositional phrase).
The Indian students strive for achievement in academics. Although one may draw the conclusion that they are the least happy out of all of the students shown due to their vigorous work ethic, their constant involvement in their own lives may make them one of the happiest of all (introductory adverbial clause). They are heedful of their time management, and put forth a lot of effort to fit in practice for all the things that they chose to take seriously on their own personal road to ‘success’. This leads back to the conflict of success and happiness. India’s lack of social adaptation and experiences leads to the ultimate downfall of what they perceive to be happiness- or the instant gratification they would gain from going out with friends.
Therefore, I feel you did an excellent job showing each countries idea of a “good education”. This depiction of one’s road to accomplishment seems inapplicable to true happiness however. Spending time with friends, studying all night, and working throughout the hours are all critical milestones we must deal with through ones high school years. It is the mix of these however that will lead to a discovery to who you want to be and grow into someday. It is then they will continue their journey towards happiness.
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
:Alicia Perry
Dear Mr. Robert Compton,
I am writing to you in regards to your movie, 2 Million Minutes. I highly enjoyed the movie and from the looks of it, you have achieved great success. It also seems that the movie has boosted your fame around the world. With that said, I want to congratulate you! School can cause a lot of stress on the youth of today. With stress comes unhappiness and a feeling of worry that you aren’t doing everything you could. (Verb-Subject Clause) People’s response to stress will determine whether they choose to be happy or miserable.
By saying that your response to stress will determine your happiness, I am saying that if people let stress control their lives, they will become unhappy all the time. (Gerund-Object of Preposition) If they choose to react to the stress in a positive way and see that the stress is a way to boost their self-esteem, then they will be happier all around in life. Happiness is a choice. If you can gain control of every aspect of your life, then you will find happiness. People also find happiness when they choose to expand themselves. School is a way for people to engender themselves with happiness. When they finally complete the task they have learned in school, they feel a sense of mastery. An example of this in your movie was when the students in China, India, and America got accepted to college and they were proud of themselves for what they had achieved. (A Series) A profusion of happiness came with the college acceptance letter.
Even though the students are focused on school work most of the time, they still found time to take part in leisurely activities. Participating in such events is crucial to happiness in life. They give us a break from the everyday stress that school causes and helps center our focus on something else. It also gives us a balance in life between school and fun. Everything we experience is stored in our brain whether the experience is good or bad. When we can control this information, then we can control our happiness.
School is a stressful environment for the students in today’s world. If we choose to let school become our main focus, then we will have unhappiness in our lives. Once we gain control of stress and choose to not let it become the center of our lives, we will feel a sense of self-importance. It is important to remember that you need balance in your life. Even though you need to focus on schoolwork and making sure you succeed in school, you also need to make time for fun activities. Maintaining this balance in life is vital to finding happiness in all aspects of life. When you can find happiness in once aspect of your life, you then can find happiness throughout all aspects. You have the control to decide whether you will be happy or miserable.
Dear Mr.Compton,
I found your film “2 Million Minutes” to be an attractive reflection to my own book “Flow”. Flow, or the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, relates to some students in the film. Although they do not discover the happiness that I discuss we are all looking for in my book, they certainly search for it in similar ways that I mentioned. The Indian, Chinese, and American students all focused on success throughout their life after high school education- the way they approached this goal however differed from each person. They search for success which will inevitably lead to money. That money however does not lead to happiness, which the students seem to think comes with the money.
The American students seem to be on the right track towards happiness more so than the others one would think. One would think this based on the children having a social life as well as an educational one. The “fun-factor” shouldn’t affect the children’s work all so much, but when the social element of school overpowers the learning element a problem emerges. I mention in my book that, “Power returns to the person when rewards are no longer relegated to outside forces” (19 Csikszentmihalyi). Although they live a social life and find pleasure out of ingratiating themselves to their peers, this results in the students focus of their own happiness to be misled to gratifying others.
Zin, a star student in China’s top school appeared quite haughty in the film. Inelegant and confident, Zin clarified his personal opinion on his work and work ethic (adjectives out of order). He feels that he is so successful with his studies, that it would be wise for most students to pick up on his study techniques. Against any assumptions one may have that Zin enjoys focusing on his school work, he made it obvious in the film that he wishes he had more time to enjoy with his friends (introductory prepositional phrase).
The Indian students strive for achievement in academics. Although one may draw the conclusion that they are the least happy out of all of the students shown due to their vigorous work ethic, their constant involvement in their own lives may make them one of the happiest of all (introductory adverbial clause). They are heedful of their time management, and put forth a lot of effort to fit in practice for all the things that they chose to take seriously on their own personal road to ‘success’. This leads back to the conflict of success and happiness. India’s lack of social adaptation and experiences leads to the ultimate downfall of what they perceive to be happiness- or the instant gratification they would gain from going out with friends.
Dear Mr. Robert Compton,
I am writing to you in regards to your movie, 2 Million Minutes. I highly enjoyed the movie and from the looks of it, you have achieved great success. It also seems that the movie has boosted your fame around the world. With that said, I want to congratulate you! School can cause a lot of stress on the youth of today. With stress comes unhappiness and a feeling of worry that you aren’t doing everything you could. (Verb-Subject Clause) People’s response to stress will determine whether they choose to be happy or miserable.
By saying that your response to stress will determine your happiness, I am saying that if people let stress control their lives, they will become unhappy all the time. (Gerund-Object of Preposition) If they choose to react to the stress in a positive way and see that the stress is a way to boost their self-esteem, then they will be happier all around in life. Happiness is a choice. If you can gain control of every aspect of your life, then you will find happiness. People also find happiness when they choose to expand themselves. School is a way for people to engender themselves with happiness. When they finally complete the task they have learned in school, they feel a sense of mastery. An example of this in your movie was when the students in China, India, and America got accepted to college and they were proud of themselves for what they had achieved. (A Series) A profusion of happiness came with the college acceptance letter.
Even though the students are focused on school work most of the time, they still found time to take part in leisurely activities. Participating in such events is crucial to happiness in life. They give us a break from the everyday stress that school causes and helps center our focus on something else. It also gives us a balance in life between school and fun. Everything we experience is stored in our brain whether the experience is good or bad. When we can control this information, then we can control our happiness.
School is a stressful environment for the students in today’s world. If we choose to let school become our main focus, then we will have unhappiness in our lives. Once we gain control of stress and choose to not let it become the center of our lives, we will feel a sense of self-importance. It is important to remember that you need balance in your life. Even though you need to focus on schoolwork and making sure you succeed in school, you also need to make time for fun activities. Maintaining this balance in life is vital to finding happiness in all aspects of life. When you can find happiness in once aspect of your life, you then can find happiness throughout all aspects. You have the control to decide whether you will be happy or miserable.
Dear Mr.Compton,
I found your film “2 Million Minutes” to be an attractive reflection to my own book “Flow”. Flow, or the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, relates to some students in the film. Although they do not discover the happiness that I discuss we are all looking for in my book, they certainly search for it in similar ways that I mentioned. The Indian, Chinese, and American students all focused on success throughout their life after high school education- the way they approached this goal however differed from each person. They search for success which will inevitably lead to money. That money however does not lead to happiness, which the students seem to think comes with the money.
The American students seem to be on the right track towards happiness more so than the others one would think. One would think this based on the children having a social life as well as an educational one. The “fun-factor” shouldn’t affect the children’s work all so much, but when the social element of school overpowers the learning element a problem emerges. I mention in my book that, “Power returns to the person when rewards are no longer relegated to outside forces” (19 Csikszentmihalyi). Although they live a social life and find pleasure out of ingratiating themselves to their peers, this results in the students focus of their own happiness to be misled to gratifying others.
(alicia perry)
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
I have recently watched the film 2 Million Minutes. This film has surprisingly stood out in my mind. There are many similarities between my book “Flow” and your film. My book is about how happiness is attained and how we can come to find happiness. Happiness is different for everyone. One person could be happy living poorly while another is happy and lives rich. This simply means that your level of happiness depends on what makes you happy. In your film 2 Million Minutes, you documented a few different families with different rules and morals. Just because these families live differently doesn’t mean that they are not equally happy. Each family can live by different customs, meaning religion and education beliefs, but in the end they can all be happy. Another way these documents are similar is in the way we approach happiness. The lack of disparity between our works has caught my attention. By being meticulous while righting Flow I have uncovered the true meaning to happiness. There is no one way to be happy and one must attain happiness according to their desires. In order to have complete happiness we must have an elusive concept of what we want. I would love a letter in response to my opinions and suggestions.
Thank You,
Ashlie Sprague
Zin, a star student in China’s top school appeared quite haughty in the film. Inelegant and confident, Zin clarified his personal opinion on his work and work ethic (adjectives out of order). He feels that he is so successful with his studies, that it would be wise for most students to pick up on his study techniques. Against any assumptions one may have that Zin enjoys focusing on his school work, he made it obvious in the film that he wishes he had more time to enjoy with his friends (introductory prepositional phrase).
The Indian students strive for achievement in academics. Although one may draw the conclusion that they are the least happy out of all of the students shown due to their vigorous work ethic, their constant involvement in their own lives may make them one of the happiest of all (introductory adverbial clause). They are heedful of their time management, and put forth a lot of effort to fit in practice for all the things that they chose to take seriously on their own personal road to ‘success’. This leads back to the conflict of success and happiness. India’s lack of social adaptation and experiences leads to the ultimate downfall of what they perceive to be happiness- or the instant gratification they would gain from going out with friends.
(alicia perry)
Dear Mr. Compton,
Specific yet interpretative, your film 2 Million Minutes, gives insight to viewers of the differences between cultures. (Balanced Pairs) Your film was intriguing and full of information that most people would not normally recognize. The six students in your movie give a variety of lifestyles and interpretations of their goals and what would allow them achieve happiness. 2 Million Minutes, is a film that shows what it takes someone to be happy, similar to the ideas of my novel, Flow. Every individual has a different perspective of happiness, and a different way of how they must go about achieving that happiness.
My interpretation of the film is that you wanted to allow people to see how other countries treat academics differently and how it relates to their lives. In America, students see their education as important, but it does not always take top priority. The students from America also focus on maintaining their relationships with their friends and family and keeping those bonds close. They are happiest with their friends and family but also strive to achieve academic success in school so that later in their lives they can be successful in a career of their choice.
In China, the way academics are treated is immensely different. The students in China spend more hours in school and are constantly competing to be top in their class. They are meticulous about their work and persistently strive to eliminate the errors they make. They spend some time with family, but hardly any time at all with friends. The plethora of their time is spent studying and teaching themselves. By being persistent in their academics, students from China have more knowledge than most any other student. (Gerund-Object of Preposition) Also, not only do they spend time studying, they get involved in extracurricular activities, but the activities usually involve a skill such as playing an instrument or learning ballet. Their extracurricular activities are not necessarily focused towards being fun, but to make the student better rounded and a stronger competitor than others.
In India, the students focus on academics as well. The boy from the film seemed to be an aberration; he was also interested in singing with his friends rather than focusing solely on academics. The Indian students also put the majority of their time into studying and achieving success in their class. Their goals were mainly to become successful in order to provide for their family and to make their parents proud. The boy had the main goal of becoming an engineer but it was a competitive career path because, similar to most boys in India, they were all striving to become engineers. The boy, still focused on his academics, found his main happiness in singing with his friends. Students from India spend the majority of their time with academics, similar to China, but they also incorporate time to spend with family and friends, similar to the Americans’.
Happiness is what men and woman seek more than anything else, according to Aristotle. My novel Flow, gives insight on what it means to be happy and how some go about achieving it. Happiness is not something that comes easy for most. In order to achieve happiness, most strive day in and day out to get closer to what their desires are. Unfortunately for most, once that little bit of happiness is achieved, they become greedy and want more, starting the cycle over again where they must strive and work hard to achieve their goal. I believe that your film showed this constant strive from an academic perspective. As children, their ideas of happiness come from what their parents believe will make them successful. Your film was an excellent demonstration of the contrast between how each country focuses on their academics, correlating to the happiness they achieve by their success.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Kaylyn Dorsey C
December 3, 2010
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
I am the author of Flow. I would like to congratulate you on your film, 2 Million Minutes. In a way, our topics sort of relate. Your film focuses on how different cultures view the value of education. In America, teens in high school tend to have a good time. They go to school and do their homework but also participate in different extracurricular activities. In India, teens focus more on what they will do in the future and they know if they work hard at something, they will be able to succeed. Their life is almost planned out for them. In China, school is the main focus. They go to school much longer than in the U.S.A and also don’t do as many fun things like Americans do.
Our society is so didactic that it is truly hard to have happiness. In my book, I talk about that and time management. How people spend most of their time is interesting. One question that I wonder about is how do you know that people enjoy what they are doing? Culture changes so rapidly that people are aberrated from society. People become vapid when doing repetitive things over and over again. I believe we have similar views on happiness and time management. Different cultures and philosophers are also a sound example of how change has come along. There is a certain control over consciousness. So I leave you with one question, how do you achieve mastery of your own life?
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Sydney Colbert
C Block English
Mr. Compton,
In order to live a fulfilling life, one must be able to successfully obtain happiness. While students in Asia academically outwit students in the United States, it is the American students who are ultimately more triumphant in the end, for they are able to maintain equilibrium between education and happiness. In your film, 2 Million Minutes, it is quite obvious that students in China and India study and work a lot harder than students in the United States. Students in America are depicted as lacking in education, effort, and enthusiasm. Although students in foreign countries may out test our students, you should remember the most important thing in life, happiness. In Asia students study so hard because they seek happiness. They live in such economically depressed countries where there are minute luxuries and work so hard and diligently to escape poverty, which has come to seem as an insuperable barrier in their impoverished countries. They envy the American students lack of poverty and inspire to have the same ostentatious luxuries. American students do not work as hard as others, yet seemingly are happier.
This is similar to the history of happiness; we are now surrounded in a world filled with a plethora of luxuries and stupendous scientific knowledge, yet feel as if our lives have been wasteful upon our death beds. People often work too hard and never get the chance to be happy. So while yes, we should encourage students to thrive, work hard, and learn to the capacity that their brains can withstand, one shouldn’t forget that happiness is the key to having a meaningful life (sentence type). In order to be happy continually we have to learn to take control of our conscious and the forces that shape our lives to become the masters of our own fate. We cannot just discern all the things taught in school, we must also be able to apply it. This kind of thinking, or control of the conscience, cannot be institutionalized (sentence type). For when it is, it becomes part of the social norm and ceases to be effective in how it was originally intended to be. That’s where students in the United States shine, leaving Asian students in the faded background (sentence type). American students have found the balance of happiness-- in sports, friends, and items, where students in Asia are otherwise lacking. Americans seek social happiness, while still excelling in school. Asian students must take time to thwart and shed aspects of their lives that detract from their happiness in order to be happy. They must step away from their obsequious lifestyle and find what personally attracts them to contentment. Only when they are able to successfully do this, are they able to live a fulfilling life style.
Sincerely yours,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
by: Tory Carlson
Therefore, I feel you did an excellent job showing each countries idea of a “good education”. This depiction of one’s road to accomplishment seems inapplicable to true happiness however. Spending time with friends, studying all night, and working throughout the hours are all critical milestones we must deal with through ones high school years. It is the mix of these however that will lead to a discovery to who you want to be and grow into someday. It is then they will continue their journey towards happiness.
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
(alicia perry)
Dear Robert A. Compton,
Interested and excited, I viewed your film, 2 Million Minutes and was fully entertained with the different cultures of schooling and facts regarding different countries’ learning types. (Adjectives Out of Order) I wrote a book called Flow which regards self happiness. With your movie, my perspectives of happiness regarding each country, I realize, there is a large disparity. By learning with different styles and goals in mind, students therefore create their own happiness or “flow”. (Gerund-Object of Preposition)
“Flow is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered” (6) is included in my book. Regarding your film, I realize that the “flow” of students differs based on geographic location/cultures. For instance, in China, the students in your film focus primarily on school and being the best in their class; being the smartest and being accepted into good colleges makes the students happy. But, in the United States, most students create happiness by spending a plethora of time with good friends and family. The one thing the United States is leading within students is self-confidence. Students in the United States are clearly spending much more time socializing and creating their own happiness that potentially could not be effective in their futures while China and India are working towards having a successful future. In my book, I feel as if this quote describes the thoughts of Chinese and Indian teenagers: “Childhood can be painful, adolescence confusing, but for most people. Behind it all, there is expectation that after one grows up, things will get better” (12). The lack of being social United States’ teens cannot live without. (Object or Complement Out of Order) Although the teenagers in the United States are creating immediate happiness, would this help or hinder their futures? Could Indian and Chinese be at a disadvantage without social skills? With your film, in conjunction with my book, it proves that your own culture, society and goals lead to success and self-happiness.
Overachieving students in India and China, I believe, will engender the power of these countries and hopefully higher the standards in the United States. The United States is becoming less globally competitive. It starts with schooling and can lead to money, economy and even the government. The students are the future and we need to distribute happiness as well as learning equally, if not, swayed to the learning aspect a tad bit more. “With affluence and power come escalating expectations, and as our level of wealth and comforts keep increasing, the sense of well-being we hoped to achieve keeps receding into the distance” (10). Thank you for producing such an insightful film that I hope, catches the eyes of students everywhere!
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
-Brianna Valeri
Dear Mr. Robert Compton,
I am writing to you in regards to your movie, 2 Million Minutes. I highly enjoyed the movie and from the looks of it, you have achieved great success. It also seems that the movie has boosted your fame around the world. With that said, I want to congratulate you! School can cause a lot of stress on the youth of today. With stress comes unhappiness and a feeling of worry that you aren’t doing everything you could. (Verb-Subject Clause) People’s response to stress will determine whether they choose to be happy or miserable.
By saying that your response to stress will determine your happiness, I am saying that if people let stress control their lives, they will become unhappy all the time. (Gerund-Object of Preposition) If they choose to react to the stress in a positive way and see that the stress is a way to boost their self-esteem, then they will be happier all around in life. Happiness is a choice. If you can gain control of every aspect of your life, then you will find happiness. People also find happiness when they choose to expand themselves. School is a way for people to engender themselves with happiness. When they finally complete the task they have learned in school, they feel a sense of mastery. An example of this in your movie was when the students in China, India, and America got accepted to college and they were proud of themselves for what they had achieved. (A Series) A profusion of happiness came with the college acceptance letter.
Even though the students are focused on school work most of the time, they still found time to take part in leisurely activities. Participating in such events is crucial to happiness in life. They give us a break from the everyday stress that school causes and helps center our focus on something else. It also gives us a balance in life between school and fun. Everything we experience is stored in our brain whether the experience is good or bad. When we can control this information, then we can control our happiness.
School is a stressful environment for the students in today’s world. If we choose to let school become our main focus, then we will have unhappiness in our lives. Once we gain control of stress and choose to not let it become the center of our lives, we will feel a sense of self-importance. It is important to remember that you need balance in your life. Even though you need to focus on schoolwork and making sure you succeed in school, you also need to make time for fun activities. Maintaining this balance in life is vital to finding happiness in all aspects of life. When you can find happiness in once aspect of your life, you then can find happiness throughout all aspects. You have the control to decide whether you will be happy or miserable.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
I thoroughly enjoy watching your new documentary 2 Million Minutes. It inspired me to think about the ways education can lead to a person’s overall happiness and joy. “Heedfully and meticulously, I watched in anticipation as your movie gave me an over flow of ideas.” Each of the different countries you showed, china, the United States, and India, showed a detailed perspective of their lives surrounding education. The American point of view was less school and more out of school activities are the way to achieve happiness. China and India’s are the opposite with school as the forefront of happiness and extracurricular coming second or none at all. This backs up my principal that each person privately defends their own source of happiness. Therefore, what may seem to be an aberration to American students satisfies the students of China and India. Because they are more of developing nations they see education as the only way to succeed in life and please their parents. In America most people believe that happiness and success is based on the money you can make or obtain. Happiness isn’t something that just happens you have to control your consciousness and defend what you believe in.
Like you showed in your film you can’t just go through the motions in order to be successful. If you don’t go all out then you won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of a good college and in turn attain inner happiness. “American students, Chinese students, Indian students- all of these children are battling for the supremacy of their respective nations and their inner joy.” Even though h the figure was put up about China and India producing around double the engineers and skilled workers that America does the fact still remains. Are there people happy, do they enjoy what they do? Or are they just doing it to please others around they and up their social status. In America most of the time you will find that if someone doesn’t want to do something they won’t. They tend to be more independent, free thinking, and wild as other countries would judge. But it’s not fair for me to point out each people’s flaws and strengths. Each people can achieve happiness no matter what their path of education they take.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
DEREK SCHWARTZ C
Dear Mr. Compton,
I have recently viewed your film 2 Million Minutes and I must say that it made me wonder, are these kids really happy? Although I enjoyed it very much, I meticulously watched the film several times, each time digging deeper and deeper into the details. These students claim that they are very happy through succession in education, but are they really? All the countries shown; USA, India and China, all showed detailed views of each cultures education. China and India both were being more intense when it comes to education than the US students. I have come to the conclusion that education brings more happiness then I previously had thought, to some people. However, the American students seem much happier despite the level of education compared to the foreign students from India and China. This seems to somewhat agree with my statement in my book Flow “Happiness does not depend on outside event, but how we interpret them”. In both the Chinese, and Indian Culture, their so called “failure” in education is their down fall. Despite maybe being one of the brightest individuals, being denied by a certain college they want to get into is the ultimate failure. They don’t interpret the fact that they could be more educated than most students in the US, they see it as they have disgraced their family. However the Americans are the antithesis of this fact. They may or may not get into the school they want, but they interpret it as just being eligible to apply for the school is succession. What they’re known for outside of education is what they pride themselves on. Proudly and confidently, they can go home to their families without the worry of disappointment.
Your film is a prime example of how happiness cannot be consciously searched for. Succession in one thing only cannot bring true happiness, as shown through the students in both India and China. Despite producing higher test scores and a lot more technology gurus, I wonder, are they truly happy? Being involved in every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, engenders happiness because of the fact that you’re not looking for it. Happiness is achieved through complete involvement in our lives whether we like it or not, eventually, true happiness will provide us with a plethora of opportunities. To be a person who is truly happy, it will take time to reach this so called “elusive goal”.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
---Joey Wilkes C
Dear Mr. Compton,
I recently had the pleasure of viewing your didactic documentary, 2 Millions Minutes, and found it to be of a superior quality (Appositive). Comparing the American educational system to those of India and China, I found myself questioning whether or not I truly believed that the American system was superior and not antiquated (Gerund Phrase). It was as if a veil of ignorance was pulled back from my eyes. In my own writing, I employ a similar style of interpreting facts to make my reader experience a period of introspection. Despite the decline in human education, other factors will keep them at the top.
One fact that you presented in your feature was that the success of the United States can actually be harmful to our younger generations. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement because “when people start believing that progress is inevitable and life easy, they may quickly lose courage and determination in the face of the first signs of adversity.” I pulled this excerpt from my own work, Flow.
However, I feel that your documentary focused too much on one aspect of what makes up a productive society. True, the students in India and China spend more time doing schoolwork but they are not happy. American students found themselves spending more time having optimal experiences in the fields that they love such as sports, the arts, and other hobbies. Happiness typically results in higher productivity and education alone will not create a better workforce. The fact that Americans scored higher in self-confidence is vital to their dominance of the free world. It is my hope that you will partner with me in creating a documentary of my book Flow. There could be a lot of money in it for you. Wouldn’t you enjoy a bigger house, nicer car, and just more stuff in general? I can see you nodding yes right now but ironically these are topics in Flow of a sense of false transient happiness. Hope to work with you soon.
Paul Southworth
Dear Robert A. Compton,
Having just finished watching your movie, Two Million Minutes, I found a couple of scenes that persuaded me to add new things to my book. (Apposite) Although Two Million Minutes was ultimately about school and study habits of different cultures, there was hidden meaning in your movie.(Introductory Adverbial Clause) Throughout your movie I remember seeing things that relate to my book, Flow, which is that different cultures have different ideas of happiness.
The three different cultures you used in your movie, American, Indian, and Chinese, make your movie well made because you focus on every type of culture. In relation to my book I realized that different cultures have different views on happiness. To man in China he could be happy studying all the time because he is preparing for the future. Although the heedful boy from China already had his life planned for him, by his immutable father, he did not argue with it. The boy was happy with going to school and then going home to study. In order to seek a little more happiness he did not need to buy personal items but he played chess. His life style of living is very similar to the men and women in India. The people of India go to school and when they return home the sit down and study. The school systems are rigorous and challenge the students every day. Rhonit, the Indian character, wanted to be a singer in a band with his friends and also loved to play soccer. Even though his life plan did not allow him to do either all that often he found joy in being able to do play soccer once and a while. His career path was chosen for him long before he even started attending school. Compared to the rigorous lives of those in China and India, you made the characters of America seem nonchalant about their school work. The Americas seemed to be more focused on their friends and material possessions rather than school. Brittany, the America woman, studied with her friends while they watched television. Comparing all of these types of cultures, it seems as though materialistic men and women of America find less happiness of their lives than those of India and China who have little to no material possessions. The students of America drive cars to school while the Chinese take the bus and the Indians, with a little more luxury than the Chinese, ride their own mopeds. In my book, I talked about material possessions and how Americans will never find happiness because they always want more and you have shown that in your film without even knowing it.
Your film was not only interesting because of the topic it included but was especially appealing to me due to the fact that you have some of the same beliefs I do. I congratulate you on a well made movie and hope to see many more from you.
Thanks,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Shawn Ferrini
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Just recently I had the pleasure of viewing your film on the differences in the education between countries, Two Million Minutes. I felt that in some senses, your movie was a minor attack on the “loosness” of the American educational system as opposed to the strictness of those from India and ChinaObserving the vastness of the differences in time allotment for these 6 students was both intriguing and insightful. From watching your documentary, I learned how much a countries culture affects the educational system. (Introductory Prepositional Phrase) While viewing the film, I noticed that my ideas of the Flow theory, if you work hard and strive to learn as well as immerse yourself in something meaningful to you, you will achieve true happiness, as I feel these children have done. Despite the possible attack on the American system of education, I feel that Two Million Minutes truly was an astounding piece, reflecting my thoughts on how immersing yourself in activities of meaning can make you truly happy as well as showing how a countries’ culture is reflected in their education.
To bash the American educational system seemed to be your motive in producing this film, however.(Infinitive Phrases) I personally feel that in some ways the American educational system is years ahead of those of India and China. What you see in the film is students from India and China who, despite maybe having higher testing scores and seeming happy in their culture, do not seem as truly happy with life as their counterparts in America. The pupils from India and China spend all of their free time studying and get minimal time at best to just sit back and enjoy life. This is by the American students who, even while having a difficult schedule in school, still find time to have a bit of fun. This, I believe, makes these students more well rounded and allows them to have more real life experience for the future. This, in the end, from my perspective, allows these young adults to be happier, in the truer sense of the word.
Despite this partial possible biased, however, I feel that your film was well presented. I saw glimpses of my ideals reflected in these seemingly happy young people. They seemed to be fully engulfed in their respective “high school experiences” either by taking part in school activities as the Americans did or by studying hard for vast amounts of time as is the custom in India and China.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Shawn Ferrini
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Just recently I had the pleasure of viewing your film on the differences in the education between countries, Two Million Minutes. I felt that in some senses, your movie was a minor attack on the “loosness” of the American educational system as opposed to the strictness of those from India and ChinaObserving the vastness of the differences in time allotment for these 6 students was both intriguing and insightful. From watching your documentary, I learned how much a countries culture affects the educational system. (Introductory Prepositional Phrase) While viewing the film, I noticed that my ideas of the Flow theory, if you work hard and strive to learn as well as immerse yourself in something meaningful to you, you will achieve true happiness, as I feel these children have done. Despite the possible attack on the American system of education, I feel that Two Million Minutes truly was an astounding piece, reflecting my thoughts on how immersing yourself in activities of meaning can make you truly happy as well as showing how a countries’ culture is reflected in their education.
To bash the American educational system seemed to be your motive in producing this film, however.(Infinitive Phrases) I personally feel that in some ways the American educational system is years ahead of those of India and China. What you see in the film is students from India and China who, despite maybe having higher testing scores and seeming happy in their culture, do not seem as truly happy with life as their counterparts in America. The pupils from India and China spend all of their free time studying and get minimal time at best to just sit back and enjoy life. This is by the American students who, even while having a difficult schedule in school, still find time to have a bit of fun. This, I believe, makes these students more well rounded and allows them to have more real life experience for the future. This, in the end, from my perspective, allows these young adults to be happier, in the truer sense of the word.
Despite this partial possible biased, however, I feel that your film was well presented. I saw glimpses of my ideals reflected in these seemingly happy young people. They seemed to be fully engulfed in their respective “high school experiences” either by taking part in school activities as the Americans did or by studying hard for vast amounts of time as is the custom in India and China.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Christopher Ruta
Period: C
Dear Mr. Robert A Compton,
Hello my good old friend. How are have you been these past few years? I miss you dearly and dislike how we never get a free moment to visit each other at our respective homes. Hearing of your great success with the film “Two Million Minutes”, I felt a strong urgency to view this film and watch with my own two eyes the masterpiece you created (Gerund phrase). During the apocryphal film, I could tell this was your work by the suggestive facts and points made through the content of the film. You make the American education system look like it is losing ground on being one of the top education systems in the world. Intensely, meticulously, foreign students, such as the Chinese and Indians shown in the film, work for the majority of their day on academics (Adverbs out of order). My only problem with their way of education is they have no chance to do what makes them happy. Their only choices are math, science, or perhaps English if they are lucky. In my national bestselling book Flow, I examine what is necessary for a human to be happy and how a person can live a content life. After viewing you film I have to come to the conclusion that time put in on academics do matter when determining what kind of education system is more successful. Due to America’s plethora of non-academic opportunities, Americans hold an advantage over foreign students because of their inspiration and passion to strive outside of the classroom; therefore, creating an overall happy life.
Happiness cannot be chased after; one must let it come to them. The same goes for being successful in a person’s career. I feel as if people in China and India are born and automatically have their career chosen for them by their parents or other family. In America, children grow up to thousands of different possible careers, hobbies, or activities. Americans do not go searching for the right job, but over time through high school and college the right career path comes to them by testing out different subjects. I believe “for every person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves” (3). In education systems like those of China and India, there are not as many opportunities and challenges because students are too busy focusing all their attention on sciences and mathematics. How can the reach a happy and content life with so little to choose from? The most talented musician could be hale from China but he or she may never get the chance to play because they are too focused on getting into that special math program. Americans may not spend as much time on academics but we do lead happier lives which could be looked at as being more successful than getting straight A’s in high school.
I do not mean to bash you great film, but I believe you are giving the wrong idea. America is not falling behind other countries. We as a country are actually expanding and growing in all areas of the world. We have novelists creating brilliant pieces of literature, artists sculpting masterpieces. Success is not determined by knowledge, but determined by happiness.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihayli
Christopher Ruta
Period: C
Dear Mr. Robert A Compton,
Hello my good old friend. How are have you been these past few years? I miss you dearly and dislike how we never get a free moment to visit each other at our respective homes. Hearing of your great success with the film “Two Million Minutes”, I felt a strong urgency to view this film and watch with my own two eyes the masterpiece you created (Gerund phrase). During the apocryphal film, I could tell this was your work by the suggestive facts and points made through the content of the film. You make the American education system look like it is losing ground on being one of the top education systems in the world. Intensely, meticulously, foreign students, such as the Chinese and Indians shown in the film, work for the majority of their day on academics (Adverbs out of order). My only problem with their way of education is they have no chance to do what makes them happy. Their only choices are math, science, or perhaps English if they are lucky. In my national bestselling book Flow, I examine what is necessary for a human to be happy and how a person can live a content life. After viewing you film I have to come to the conclusion that time put in on academics do matter when determining what kind of education system is more successful. Due to America’s plethora of non-academic opportunities, Americans hold an advantage over foreign students because of their inspiration and passion to strive outside of the classroom; therefore, creating an overall happy life.
Happiness cannot be chased after; one must let it come to them. The same goes for being successful in a person’s career. I feel as if people in China and India are born and automatically have their career chosen for them by their parents or other family. In America, children grow up to thousands of different possible careers, hobbies, or activities. Americans do not go searching for the right job, but over time through high school and college the right career path comes to them by testing out different subjects. I believe “for every person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves” (3). In education systems like those of China and India, there are not as many opportunities and challenges because students are too busy focusing all their attention on sciences and mathematics. How can the reach a happy and content life with so little to choose from? The most talented musician could be hale from China but he or she may never get the chance to play because they are too focused on getting into that special math program. Americans may not spend as much time on academics but we do lead happier lives which could be looked at as being more successful than getting straight A’s in high school.
I do not mean to bash you great film, but I believe you are giving the wrong idea. America is not falling behind other countries. We as a country are actually expanding and growing in all areas of the world. We have novelists creating brilliant pieces of literature, artists sculpting masterpieces. Success is not determined by knowledge, but determined by happiness.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihayli
Robert Southworth
English C
Dear Mr. Compton,
I have recently finished viewing your documentary film on education, 2 Million Minutes. Your strong examples clearly demonstrate the plethora of gaps in education between some of the world’s largest countries. Now a major debating point, viewers have urges that children outside of the U.S. are not happy growing up in the strict educational programs, such as China and India. I recommend that they take a look at my novel, Flow, for an understanding behind the true meaning of happiness.
In my novel,(introductory phrase) I strongly advocate that happiness is a condition that must be cultivated and privately defended by each individual. Viewers may watch your film and determine that Chinese and Indian children are not necessarily the happiest, but are very intelligent. The mentality that each child must be the smartest, hardest, and most efficient in China and India can be a very dangerous mindset. Setting the kids up for a massive sense of failure later on, I strongly thwart this mentality.(verb-subject) American children have a profusion of time spent toward extracurricular activities and sports compared to other foreign students, mainly because this is what makes them happy. American children tend to share their happiness among a group and coalesce into a single happy unit. Meanwhile, Chinese and Indian students tend to share their enjoyable actions alone, seen through your students desire to play chess and violin. Happiness though is a very generic term which is determined by each individual through their experiences and activities.
Your documentary does an excellent job uncovering the hidden truths and cracks between educations on a worldwide scale. Although deemed unhappy by viewers, children in China and India are in fact happy and thankful for their lives.( Introductory Adverbial Clause) Do not be discouraged from the neglectful opinions because your film does an amazing job of showing the differing lifestyles of everyday and ordinary children. I wish you luck on your future films and look forward to viewing and discussing issues with you in the future. Thank you and good luck.
Yours Truly,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Shawn Ferrini
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Just recently I had the pleasure of viewing your film on the differences in the education between countries, Two Million Minutes. I felt that in some senses, your movie was a minor attack on the “loosness” of the American educational system as opposed to the strictness of those from India and ChinaObserving the vastness of the differences in time allotment for these 6 students was both intriguing and insightful. From watching your documentary, I learned how much a countries culture affects the educational system. (Introductory Prepositional Phrase) While viewing the film, I noticed that my ideas of the Flow theory, if you work hard and strive to learn as well as immerse yourself in something meaningful to you, you will achieve true happiness, as I feel these children have done. Despite the possible attack on the American system of education, I feel that Two Million Minutes truly was an astounding piece, reflecting my thoughts on how immersing yourself in activities of meaning can make you truly happy as well as showing how a countries’ culture is reflected in their education.
To bash the American educational system seemed to be your motive in producing this film, however.(Infinitive Phrases) I personally feel that in some ways the American educational system is years ahead of those of India and China. What you see in the film is students from India and China who, despite maybe having higher testing scores and seeming happy in their culture, do not seem as truly happy with life as their counterparts in America. The pupils from India and China spend all of their free time studying and get minimal time at best to just sit back and enjoy life. This is by the American students who, even while having a difficult schedule in school, still find time to have a bit of fun. This, I believe, makes these students more well rounded and allows them to have more real life experience for the future. This, in the end, from my perspective, allows these young adults to be happier, in the truer sense of the word.
Despite this partial possible biased, however, I feel that your film was well presented. I saw glimpses of my ideals reflected in these seemingly happy young people. They seemed to be fully engulfed in their respective “high school experiences” either by taking part in school activities as the Americans did or by studying hard for vast amounts of time as is the custom in India and China.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Joe Anderson
12/3/10
C English
Flow Short Essay
Dear Mr. Compton,
Regarding your film 2 Million Minutes, I have come to many conclusions describing these children and their work habits related to their success. First off, children of different geographical regions in the world have completely different opinions regarding schoolwork. As a result, there is much higher demand for the absolute top students in India and China as there is in America. When these overachieving (from the perspective of the average American student) students in other countries do not get into their choice of college, they feel sad, and lament over the fact. In America, foreign students view our lives as dreams because we do not dedicate our lives to school most of the time. In reality, American students work just as hard and as foreign students, just in other fields such as a part-time job AND sports sometimes. Not to mention a lot of student are also in relationships, which adds to the mix, and American students are still pulling out A’s and B’s. Going from school, to sports, to work, to do homework, and to then hang out with friends is America’s idea of living (Gerund phrase).
I have also come to the conclusion that psychologically, students in China and India, for example, are more set to a certain job or field at a young age, while in America some students do not even know when they are sophomores in college! I further conclude that foreign students are more determined to go to a specific field and determined to succeed in that field, and it is that determination that will ultimately, possibly, crush their dreams (Repetition of a key term). This would possibly crush their dreams because if they do not get into that field, or succeed at it, they just spent years and years studying for that one specific job all for nothing! In reality, many American’s choice of major seems haphazard at some point. It seems that people just look at the list of majors and just chooses what sounds good sometimes. My point is that American students really do work as hard, if not harder, than Chinese or Indian student through part-time jobs, sports, and relationships, and it is less likely an American student will possibly set themselves up for disaster in their future.
Yours Truly,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
My name is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and I am author. Your film “2 Million Minutes” was very intriguing and connected very well to one of my books. My book “Flow”, describes ways in which people can find true happiness. Many of the students in your film displayed the qualities needed to obtain happiness. The students of the third world countries showed more of ambitious attitude compared to the students living in the United States. One of the Chinese boys, Zin, had a haughty personality but it showed that he knew the plans he had for his future. As said in my book, “People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy”(2). Zin taught himself how to study and took control of his life and he knew that someday he will be very successful, and with this he found happiness. The American students, on the other hand, were nonchalant when it came to their school work. Despite the fact that they were relaxed in their curriculum, the students were happy with their methods. Viktor Frankl an Austrain psychologist said, “Don’t aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it”(2). The Americans do not always put school work first, proving Vikor’s quote that the more that success is a target the more one will miss resulting in a greater disappointment. China and India’s student’s motivation come from the idea that their beating poverty in their country. The Indian and Chinese students in your film had strong ambition and displayed the theory of “Flow”, the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter”(4) . These students separated themselves from society and “To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become indepent of the social environment”(6). Your film did an outstanding job showing the differences in how students can find happiness. I praise you for your work.
Thank you,
Mihaly
Shawn Ferrini
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Just recently I had the pleasure of viewing your film on the differences in the education between countries, Two Million Minutes. I felt that in some senses, your movie was a minor attack on the “loosness” of the American educational system as opposed to the strictness of those from India and ChinaObserving the vastness of the differences in time allotment for these 6 students was both intriguing and insightful. From watching your documentary, I learned how much a countries culture affects the educational system. (Introductory Prepositional Phrase) While viewing the film, I noticed that my ideas of the Flow theory, if you work hard and strive to learn as well as immerse yourself in something meaningful to you, you will achieve true happiness, as I feel these children have done. Despite the possible attack on the American system of education, I feel that Two Million Minutes truly was an astounding piece, reflecting my thoughts on how immersing yourself in activities of meaning can make you truly happy as well as showing how a countries’ culture is reflected in their education.
To bash the American educational system seemed to be your motive in producing this film, however.(Infinitive Phrases) I personally feel that in some ways the American educational system is years ahead of those of India and China. What you see in the film is students from India and China who, despite maybe having higher testing scores and seeming happy in their culture, do not seem as truly happy with life as their counterparts in America. The pupils from India and China spend all of their free time studying and get minimal time at best to just sit back and enjoy life. This is the antithesis by the American students who, even while having a difficult schedule in school, still find time to have a bit of fun. This, I believe, makes these students more well rounded and allows them to have more real life experience for the future. This, in the end, from my perspective, allows these young adults to be happier, in the truer sense of the word.
Despite this partial possible biased, however, I feel that your film was well presented. I saw glimpses of my ideals reflected in these seemingly happy young people. They seemed to be fully engulfed in their respective “high school experiences” either by taking part in school activities as the Americans did or by studying hard for vast amounts of time as is the custom in India and China.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I noticed some omissions that I would like to bring to your attention. (appositive) Throughout your film, you focus on the achievement of happiness through success in terms of societal views relative which, in essence, relates the message to your viewers that achieving success as it is defined by society, not by the individual, is ultimately more fulfilling. I wholeheartedly disagree with that particular message that your film illustrates.
Had happiness been achieved through realizing society’s ideals, every “successful” person since the inception of mankind would have been genuinely happy, which is far from the truth. (verb-subject clause) The disparity between the time spent studying in the featured country is seemingly more important than the disparity between the students contentedness with their lives. Contrary to what is shown in your movie, I believe happiness revolves around an individual’s ability to interpret events in a positive manner and control his/her consciousness because outside events cannot be controlled. It is through this way of controlling your consciousness that people faced with seemingly insuperable tragedies can still manage to move on and truly enjoy their life. In my opinion, the students in your movie that will feel the most satisfied with their lives, provided they stay on the same path that they have started, will be the ones that are pursuing goals that they have set for themselves, in areas they believe in and enjoy. For example, I believe the young American girl, Brittney, who is working towards becoming a nurse will feel satisfied as an old woman looking back upon her life because she has chosen her career path according to what makes her happy as an individual. The Indian girl, Apraya, may end up feeling that her life was unfulfilling because she has chosen to work her career because of what everyone else is doing and because of the salary, neither aspect can help one achieve true happiness. Happiness is what all individuals strive for but no one really knows how to achieve it. Every human being must find it in on his/her own.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I noticed some omissions that I would like to bring to your attention. (appositive) Throughout your film, you focus on the achievement of happiness through success in terms of societal views relative which, in essence, relates the message to your viewers that achieving success as it is defined by society, not by the individual, is ultimately more fulfilling. I wholeheartedly disagree with that particular message that your film illustrates.
Had happiness been achieved through realizing society’s ideals, every “successful” person since the inception of mankind would have been genuinely happy, which is far from the truth. (verb-subject clause) The disparity between the time spent studying in the featured country is seemingly more important than the disparity between the students contentedness with their lives. Contrary to what is shown in your movie, I believe happiness revolves around an individual’s ability to interpret events in a positive manner and control his/her consciousness because outside events cannot be controlled. It is through this way of controlling your consciousness that people faced with seemingly insuperable tragedies can still manage to move on and truly enjoy their life. In my opinion, the students in your movie that will feel the most satisfied with their lives, provided they stay on the same path that they have started, will be the ones that are pursuing goals that they have set for themselves, in areas they believe in and enjoy. For example, I believe the young American girl, Brittney, who is working towards becoming a nurse will feel satisfied as an old woman looking back upon her life because she has chosen her career path according to what makes her happy as an individual. The Indian girl, Apraya, may end up feeling that her life was unfulfilling because she has chosen to work her career because of what everyone else is doing and because of the salary, neither aspect can help one achieve true happiness. Happiness is what all individuals strive for but no one really knows how to achieve it. Every human being must find it in on his/her own.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
AJ Bashaw
Raft Essay
Robert Compton
4401-A Connecticut Ave NW, #336
Washington, DC 20008
Dear Mr. Compton,
Mr. Compton, as I write this letter, I wish to waive all biased opinions and get straight down to the facts about your movie 2 Million Minutes. Your move presents the story of six individuals from across their world and how their education impacts their lives on both a daily and futuristic level. Mr. Compton or if I may Bob as you said your friends call you, and I wish to make this letter of a friendly nature rather than critical.
Bob, your movie is all about how the children proceed through their life of education, and it does a very well done and well thought process of producing this idea, but I believe your movie does not touch upon the most important and insuperable fact that you completely took the level and idea of happiness out of the picture. By doing this, you removed all critical connection to which others may relate to. Think of this, two people have the same job, but one hates his work while the other loves doing his job; who will be happier, thus producing and being further willing to do additional work for both his peers and for the betterment of his job. While the one who is unhappy will show up and leave as late and as soon as possible. Thus the person who is happier will be able to produce a better level of work due to the simple fact that they love what they do and are doing it for the joy and satisfaction of their work.
This is why I find your movie misleading. Sure, other students may devote more time to their studies and extracurricular activities, but they might not devote their whole happiness into the activities, thus they may not get the max amount of information or reward that one who has put not as much time but more effort. Saying that both the Indian children and the Chinese children devote more time to their activities, does not mean that they will be better at both in their lives and in their jobs than their American counterparts.
Bob, take this as you may, I am just offering you ideas to make your work further developed if you wish to pursue these ideas; I am not writing this letter as a personal attack, I am trying to voice my opinions to a man which I regard with much respect. So please let me know what you think, and I wish you to deeply consider my ideas and my thought as not a criticism but a way to improve upon your work.
Robert A. Compton Presents Two Million Minutes The 21st Century Solution. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. .
AJ Bashaw
Raft Essay
Robert Compton
4401-A Connecticut Ave NW, #336
Washington, DC 20008
Dear Mr. Compton,
Mr. Compton, as I write this letter, I wish to waive all biased opinions and get straight down to the facts about your movie 2 Million Minutes. Your move presents the story of six individuals from across their world and how their education impacts their lives on both a daily and futuristic level. Mr. Compton or if I may Bob as you said your friends call you, and I wish to make this letter of a friendly nature rather than critical.
Bob, your movie is all about how the children proceed through their life of education, and it does a very well done and well thought process of producing this idea, but I believe your movie does not touch upon the most important and insuperable fact that you completely took the level and idea of happiness out of the picture. By doing this, you removed all critical connection to which others may relate to. Think of this, two people have the same job, but one hates his work while the other loves doing his job; who will be happier, thus producing and being further willing to do additional work for both his peers and for the betterment of his job. While the one who is unhappy will show up and leave as late and as soon as possible. Thus the person who is happier will be able to produce a better level of work due to the simple fact that they love what they do and are doing it for the joy and satisfaction of their work.
AJ BASHAW
This is why I find your movie misleading. Sure, other students may devote more time to their studies and extracurricular activities, but they might not devote their whole happiness into the activities, thus they may not get the max amount of information or reward that one who has put not as much time but more effort. Saying that both the Indian children and the Chinese children devote more time to their activities, does not mean that they will be better at both in their lives and in their jobs than their American counterparts.
Bob, take this as you may, I am just offering you ideas to make your work further developed if you wish to pursue these ideas; I am not writing this letter as a personal attack, I am trying to voice my opinions to a man which I regard with much respect. So please let me know what you think, and I wish you to deeply consider my ideas and my thought as not a criticism but a way to improve upon your work.
Robert A. Compton Presents Two Million Minutes The 21st Century Solution. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. .
AJ BASHAW
With much respect,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Robert Compton,
I have just viewed your movie “2 Million Minutes” and I have to say that I am impressed on the facts that were presented. Just like you I do have my own ideas on success, but mine differ from yours… in some ways. I believe in the idea of happiness, and to me happiness isn’t the amount of wealth a person consumes; it’s about how we interpret the experiences we go through. Your ideas seem pragmatic, but they don’t enter depth in to the human mind; yes being successful in school can bring happiness but is it really what the students want? Throughout your documentary people are taught to be successful, but students may forget about themselves and their happiness in their pathway to a bright future.
Viewing the Indian student, he seemed to be content with his life. But when seeing him, he seems like he’s missing something. As a child he gets told what to do, their entire future is determined for them, and for that reason they don’t have a chance to become individualized. He is an innocuous kid, that doesn’t get a chance to live; he speaks about singing and how he’d love to play soccer but his options are limited due to his lifestyle. Like I said before, happiness comes from experiences and for this poor kid his experiences are lacking. When people decide your future you follow the norm and tend to stay on the course you’re told to travel. But then I begin to think differently. The Chinese girl seemed to have a very hectic work load but she enjoyed what she did. She has a nice “flow” because though she was doing what she liked she was being successful. She, in my opinion, is the perfect example of my theory; she works hard for her future, and when she looks back at it she’ll say that she lived life to the fullest.
I believe that the American students were criticized too harshly. I feel like your analyzers focused too much on intellectual aspects and not enough on personal goals. A person must take a break from the studies and get a chance to live. There’s a point in the film where the Indian family said they had to work harder because of the conditions they were living in, but doesn’t everyone have difficulties? And that’s why I believe they should have more freedoms because it creates happiness. Despite their problems, they should be able to experience things for themselves. Students should be able to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes, take the chance to grow; flourish in the life you want to remember.
So like I said you are right, but so am I. Our beliefs may differ but in the end they are the same. Having a good life depends on your level of success, whether its wealth that makes you happy, or the live you lived. When the final buzzer rings and the games over will you be happy with what you’ve done, or will you settle for contentment. It’s not up to me or you, it’s up the people.
Your admirer,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Robert Compton,
I have just viewed your movie “2 Million Minutes” and I have to say that I am impressed on the facts that were presented. Just like you I do have my own ideas on success, but mine differ from yours… in some ways. I believe in the idea of happiness, and to me happiness isn’t the amount of wealth a person consumes; it’s about how we interpret the experiences we go through. Your ideas seem pragmatic, but they don’t enter depth in to the human mind; yes being successful in school can bring happiness but is it really what the students want? Throughout your documentary people are taught to be successful, but students may forget about themselves and their happiness in their pathway to a bright future.
Viewing the Indian student, he seemed to be content with his life. But when seeing him, he seems like he’s missing something. As a child he gets told what to do, their entire future is determined for them, and for that reason they don’t have a chance to become individualized. He is an innocuous kid, that doesn’t get a chance to live; he speaks about singing and how he’d love to play soccer but his options are limited due to his lifestyle. Like I said before, happiness comes from experiences and for this poor kid his experiences are lacking. When people decide your future you follow the norm and tend to stay on the course you’re told to travel. But then I begin to think differently. The Chinese girl seemed to have a very hectic work load but she enjoyed what she did. She has a nice “flow” because though she was doing what she liked she was being successful. She, in my opinion, is the perfect example of my theory; she works hard for her future, and when she looks back at it she’ll say that she lived life to the fullest.
I believe that the American students were criticized too harshly. I feel like your analyzers focused too much on intellectual aspects and not enough on personal goals. A person must take a break from the studies and get a chance to live. There’s a point in the film where the Indian family said they had to work harder because of the conditions they were living in, but doesn’t everyone have difficulties? And that’s why I believe they should have more freedoms because it creates happiness. Despite their problems, they should be able to experience things for themselves. Students should be able to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes, take the chance to grow; flourish in the life you want to remember.
So like I said you are right, but so am I. Our beliefs may differ but in the end they are the same. Having a good life depends on your level of success, whether its wealth that makes you happy, or the live you lived. When the final buzzer rings and the games over will you be happy with what you’ve done, or will you settle for contentment. It’s not up to me or you, it’s up the people.
Your admirer,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
At the conclusion of your film, I immediately thought to myself that structure and involuntary work is not how you gain happiness, but challenging your mind voluntarily is a path to reach happiness. Money and power does not help you reach fulfillment and happiness. To be a happy person, you cannot reach it by consciously searching for it (Adverbial Infinitive Phrase). People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy. People who study and complete their school work because they have to is not the route that must be taken for happiness. The best moments in our lives usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. I feel the Chinese and Indian children are not given a chance to reach full happiness because they are pushed by their parents and society to gain a high education to “get out” of their native lands. This should not be the case. Children should be allowed to take any route they want to reach their happiness, even if they are not living a life with a plethora of riches. The disparity between the lives of American and Asian children is severe. Even though Americans may not show the drive on education, their minds are much more imaginative on what they can achieve in their lives. Asian and Indian children are supposed to excel in the technology fields, even if that is not in their dreams. Some dream of becoming an artist of a football player, but have to study math to find a way out and make money for their family. Compton, wrap this around your mind; people who voluntarily challenge their mind can reach happiness even though people who have everything cannot (Compound Sentence without a Conjunction). The aberration by people who follow their mind and involve the satisfaction of challenging their mind will reach happiness. And when watching your movie, the American teenagers appeared to be happier than other teenagers around the world, and I can offer my opinion on this by saying their minds are at a more of a flow state. America is still the land of opportunity.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
-Keegan Schleicher
Dear Mr. Compton,
When watching your film 2 million minutes I immediately correlated it to my book flow and how it correlates to the students and how happy they were. At the inception of the film I saw that the American students were happier than the foreign students. I believe this is the case because the Asian and Indian students did not want to be doing what they were doing. They were not voluntarily doing what they wanted to do, just like the Indian boy who said he would rather be doing something with soccer, or music but he had to be an engineer. I believe that the key to happiness is by being in a “flow” state where you are completely wrapped up in something that you are doing. This cannot be possible if you are force to study something that you do not want to do. The American students were much happier because they had their own volition to studying whatever studies they were pursuing. All the foreign students were also reluctant to be reticent and speak up to their parents to tell them what they really wanted to do. The Chinese boy who loved math was in a flow state all of the time because he loved studying math and learning about it. He wasn’t just doing it because someone was telling him too; He actually enjoyed mathematics and pursuing it as a life career. To reach the flow state you have to be completely involved in the activity that you are doing, if the task is too easy or too hard flow cannot occur. The activity has to be challenging but you have to be completely involved and want to complete it. To be able to be happy you have to love what you are doing and have your heart in it or else there will be no happiness. I believe some of these students had their heart in what they were doing and on their way to happy and successful lives.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
but really this is PHIL RIZZO
Mr. Compton,
I just saw your film 2 Million Minutes, overall it was an enjoyable film but there are clearly going to be some disagreeing points that you portray in your film. As you know I am the author of FLOW, which is the novel that describes a way to gain overall happiness. 2 Million Minutes uses the example of academics to reach happiness. The contrasting cultures you use to show this are the American and Asian cultures. The Asian cultures as presented in your film are made out to be focused mainly around academics and think that it is the only way to become a successful person in which brings about happiness. But I would have to disagree with this. I do because society makes everyone think that they must strive for the goals set by said society. But happiness does not come from something someone else makes up. Happiness is from within, sought out by our intentions to find happiness. No matter who you are, or how intelligent you are, you can become happiness. Just because someone is an aberration does not mean they are wrong. Almost all of the Asian children in your film strived to do so. They did not want to grow up and try to reach the goals set by their parents. My novel is didactic to break this trend. I want to show that no one else can show you how to be happy. To find happiness you must be true to yourself. [This kind of life plan I can live without.]
In contrast to the Asian students, the American students were far less immersed in school work. Also the Americans are much less meticulous in their attitudes towards work in general. They believe friends and family come first then their education. I believe it is this way because all of the Asian students are looking to get out of where they are to get to have a happy family. But the American students already have the life they want, because they understand that they don’t have to get out of where they are. Overall I believe that in order to gain happiness the Asian students have it wrong. They believe that the goals set for them and that is how they will be happy. But they need to find the inner state of FLOW to become happy.
Your Friend,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Brian Fox
Dear Mr. Compton,
I am writing to you as a viewer and a fan of your latest documentary, 2 Million Mintues. I for one believe that it fully depicts my theory for the concept of Flow. It is quite interesting how High School age kids of different countries spend their time in and outside of High School. I understand that this film is not meant to embroil the nations into a sort of race to get the best education. Instead it somewhat serves as a wakeup call for the students of the United States.
Throughout the documentary, the psychological concept of flow is illustrated immensly by the students of the foreign nations. The days of these students are continually filled with multiple ways of academic stimulation. This stimulation allows the students to enter the state of flow. The state of flow is a semi-conscious state in which the person poses challenges upon themselves so they feel a sense of fulfullment when they accomplish their task. The foreign students pose high academic and extra curricular goals on themselves while the American students do not necessarily aim as high in terms of academics.
I would like to convey my reverance to you for producing this film. With your permission I would like to use your film as an example of flow in my next upcoming book.
Best Regards,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Robert Cormier
John Eckart
Dear Mr. Compton,
I have just recently watched your documentary 2 Million Minutes and I would like to applaud you on a job well done. You did a very good job keeping the viewer interested while providing facts and a taste of education ideals from different cultures. As you may know I have written a novel Flow and there are certain parts I would like to comment on after watching the documentary.
In my studies I have learned that people are most happy when they have successfully accomplished voluntary, mental/physically challenge and are completing difficult tasks to the best of one’s ability. According to my studies the high school students in countries such as China and India would statistically be happier than those is the United States because those in China and India are completing mentally changeling tasks. These students are enrolled in advanced math and science courses that American students have no exposer to. The foreign students also view their studies as a voluntary task and not as “busy work”, the way the American students look at it. The students in America have argued that they are learning social skills and are having more fun than the foreign students in your documentary. As my studies have shown, when people begin working extremely hard on a certain task such as playing the violin the individual may enter a stage called flow in which they lose track of all other thoughts. Since the American students do not engaged in as difficult of activities as the foreign students, such as ones from China, the American students may not experience flow as much as their foreign competition.
In conclusion to watching your documentary some may say that American students are indolent. I would say that they are not as much lazy as haphazard and not looking far enough into the future. Although the American students are fortuitous for growing up in the best country, if they do not change themselves they will not be able to compete in the math and science industry fields and they will not be able to be as happy as the students from other countries.
John Eckart
Dear Mr. Compton,
You have shown me a lot through your film 2 million minutes. Observant and meticulous, I noticed everything. (adjectives out of order) Each story, American, Chinese or Indian, reached out to me and related to flow. However, the stories of China and India are saddening. Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia all have taken up the investigation of Flow along with America. I do not believe it to be a coincidence that that is why those two countries will lack the feeling of happiness. Because foreign countries, such as China and India, spend so much of their time focused on their individual success, they will not be able to find the true happiness that life has to offer.
Because the idea of flow, the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, is not just an academic subject, China and India will continue to stray away from the ideals. I admire the different cultures you portray but there are opposing ideas that favor Americans. According to your documentary, the American students attend sports games, dances, have tons of hobbies and focus on homework when it is convenient. These children will have fond memories because it is these moments that create memories. The young boys and girls from China and India are going about their lives in such a vapid way; at age 17 the majority knows what they are going to accomplish when they grow up. The ones that don’t have a clue have an advantage in my point of view. Figuring it all out as you go and not know what is next, will create unexpected events that cause real happiness.
The children of our time that are only focused on success, such as the ones shown in your documentary, are being robbed of their happiness. Their lives are so structured and planned out that there is no room for error or surprise. If I could speak to those children you chose to share their lives I would quote Viktor Frankl; “Don’t aim at success- the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued.” The American students are the lucky ones and in your documentary, they are mocked and looked at as foolish. Before succeeding in a career, the American children will have a profusion of happy memories and experiences. (Gerund- object of preposition)
Your documentary is on academics, however it belittles Americans in that way which isn’t right. China and India may have higher test scores, but they come to America if they really want to succeed. They agree that American students have more fun but they never mention how they should actually envy the American students. In the documentary, they are inferior. However, it is my opinion that the kids that strive indefinitely for success, will miss out on being truly happy. Happiness can find anyone, but you need to be able to embrace it.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
AKA- Kayla Bessette
Dear Mr. Compton,
You have shown me a lot through your film 2 million minutes. Observant and meticulous, I noticed everything. (adjectives out of order) Each story, American, Chinese or Indian, reached out to me and related to flow. However, the stories of China and India are saddening. Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia all have taken up the investigation of Flow along with America. I do not believe it to be a coincidence that that is why those two countries will lack the feeling of happiness. Because foreign countries, such as China and India, spend so much of their time focused on their individual success, they will not be able to find the true happiness that life has to offer.
Because the idea of flow, the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, is not just an academic subject, China and India will continue to stray away from the ideals. I admire the different cultures you portray but there are opposing ideas that favor Americans. According to your documentary, the American students attend sports games, dances, have tons of hobbies and focus on homework when it is convenient. These children will have fond memories because it is these moments that create memories. The young boys and girls from China and India are going about their lives in such a vapid way; at age 17 the majority knows what they are going to accomplish when they grow up. The ones that don’t have a clue have an advantage in my point of view. Figuring it all out as you go and not know what is next, will create unexpected events that cause real happiness.
The children of our time that are only focused on success, such as the ones shown in your documentary, are being robbed of their happiness. Their lives are so structured and planned out that there is no room for error or surprise. If I could speak to those children you chose to share their lives I would quote Viktor Frankl; “Don’t aim at success- the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued.” The American students are the lucky ones and in your documentary, they are mocked and looked at as foolish. Before succeeding in a career, the American children will have a profusion of happy memories and experiences. (Gerund- object of preposition)
Your documentary is on academics, however it belittles Americans in that way which isn’t right. China and India may have higher test scores, but they come to America if they really want to succeed. They agree that American students have more fun but they never mention how they should actually envy the American students. In the documentary, they are inferior. However, it is my opinion that the kids that strive indefinitely for success, will miss out on being truly happy. Happiness can find anyone, but you need to be able to embrace it.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
AKA- Kayla Bessette
Dear Mr. Compton,
You have shown me a lot through your film 2 million minutes. Observant and meticulous, I noticed everything. (adjectives out of order) Each story, American, Chinese or Indian, reached out to me and related to flow. However, the stories of China and India are saddening. Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia all have taken up the investigation of Flow along with America. I do not believe it to be a coincidence that that is why those two countries will lack the feeling of happiness. Because foreign countries, such as China and India, spend so much of their time focused on their individual success, they will not be able to find the true happiness that life has to offer.
Because the idea of flow, the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, is not just an academic subject, China and India will continue to stray away from the ideals. I admire the different cultures you portray but there are opposing ideas that favor Americans. According to your documentary, the American students attend sports games, dances, have tons of hobbies and focus on homework when it is convenient. These children will have fond memories because it is these moments that create memories. The young boys and girls from China and India are going about their lives in such a vapid way; at age 17 the majority knows what they are going to accomplish when they grow up. The ones that don’t have a clue have an advantage in my point of view. Figuring it all out as you go and not know what is next, will create unexpected events that cause real happiness.
The children of our time that are only focused on success, such as the ones shown in your documentary, are being robbed of their happiness. Their lives are so structured and planned out that there is no room for error or surprise. If I could speak to those children you chose to share their lives I would quote Viktor Frankl; “Don’t aim at success- the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued.” The American students are the lucky ones and in your documentary, they are mocked and looked at as foolish. Before succeeding in a career, the American children will have a profusion of happy memories and experiences. (Gerund- object of preposition)
Your documentary is on academics, however it belittles Americans in that way which isn’t right. China and India may have higher test scores, but they come to America if they really want to succeed. They agree that American students have more fun but they never mention how they should actually envy the American students. In the documentary, they are inferior. However, it is my opinion that the kids that strive indefinitely for success, will miss out on being truly happy. Happiness can find anyone, but you need to be able to embrace it.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
AKA- Kayla Bessette
David Weeks
English G
Personal Letter Raft
Dear Mr. Bob,
I have recently viewed your documentary, 2 Million Minutes, and commend you on a very thought provoking movie. I do agree with you on some issues, but I strongly disagree with most of your main points in the movie. In your documentary you portray American, India, and Chinese students by only picking 2 students out of the millions of students in the country. I do not feel that this makes the movie very accurate, although you do have so valid points about culture.
You portray the Americans as having a plethora of time that they do not use to study. Also you portray them as Haughty, as the man seems to not do any work and get all good grades. On the contrary you portray the Chinese and Indians as being meticulous about their school work. America being wrongly portrayed as slackers is more free thinkers. America was built to let people do what they want. For instance if one feels happy and well about living poor on the streets; what is wrong with that? Why does he have to go to school and work if he feels contempt about living as he does? Who are you to judge whether or not he should. If a man wants to go to college for 10 years and then become a millionaire, but is not happy; does this mean he is still better than the bum on the side of the streets? Happiness is the one thing we all search for. Let me ask, are you happy? I my opinion the bum on the street that is happy is better than the millionaire with no happiness.
Out of the 6 people you selected for this movie you never once told about average statistics. That is like doing a scientific experiment only once; leaving much room for mistake. You may look at this as innocuous, but to people in all countries that don’t know better, they may believe you. This would be wrong because you not always correct in your depictions of the 3 countries. In America, how does a valedictorian which there is only one in each school represent the thousands of students in that school? It cannot, it is an aberration that you would do this and I’m very disappointed.
Friendly thoughts,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I watched your movie 2 Million Minutes. I thought it was very interesting. I like how it showed the disparity between different cultures such as American, Indian, and Chinese. 2 Million Minutes portrays the different learning styles of three different cultures, showing how some are pushed to do things and some can do what they please.
I don’t mean to be meticulous Mr. Compton, but I noticed that you showed in your movie that the Asian culture seems to be smarter and better off than the Americans. I would just like to say that I completely disagree with you because they are not in a state of flow. They are not truly happy. The Indian boy said that he doesn’t really want to be an engineer but he knows it’s his only way out. He said that if he was in America he would play soccer and learn about music so he and his boy band can be great. Us, as Americans, are happy because of the plethora of options we have for our future. We can do whatever we want to. Their kind of living I would rather be without.
Being truly happy means doing what you want, not getting money and power. I don’t think the Indians and Chinese are ever going to be truly happy because they aren’t doing what they love.
Daniel Sugar
English IV-G
Flow Essay
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
Dear Mr. Campton,
In your film of 2 Million Minutes, I learned a lot on the cultures you portrayed and your views on their lifestyles. The film leaves me with many questions and thoughts. Not only was the film somewhat bias, it was also seemed unrealistic. In all of the ways we believe happiness is found, you make India and China seem more advanced. Power, money and believing in the highest amount of success seem to be your main focus of happiness while displaying the lifestyles of India and China. In reality, happiness is only achieved on the basis of one’s individual efforts and creativity. In your film, Americans are looked at as an aberration compared to the other two countries because of the way they go about things. Instead of spending all of their time studying and becoming more educated in schooling and their jobs, Americans use their time more towards their own pleasure and social aspects on top of education. At the age of 17 the Inidians and Chinese already know what they want to do and are working towards achieving it. This gives them no time to just live their lives. The Indians and Chinese are shown to strive for more of a higher goal and they become disappointed, which is known to lessen happiness.
In inception those who set their minds only on one thing are those who are less happy than others. As I stated in my book Flow, the problem arises when people are so fixated on what they want to achieve that they cease to derive pleasure from the present. This brings me to your film, the Indians and Chinese seem to be so focused on what they are to become when they are older that they do not realize their present happiness. When they do not get accepted for what they want, they are easily disappointed and cannot fall back on other things. Americans are shown to be less driven at academics, but in reality they may be happier because if they do fail one thing they have other options and aspects in life to find happiness from. Happiness is transient when only coming from one thing. Your film shows India and China spending all of their time focusing on their future and education. They may encounter thousands of potentially fulfilling experiences but they fail to notice them because they are not the things they desire. The students in your film even claim that Americans have more fun. Is this because Americans socialize more? Is it because they find rewards in the events of each moment? Or is it because they do not only focus on becoming successful in one thing?
Your film belittled Americans for not being who the Indians and Chinese are, when Americans may live a happier life. In respect, I would reconsider your ways of portraying the ideas of the three cultures.
Thanks, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
aka Shannon Hansen
Daniel Sugar
English IV-G
Flow Essay
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
Daniel Sugar
English IV-G
Flow Essay
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
Daniel Sugar
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
Dear Mr. Compton,
After viewing your film, 2 Million Minutes, I have come to revere you for your strong opinion on American high school education. However, your diatribe on how American high school students are unprepared for the real world due to not spending enough time on learning is untrue. The American male high school student, Neil, is very prepared for the real world because he has learned to balance extracurricular clubs and twenty hours of work per week against a very rigorous academic schedule.
You seem to imply that Americans nonchalantly go through high school with as little challenge as possible, but Neil wants to pursue a challenging degree in computer programming, which is very heavy on math and science. The female American also challenges herself greatly by taking various AP and Honors courses, including what appeared to be AP Biology and AP Calculus.
Now take a look at their international counterparts in China and India. The Chinese boy is in such a flow state with school, he literally spends all night after school on his computer and doing homework; this is a problem because he shows zero balance in his life. Of course, being in that flow state, they are quite happy with their lives. The Chinese boy is happy with taking tests. The Indian boy is happy with the fact that his entire future is chosen for him-he must go into engineering, even though he wants to make a boy band. But note that he did not gain acceptance to his first-choice college, Yale University, while the two Americans both got into their respective top choices because the Chinese had no real-world outside experience but the Americans did. The two students from India make points about how they lack the freedom to decide what they want to go into-their fates already being determined from birth. They even commented on how the Americans have it better because they have the choice of what to do with themselves. You apparently think that Americans are haughty because they have a plethora of confidence compared to the rest of the world.
You believe that Americans are unprepared for the future because they do not spend enough time on education and thus will not be prepared for the real world. But the Americans do not need so much time on school because their outside experiences will translate into real life after school. Slaves of school, like the Chinese and Indian students, will not be able to function in later life because doing homework and studying is all they know.
AJ BASHAW
Revere not respec for the ending
Tara Hanson
Dear Mr. Compton,
All students whether they’re from India, China, or the U.S. work hard and devote themselves, but it’s the difference in the way they distribute their time to becoming a well-rounded person. Now in becoming a well-rounded person one needs to be able to have happiness in their life. Health, beauty, money, or power is only valued because we expect that it will make us happy. But happiness is not those everyday materialistic items that seem to bring us joy but they really don’t leave us in high spirits.
Students such as the ones in “2 Million Minutes” believe in having a successful future is key to happiness. Depending on the person, their personality, and passion can depict what makes them content. For instance the boy in china who has a love for math is fulfilled with happiness when he is “in the zone.” Happiness for him comes easy, even though he works hard and puts a lot of hours; it comes easy because he enjoys what he does. Now if math is something he enjoys, something that makes him happy, and something that is meaningful to him and will fulfill his requirements and passion in life, then I believe happiness has come to him. Happiness is never antiquated into something better; happiness will never be old fashion, or out of date. The only thing that will change is what makes one happy.
The young girl from America may be a hard worker, but happiness doesn’t come to her from education. She gets her blissfulness by being with friends. Hanging with her friends is the thing she enjoys most. She believes that improving the quality of her life, and just being with those around makes her just a bit happier.
The problem that you may disregard, but what I believe is most important is that one cannot be content with what they are placed with. For instance, the children in India and China their future gets chosen for them. But you can’t be truly happy if you don’t get to choose your path, your future, your life. Many don’t go with the aberration of things; they go with their usual course because it’s what is pleasurable to them. One needs to be able to find rewards in everything you do; each breathe you take. It’s not about the number of breaths you take, but the number of moments that take your breath away.
Thanks for listening to my input,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I found that many there are a lot of similarities between the contents of my book and your film, 2 Millions Minutes. Revering majority of your thoughts, I made numerous connections between the ideals of success and happiness of students in different countries (Gerund Phrase). Although educational goals and success among different countries are contentious topics, because there are such controversial opinions on the matter, they are topics that need to be addressed. Throughout your film, it became clear to me that a fulfilling and happy life is experienced when being educated in fields of personal interest that will allow students to make a living doing something that they are interested in.
While students’ interests are important, it is still clear that students must work hard to obtain the successes of life. 2 Million Minutes proved to me that one of the statements from my novel is especially true for American students: “For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves” (pg 3). Your film proved the idea that students in America have more “fun” than students in other countries. It relates to my theory of optimal experience. Students choose their own fate by participating in numerous activities, those that make them happier while working toward their eventual occupations.
However, in other countries to be successful adults, students must study the fields that are growing in their countries in order to be presented a job opportunity when done with schooling (Adverbial Infinitive Phrase). This sense of dependency on their parents’ wishes can serve to thwart their success though. In many cases, students in other countries are forced to make a living studying topics that they are not fully interested in for any other reason besides the condition in their home country. The ideals of success in different in different countries; therefore, the definitions of happiness are different as well. Though different ranges of rigor and by participating in various activities outside of education, students in America have much more opportunity to reach their definition of success along with happiness.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I have recently watched your movie 2 Million Minutes. I was very fascinated on the results of the film. Being the creator of Flow and the author of Flow, I have knowledge in the studies of happiness. I experimented with the idea of when people are the happiest. I had random checks on people where they had to write down what they were doing and how they were feeling at that exact moment. Through my studies I have come to the belief that happiness can be hard to determine; some people do not understand happiness at all. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. Throughout your documentary, the students present signs of having gained happiness through their lives during things like their activities they participate in.
Many people are contentious to argue on whether or not they are happy. They believe that because they have reached something like the “American Dream” they are happy and at the top of the world. But happiness is not money, power, health, or beauty. The Chinese students in the movie, in my opinion, are happy. They have immersed themselves in their work and studies. The Chinese girl made goals for herself that she would have to work hard. Money, power, health and beauty do not engender happiness; sometimes it is just the simple things like achieving a small life goal. The Chinese girl wanted to do something that no one else has, she studies hard and she is working on her violin skills. She is so involved in her activities that nothing else matters; the experience for her is so enjoyable that she does it for the shear sake of doing it. People forget about achieving happiness and all there other worries and in fact achieve their own happiness.
The other students like they two from America have different priorities than the students in China or India. They are more in control of their lives that the students in China or India who‘s parents have pushed them in a direction. In order to gain happiness they have learned to reward themselves. This is not always an easy feat. They are more able to go after their goals because they are not oppressed.
Each country is different in its values and people and all people achieve happiness in their own way. Whether it is ephemeral happiness does not matter because there is always room to create new objectives to gain bliss. The control of consciousness determines the quality of life. It is not enough to simply know how to do something but one must do it to achieve contentment. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended solely by each person.
From,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
In your film “2 million minutes” it shows that in other countries they are much smarter than the students in America, but the students in America are much happier and have the freedom to choose their occupation. I think your film does a great job portraying how much time foreigners spend on school work and have no time for a social life. The social lives of the Americans show how much happiness they have because they do no devote their whole life to school. As you display in your video and as I support in my book is that you cannot achieve full happiness unless you devote some time to social life and take away some from school work.
As I have written in Flow a true testament of one’s character is how happy they are. In your documentary “2 million minutes” some of the students seemed to be unhappy with their predetermined destinations. As you may have read in my book “the solution is to gradually become free of societal rewards.” Like one of the Indian students says if he was in America he would have gotten a scholarship to college for soccer or music. While he is stuck in India he is forced to be an engineer in which he fails to achieve. So this point further proves that your film shows how unhappy kids in other countries are.
As you show in you documentary there is a huge disparity between cultures, foreigners spend much of their time in school and doing homework and the Americans spend much of their time on sports. Also in the other countries they have very meticulous attitudes because they care about every aspect of school and their work. Lastly, in foreign countries they show they have a plethora of knowledge but they just do not have the social skills to use it. So in the end their true happiness cannot be reached because of the amount of time spent on their schoolwork while Americans freedom gives them their full potential of happiness.
--Keegan Campbell
Nigel Allard
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I am intrigued by your film, 2 Million Minutes, that the profusion of youth in the United States is falling behind the world in knowledge and treat learning with nonchalance. However, I believe that they are all happy with their lives and that is the most important thing. By living different lives, they are able to all find happiness within (Gerund-Object of Preposition). Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else matters and they are able to find true happiness.
The American students put an emphasis on learning and understanding but they put an equal emphasis on social interactions. They do not learn as much or spend as much time studying as other students in different countries but they are happy. They are heavily involved in their social activities and they are able to find happiness in this. The Chinese and Indian students are the exact antithesis of the American students. They put almost all their emphasis on learning and education and fill their lives with activities. Contrary to what Americans believe, these students still find their activities fun and discover happiness (Introductory Adverbial Clause). They are so heavily involved in their studying and learning that nothing else to them matters and they are happy with that. Both types of students found happiness but in different kinds of activities whether it be education or social.
The American, Chinese and Indian students all found happiness despite Americans not putting all their efforts into education. They were all heavily involved with their activities and focused them on completing the task at hand. Happiness is the most important thing in life and not education.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Tim Johansmeyer
Period G
Dear Mr. Compton,
I am writing you this letter after watching your documentary, 2 Million Minutes. I found it very interesting, although I do not agree with all of it based on my own personal research. In your film you portray that American students are the antithesis of Chinese and Indian students in regards to their success. You believe that the American students are not as happy and successful because they do not work as “hard” as the students of China and India. I respectfully disagree with this generalization. I personally believe that the students from the different countries all have their own state of happiness and flow -- the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.
Succeeding in school is not necessarily the best way to achieve happiness. While there are other ways, the Chinese and India students do at times achieve flow through their school work. An example of this is the Chinese boy, who reads a calculus book every night for fun. Although not thought to be fun by most, he gets extremely into it and creates an enjoyable experience for himself. Another example is the Chinese girl who plays the violin. When she is playing it is very hard, but she becomes so involved in it that she flows through it and is happy. The Indian boy finds his own flow state when he is singing with his friends; he creates an enjoyable experience for himself. He also finds flow while playing soccer, but his happiness is twarted by his culture, which does not allow him to play and immerse himself in something he enjoys.
The American students also do very well in school, but they find their flow elsewhere. While your documentary portrays their lack of pure enjoyment in school as a negative thing, they are equally (if not more) happy than the students in China and India. For example, the American girl finds her flow when she is watching Gray’s Anatomy with her friends. In that setting, she is totally immersed in the show and that causes her to be happy. She creates her own enjoyable experience which helps complete her life.
All of the students create their own flow, and therefore have their own ideas of success. Their different flow states are also due to the disparity between their cultures. The Chinese and Indian cultures view success as more of an academic thing, and therefore those students have more academic flow states. On the other hand American culture has a more social idea of success, and therefore those students have more social flow states. I hope that my thoughts will help to give you new eyes when looking at the topics that you have studied.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Compton,
I have recently viewed your newest production. Although I must admit, it is wonderfully put together, but will all reverence, the content seems a bit alarming to me. The differences between American, Chinese and Indian High Schools are exploited. As depicted in the movie, the rigor of Chinese and Indian High schools is much harder than that of American schools. The answer to if this question is true is irrelevant concerning this letter. What I am most concerned with is the student’s mental wellness and state of being as portrayed in your film. It seems to me that the students of foreign nations are more studious and disciplined, striving for unachievable goals. This intangible success seems real in the eyes of the foreign students as they works for countless hours striving to do what they believe are right.
I feel as if ultimate success is happiness; thus foreign students fail to achieve this success they work for strenuously. Success is not a full bank account; it is being content with poverty. Your movie shows that education is the key to success, but success is a vague word. The incredible amount of pressure these foreign students are put under depresses and brain washes these young adults. They learn that academic accomplishment is the only goal worth persuing, and that fail to tackle this goal results in ultimate decline. I believe that realistic goals are a much better technique compared to the far-fetched goals presented in 2 Million Minutes. Quite frankly, you make the situation seem like a catastrophic failure when the Indian student is not admitted to Princeton University.
Also, the “free time” used by American students is seen as wasted time when viewing this film. Only extremely important still mastered by American students are people skills. Free time allows students to ease their minds from their studies and learn how to make connections with their peers. This will come in extremely useful when the need to work in a group in the work place is brought upon them. The ultimate happiness is much greater in American students compared to foreign students, making them more apt to achieving later in life.
Chris Bukowski
Class G
Dear Robert A. Compton,
I have become under the impression, from your film 2 Million Minutes, that a plethora of children in America are lacking the knowledge, motivation, and dedication to excel in the academic world. The fact of the matter is; children are pleased with their lives. Although this is not necessarily a bad thing, it prevents them from having an interest in their schooling. (Introductory-Clause) There is no reason, if children are happy, to strive for an even happier life. If no work is required to be happy, why work at all?
Children of other countries are generally poor. Their living conditions are about as America’s debt, which is in the trillions I’ll have you know. These children strive for greatness, to have better lives for themselves and their future children. They praise education as if it were a religion, and since the current market is calling for engineers; that’s where they focus their worship. Mathematics and science is what the majority of foreign students major in. Student’s unhappiness gives them the motivation to do well, the determination to learn, and the will to succeed.
The children of America are happy. Their living conditions are an antithesis compared to countries like India and China. These children have no need to work hard because they already have everything they need. They pay more attention to part-time jobs and acquiring meaningless material items. The children focus on getting jobs as soon as possible, and as quick as possible. They have no desire to get a master’s degree let alone a doctrine. Considering American families generally have: food, shelter, clothing, the only reason for work is for materialistic items.
Children all over the world, I’m sure you know, have living conditions of extreme disparity when compared. Some countries have shelters, and some have no food. The worse the living conditions are, the greater motivation the students have to learn. In all due respect, Mr. Compton, your documentary was amazing, but it will not change a thing.
Yours Truly,
Mr. Csikszentmihalyi
Mike Gillis
Honors English G
Flow RAFT
Dear Mr. Compton,
In regards to your documentary 2 Million Minutes, the experiences of the counties’ students that you had represented in the movie have certain ways of living their lives, and are powered by their interpretations of the term, “Flow.” For the students, achieving flow is how they want to live their lives, and their best ways of achieving happiness, whatever way they see fit. While these students, represented from the countries consisting of: China, India, and the United States, are different, each of them enjoy living their lives in their own ways, regardless of their diversities.
The countries of China, India, and the United States have a very diverse population from one another, and are clearly represented within the combination of the demographics of their school systems, and the lives that these students wish to pursue. In the Americas, students may achieve flow by becoming involved in sports teams, clubs, and various other activities, while maintaining a reasonably good grade point average. In countries such as China and India, a near antithesis of this is true. Instead of becoming heavily involved in extracurricular activities, students here achieve flow by indulging themselves in academics, namely in the areas of math and science. Many students will spend time on rigorous subjects, such as calculus and physics, and spend the majority of their time understanding their meticulous details. By spending so much of their time on these areas, they may achieve their state of flow by understanding subject matter that will most likely play an important role in their lives(8). To be able to achieve their goals of having a prosperous and meaningful life, they believe that they must spend their time focusing precisely on their area of interest, so they will be able to have an edge over their competition (10).
While these students have different personalities, different skin colors, different plans for their future(24), and various other things, they all share one common goal: they all wish to achieve flow by living the lives they see fit for themselves. For an American student, flow is achieved by engaging in multiple activities and school work. For Indians and the Chinese, these students achieve flow by engaging themselves with a plethora of knowledge in their field of study. In life in general, people of all kinds achieve flow in various ways, and is definitely not limited to students. With flow, anyone who can engage in it can lead a life of prosperity, a sense of well-being, and be able to understand their meaning of life.
Regards,
Mike Gillis
Mike Gillis
Honors English G
Flow RAFT
Dear Mr. Compton,
In regards to your documentary 2 Million Minutes, the experiences of the counties’ students that you had represented in the movie have certain ways of living their lives, and are powered by their interpretations of the term, “Flow.” For the students, achieving flow is how they want to live their lives, and their best ways of achieving happiness, whatever way they see fit. While these students, represented from the countries consisting of: China, India, and the United States, are different, each of them enjoy living their lives in their own ways, regardless of their diversities.
The countries of China, India, and the United States have a very diverse population from one another, and are clearly represented within the combination of the demographics of their school systems, and the lives that these students wish to pursue. In the Americas, students may achieve flow by becoming involved in sports teams, clubs, and various other activities, while maintaining a reasonably good grade point average. In countries such as China and India, a near antithesis of this is true. Instead of becoming heavily involved in extracurricular activities, students here achieve flow by indulging themselves in academics, namely in the areas of math and science. Many students will spend time on rigorous subjects, such as calculus and physics, and spend the majority of their time understanding their meticulous details. By spending so much of their time on these areas, they may achieve their state of flow by understanding subject matter that will most likely play an important role in their lives(8). To be able to achieve their goals of having a prosperous and meaningful life, they believe that they must spend their time focusing precisely on their area of interest, so they will be able to have an edge over their competition (10).
While these students have different personalities, different skin colors, different plans for their future(24), and various other things, they all share one common goal: they all wish to achieve flow by living the lives they see fit for themselves. For an American student, flow is achieved by engaging in multiple activities and school work. For Indians and the Chinese, these students achieve flow by engaging themselves with a plethora of knowledge in their field of study. In life in general, people of all kinds achieve flow in various ways, and is definitely not limited to students. With flow, anyone who can engage in it can lead a life of prosperity, a sense of well-being, and be able to understand their meaning of life.
Regards,
Mike Gillis
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
I found your film to be quite interesting. It takes a pragmatic look at the lives of students in different parts of the world, and compares them in an interesting way. I’m not sure if you are aware, but I have written a book on how humans view and attain happiness and how their happiness is influenced by social, psychological, and generational factors. Throughout your documentary the children in America are the only ones who are capable of attaining true happiness.
The Indian and Chinese children have their whole lives planned out and they cannot think for themselves. If they have set unattainable goals for themselves they will not be happy in their pursuit of their dream. The Americans, who can do whatever they chose to do in life will be able to attain a state of flow and be happy with the work they have. The Indians are not happy with the lives they have and try to strive be more wealthy so much so that their school work dominates their lives.
Love,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mike Gillis
Honors English G
Flow RAFT
Dear Mr. Compton,
In regards to your documentary 2 Million Minutes, the experiences of the counties’ students that you had represented in the movie have certain ways of living their lives, and are powered by their interpretations of the term, “Flow.” For the students, achieving flow is how they want to live their lives, and their best ways of achieving happiness, whatever way they see fit. While these students, represented from the countries consisting of: China, India, and the United States, are different, each of them enjoy living their lives in their own ways, regardless of their diversities.
The countries of China, India, and the United States have a very diverse population from one another, and are clearly represented within the combination of the demographics of their school systems, and the lives that these students wish to pursue. In the Americas, students may achieve flow by becoming involved in sports teams, clubs, and various other activities, while maintaining a reasonably good grade point average. In countries such as China and India, a near antithesis of this is true. Instead of becoming heavily involved in extracurricular activities, students here achieve flow by indulging themselves in academics, namely in the areas of math and science. Many students will spend time on rigorous subjects, such as calculus and physics, and spend the majority of their time understanding their meticulous details. By spending so much of their time on these areas, they may achieve their state of flow by understanding subject matter that will most likely play an important role in their lives(8). To be able to achieve their goals of having a prosperous and meaningful life, they believe that they must spend their time focusing precisely on their area of interest, so they will be able to have an edge over their competition (10).
While these students have different personalities, different skin colors, different plans for their future(24), and various other things, they all share one common goal: they all wish to achieve flow by living the lives they see fit for themselves. For an American student, flow is achieved by engaging in multiple activities and school work. For Indians and the Chinese, these students achieve flow by engaging themselves with a plethora of knowledge in their field of study. In life in general, people of all kinds achieve flow in various ways, and is definitely not limited to students. With flow, anyone who can engage in it can lead a life of prosperity, a sense of well-being, and be able to understand their meaning of life.
Regards,
Mike Gillis
Dear Mr. Compton,
As you have read in my book “Flow” happiness is not something that just happens, but is a condition that must be prepared for. The number one reason why some of the kids in your documentary “2 Million Minutes” are not happy is because happiness is so hard to achieve is that the universe was not designed with the comfort of humans in mind. This is present in the foreign nations because the students do not gradually become free of societal rewards.
It is tough for the students to find happiness because our fate is primarily ordained by outside agencies and rarely, we do feel in control of our actions. The girl and boy in American generally seemed happy most of the time compared to the students in India and China. The girl was happier due to her achieving optimal experience because she had control over her inner life. Also, she was not influenced by her society and therefore was able to do what she wanted, socializing with others, which made her life fulfilled with happiness. There was a sweeping disparity between the life of the Indian boy and the American girl. The Asian girl had a plethora of knowledge that was put on by her society, but did not lead to happiness.
My book “Flow” tries to explain what makes people happy through the tools of psychology. It is certain to say that happiness is only attain through becoming free from societies rules and controlling one’s inner thoughts. People also find happiness through different lifestyles and activities. Even though the Indian boy and Asian girl did not fulfill their entire life with happiness, they still found a level through school work even though their surroundings disabled them from doing so.
-Ben Avril
Dear Mr. Compton,
As you have read in my book “Flow” happiness is not something that just happens, but is a condition that must be prepared for. The number one reason why some of the kids in your documentary “2 Million Minutes” are not happy is because happiness is so hard to achieve is that the universe was not designed with the comfort of humans in mind. This is present in the foreign nations because the students do not gradually become free of societal rewards.
It is tough for the students to find happiness because our fate is primarily ordained by outside agencies and rarely, we do feel in control of our actions. The girl and boy in American generally seemed happy most of the time compared to the students in India and China. The girl was happier due to her achieving optimal experience because she had control over her inner life. Also, she was not influenced by her society and therefore was able to do what she wanted, socializing with others, which made her life fulfilled with happiness. There was a sweeping disparity between the life of the Indian boy and the American girl. The Asian girl had a plethora of knowledge that was put on by her society, but did not lead to happiness.
My book “Flow” tries to explain what makes people happy through the tools of psychology. It is certain to say that happiness is only attain through becoming free from societies rules and controlling one’s inner thoughts. People also find happiness through different lifestyles and activities. Even though the Indian boy and Asian girl did not fulfill their entire life with happiness, they still found a level through school work even though their surroundings disabled them from doing so.
-Ben Avril
Mike Gillis
Honors English G
Flow RAFT
Dear Mr. Compton,
In regards to your documentary 2 Million Minutes, the experiences of the counties’ students that you had represented in the movie have certain ways of living their lives, and are powered by their interpretations of the term, “Flow.” For the students, achieving flow is how they want to live their lives, and their best ways of achieving happiness, whatever way they see fit. While these students, represented from the countries consisting of: China, India, and the United States, are different, each of them enjoy living their lives in their own ways, regardless of their diversities.
The countries of China, India, and the United States have a very diverse population from one another, and are clearly represented within the combination of the demographics of their school systems, and the lives that these students wish to pursue. In the Americas, students may achieve flow by becoming involved in sports teams, clubs, and various other activities, while maintaining a reasonably good grade point average. In countries such as China and India, a near antithesis of this is true. Instead of becoming heavily involved in extracurricular activities, students here achieve flow by indulging themselves in academics, namely in the areas of math and science. Many students will spend time on rigorous subjects, such as calculus and physics, and spend the majority of their time understanding their meticulous details. By spending so much of their time on these areas, they may achieve their state of flow by understanding subject matter that will most likely play an important role in their lives(8). To be able to achieve their goals of having a prosperous and meaningful life, they believe that they must spend their time focusing precisely on their area of interest, so they will be able to have an edge over their competition (10).
While these students have different personalities, different skin colors, different plans for their future(24), and various other things, they all share one common goal: they all wish to achieve flow by living the lives they see fit for themselves. For an American student, flow is achieved by engaging in multiple activities and school work. For Indians and the Chinese, these students achieve flow by engaging themselves with a plethora of knowledge in their field of study. In life in general, people of all kinds achieve flow in various ways, and is definitely not limited to students. With flow, anyone who can engage in it can lead a life of prosperity, a sense of well-being, and be able to understand their meaning of life.
Regards,
Mike Gillis
I've never seen or heard of 2 million minutes however I will give a similar example that I did at my school. Our history class had to write a letter to our families about how and what things were like during the time of world war 1 based upon the movie called "All Quiet On the Western Front".
Dear mom and dad,
If you are reading this then things have taken a turn for the worse. I was forced to move to Germany to help out the allied powers and change my name. The allied powers consisted of France, Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. There's barbed wire everywhere. And huge trenches where people stayed that were injured and taking cover. We have tanks and mustard bombs (gernades filled with poisonous gas). Germany was blamed for property damage even though the Russians kept fighting after most of us had retreated. We were allowed to return home to where we were staying. Most of the trainning we had received at camp was useless. I hear all the troops on both sides might retreat and sign a new treaty soon. This might be the last time I get to write again. So I want you guys to know I love you all very much. By the way I changed my name to Smith Jennings.
sincerly,
smith jennings
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
Recently it has been called to my attention that the statistics identified in your documentary ‘2 Million Minutes’ are outstandingly true and yet nearly unbelievable. Highlighted in your film is the strikingly drastic difference of time spent studying by American students compared to the time students from other countries spend on their school work. My novel, ‘Flow’, recognizes the importance of nonchalantly achieving wholesome happiness and serenity in one’s life. Regarding your film and my novel, I have discovered in many cases that there were numerous similarities and disparities between the two.
It is brought to the attention of most unknowing Americans how little time we spend on school work compared to other countries. Yet, because of the lesser amount of time spent indoors studying, we seem to have more time to attribute toward leisure activities which are enjoyed more, if not preferred over, school work. (Dependent Clause) Throughout the film, the Indian and Asian students are not unhappy with the amount of time devoted to their studies, which advocates the central proposal of Flow. Foreign students take pleasure in advancing in their classes; American students, in mostly social aspects. (Compound Sentence with Elliptical Construction) Whereas it is beneficial for their future for the Indian and Asian students to be so concerned about their academics, it should not be forgotten that life is about making oneself genuinely happy.
While it may seem that the most prestigious ways of life are achieved by attending the most esteemed colleges, working in a technologically advanced bureau, and living in a lavishly decorated home, these trifling aspects of life are only aberrations from its true meaning. Although these foreign students may spend a profusion of time and effort meticulously working on their school assignments, it is inadequately spent time if it is not what they truly desire. Despite the fact that the Indian and Asian students identified in your film may be academically more prominent, the American students are more easily satisfied with doing what they enjoy, although it may not necessarily be the most high up achievements.
Sincerely, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Andrea Giglio
Emily Hastings
English E
Dear Robert C. Compton,
Mr. Compton, I enjoyed your film, 2 Million Minutes, thoroughly. Although your film depicted the students in America to be lazy and useless, the fact that we value other things in life explains what kind of people we are. More than anything, women and men in our country today want to seek out happiness in their lives. If this happiness comes from other things other than school and their education, then so be it. Our happiness may come in the forms of things such as family, friends, or hobbies. Our happiness may also come in ingratiating ourselves with good relationships with others. Although children in foreign countries spend ample time studying for their classes, kids in America learn to build character on experience. Children in foreign countries may have the attitude to become reticent because of the lack of social skills they have developed. However, children in America learn that optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. Although you may believe that Americans do not spend enough time focusing on what they need to do in life, I disagree with this. If a person spent most of their life not enjoying themselves, I guarantee you that they would feel that their life had been wasted. Instead of focusing all of their time on one specific thing, Americans have the ability to pour themselves into different aspects of life, molding them into a well-rounded individual. So, Mr. Compton, before you draw conclusions about what type of people Americans are, remember one thing: Happiness conquers all.
Sincerely, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Robert,
I watched your new documentary “2 Million Minutes” and was quite impressed with your ability to show the lives and values of different students in a few separate countries. Your work, while complete in it’s own sense, lacks a major point. Are the long hours Asian kids put into school really making them happier or more fulfilled than their American counterparts? Is happiness an achievable monetary status, getting into a first choice school at the expense of being a kid, soaking up all your free time with hard work; or the antithesis? I would have to suggest that happiness, while possible of obtaining in these situations, does not stem from a certain intelligence level or financial stability. Happiness is the ability to survive stress and prosper despite it, not a status we can reach. There is disparity in between success and happiness.
Happiness can be attained at any point in our life, no matter how elusive it may seem. When the storms of life pick up we can be happy by not letting stress consume us. No amount of success in school, monetary security or honor brought to your household can make you happy. If instead you have all those things and stress has no bearing on your life, you can be happy. (Object Complement out of Order) (Gerund Phrase) Say instead you do have those things and stress, you will not be happy. My friend, I throw it back at you does rigorous education make you happy?
- Christopher “Mihaly” Schatvet
Dear Mr. Compton,
I’m writing to you in regards to your film “2 Million Minutes” and would like to congratulate you on the success and honor that it received. To be a successful producer of an effective movie, one must capture the reader’s attention and relate it to life in general. (Adverbial Infinitive Phrase) You, Mr. Compton, have definitely captured the essence of this idea. As a writer, I myself try to incorporate morals and theories into my work, making it didactic for the readers.
You’ve made it evident that different cultures and countries have a different view on education and success, while in my works I have shown that happiness, as well, varies within those same countries. Though I feel that you’re ideas about success are relevant to the world today, I also feel that you are lacking details in the area of whether the students are truly content with their lives or not. For example, the student in India who felt that his future was determined by his father’s ideas and family’s culture wanted to pursue music because it made him happy, but his family didn’t approve of the idea, so he studied endless hours and focused mainly on schoolwork. Not only did it make him happy but he felt that he would be successful in the career if he was able to study it and master the areas that he was strongest in. (Paired Construction) In contrast, the American girl felt that studying and focusing too much on school was second priority to happiness and being content with life. As I have written in my book, I believe that the way people perceive stress determines whether they will be miserable or content with themselves.
Overall, it is made evident that the happiness and contentment of students in different cultures varies, but its presence in their lives is immutable. The students that were pushed to their limit and studies for hours at a time ended up disappointed when they didn’t get accepted into the college of their choice. The American students, on the other hand, spent less time on their school work and more time on finding enjoyment and happiness, and thus were accepted into their first choice schools that they had applied to. In conclusion, although I am not dishonoring your work, I believe that ideas about contentment would have been en amazing addition to your film.
Sincerely,
Milhaly Csikszentmihalyi
JH
Dear Mr. Compton,
I would like to say hello and congrats on your film “2 Million Minutes”. I am writing you this letter not to embroil or cause confrontation but to give you my opinion on your research. I feel that people acquire happiness through goals and such. Happiness is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. “Flow”, the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered and they won’t to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake, helps to coalesce happiness and the optimal experience.
The didactic for being genuinely happy is by using are optimal experiences to make things happen. “The universe was not created to answer our needs” (7) so we must make our own happiness. I feel as if the people who do not seek happiness are the happiest. They are not searching for something and just concentrating off life as it goes by, and as for the people who search for happiness they are unable to find it because they focus their whole life on searching for it. “Genuinely happy individuals are few and far between” (11) ,and some people even subject to ontological anxiety or existential dread. This is the fear of being, a feeling that there us no meaning to life and that existence is not worth going on with. These people are the ones who are unable to seek happiness and sometimes debate with suicide.
In conclusion, people that seek happiness will never find it and the people who go on with life and enjoy it are the genuinely happy people. Some people’s lives are insipid and bland and for that they are unable to experience the full meaning of life and achieve/acquire happiness.
Sincerely,
Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi
Ariel M
Dear Mr. Compton,
I just finished watching the movie in which you were an executive producer, 2 Million Minutes. It was a great documentary that made me realize the profusion of time that many Americans do not spend on studying, unlike other countries like China and India. In a way, the documentary relates to my recent book Flow which talks about the trying to find fulfillment if it is achievable or if it is like an insuperable accomplishment in today’s society.
As I mentioned earlier, your documentary talked about how Americans do not care as much for education. It is if they care more about sports and in some cases, they have resorted to violence which does not help further one’s attempt to achieve happiness. As declared in my book, the crime rate has dramatically increased and it just keeps on increasing. Even though one may not know it, everyone is trying to complete the theory of happiness. Now a days, younger people especially, want more and expect more than what they already have. As I said in Flow, “Why is it that, despite having achieved previously undreamed-of miracles of progress, we seem more helpless in facing life than our less privileged ancestors were?”(pg 16). One may not think of this as trepidation, however, if today’s patterns continue, the fear for a downfall of generations to come in America may come.
In order to try to fulfill happiness, there are a few steps that may help. Religion used to seem like an answer to everything and everyone relied on it to fix their problems. Something that religion really helped with would be finding an answer to meaning of life, which there is no answer to. However, religion is not a long term answer. It is only temporary. Everyone looks for a way to improve their future and make life worthwhile. Everyone thinks that while getting older, life will get easier; however, when one reaches adulthood, they realize that it does not get easier. A reason for this is that one is not able to control their instincts and it can also be hard for them to control social situations in which they are involved in. If one is able to control their instincts, then it may be easier to find happiness. In conclusion, since we share similar views about out changed nation, my advice to you and for you to share with others is to find happiness in life by controlling your instincts.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi
--Vanessa Ferreira
Dear Robert A. Compton,
Recently, I have viewed your program for the very first time. After seeing the film, I came to the conclusion that there are some disparities in the essential dogma of your work and my own. For instance, you imply that American students are falling behind in the race for the lead in education and industry. However, you blame this on the inception of the issue on the fundamentals of the system itself. As stated in my work, Flow, “We cannot decide-at least so far- how tall we will grow, how smart we will get. We can choose neither parents nor time of birth.” (Csikszentmihalyi 3); therefore, it is not the fault of the educational system, but rather a random set of circumstances that lead to our background. You believe that people must strive for excellence in order to be successful in life. It is my belief that success in life is achieved by entering a state of happiness, rather than striving for excellence. Many people attempt to conduct their lives via prudent decisions that are supposed to go accordingly to a plan. Although, the happiest person is not generally in a specific class, but rather the one who, “feels in control of life and feels that it makes sense, there is nothing left to desire” (7) when life finds meaning.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
-Justin Glass
Dear: Robert
After my viewing of your film, 2 Million Minutes, I must show my general displeasure towards the views expressed in the film. It seems as though the differences between the cultures in terms of success and hard work is over expressed when compared to how contented the people doing the hard work actually are. It seems as though general happiness is completely ignored in your film. Notice that, when comparing the success of the different students from the different countries, the students who crammed every single day to get the best possible grades were less successful in comparison to the ones who worked hard as well as doing many extracurricular activities due to the lower general expectations of the American students. The Indian and Chinese students were all trying desperately to gain entry into the most elite colleges in China and India’s metropolitan areas. The American students, on the other hand, worked at finding their inner self by working at many extracurricular team building activities offered by both their school and their community. As a result of this, the American students found personal happiness by finding themselves and building on their strengths and weaknesses which results in a moderate amount of success; success which is clearly a sufficient amount for them. The Indian and Chinese students, however, are immersed in a hectic life of educational superiority which pits them up against hundreds of thousands of other nearly robotic students in determining successful entry into elite Universities determined only by a simple test score.
What we see here is no plain element of internal happiness and reason for striving for success. The Indian and Chinese students are like three million other students in the area, all with nearly identical scholastic understanding and a relatively clean slate otherwise. The American students, however, seem to have a very diverse and specific sense of self, they are very unique with leadership skills and a colorful palette of skills and perspective. In conclusion, I must wholly disagree with the ideals presented in your film 2 Million Minutes.
Sincerely:
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Jon BIsanti
Kristin Murray
Dear Mr. Compton,
The psychology behind happiness cannot be determined by medical doctors or scientists; civilization is built on the repression of individual desires that deters from the achievement of overall beatitude. We do not understand what happiness is better than Aristotle once did. It is impossible to learn more about this subject matter on a wide scale range because it is based purely on self-exploration and understanding of one’s self. You connived to take over my national bestselling novel, Flow, and you did an excellent job. Our interpretations of Flow coalesced into one in 2 Million Minutes; we both had the same vision for the movie. (Without our elusive understanding of one another’s views, Flow would not have been able to improve the quality of life and generate ideas.)
As you know, Flow examines the control over one’s inner life. For the first time I have taken the liberty to present research on optimal experience and present it to the general reader. Flow is not a “how-to” novel, but an interesting interpretation of how to successfully achieve happiness without backtracking to square one in one’s quest.
Let me present you with an age old question: When do people feel most happy? I believe in order to find an answer to it, we must gain enough control to be able to order life so that happiness will play a larger part in it. How do you feel on this subject, Robert?
Poverty and violence have escalated over time, but education has taken precedence over these global issues. Order in consciousness is known to be when attention is paid to realistic goals; education should be at the top of this list. Join me in my effort to increase happiness and reduce violent acts around the world.
(Your understanding of my vision for the movie I could not do without.) You have been a pleasure to work with and I look forward to the development of our professional relationship.
Your Friend,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Robert Compton,
I want to start off by saying that your film was excellent. The book that I have written, Flow, explains the way that people make or find their own happiness. Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. Happiness and or success can be found in multiple ways for different people, for instance in your film, through academics.
By succeeding in academics, happiness is found for children all over the world (gerund-object prep).
-I hate my life.........
Dear Robert A. Compton,
Recently, I have watched your film, “2 Million Minutes”. In my opinion, your film is very successful at proving your heedful message that American students do not dedicate as much time as they should to their studies. However, your film does not show the disparity between the countries overall happiness. The students in China and India may have dedicated their lives to their studies, but they do not feel the optimal experience and happiness that the students in America have.
The scholars in the other countries did find optimal experience in their hard work and stretching their minds to the limit. However, by following in the footsteps of their culture and not being independent of the social environment, they are the antithesis of happy. The students have no choice in India of what they want to do. Their culture puts a heavy emphasis on engineering studies and so they are certainly not in control of their life.
Students in America may not be as emphatic about their studies, but they are certainly involved in many other activities that they have voluntarily chosen. By finding their own niches, and making their own lifestyle, they can have a better control on consciousness and inevitably will be happier. While they may not be as scholarly inclined, American students are just as hard-working and more likely to be happier because they are doing the things they want to do in life. And in the end, who is more likely to feel that their life was wasted away? In the end, what is more important than happiness?
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
-cassie iagatta
Dear Mr. Crompton,
Your educational views are highly unorthodox. You can't compare the U.S. to China or India because they live on a double bi-standard. Which is to say: work to live and live to work. And to say that the U.S. should be like another country is like asking a dog to stop barking and talk in English so we can all know what they want. China is jank (insane/crazy) because they cheat their way through production to make fast money. If they did it right to begin with they would have more money than wasteing it trying to ship it back. And India makes children get married at the age of 10 and their college degrees for bachelor scale is 2 years and associates is 1. Our college system has bachelors being 4 years and associates 2. China's is bachelor's being 8 1/2 months and associates 4 1/4.
Being ignorant is to be misunderstood. Just because we don't talk, walk, or in the slightest way have a utopian society it works for us and I'm pretty sure it might or might not work for them. You also have to take an initial count all the different religions and their customs/traditions. Some religions don't allow their children or other participants partake in a full education and they rely on their tedious environment. So I think that your judging people as being the same when we are not. However we are all treated equal but do not necessarily have to be the same.They're many jobs out there today requiring a lot of education when it should be about skill not necessarily education. Experience is more valuable than education in my opinion.
sincerly,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Emma Jackson
Dear Mr. Compton,
Your film, 2 Million Minutes, has brought upon multiple controversial issues. I don’t want to take away any of your thunder from the success of your film but I feel as though the students you chose from China and India were the antithesis of the students from America. I realize that by doing this, you get your point across a lot better, but I think the disparity between the two was too drastic. I feel as though the students you chose from the other countries were a few of the most intelligent people in each of their schools, it isn’t the norm for students in high school to study for their academics as much as those kids did. This film makes kids from America look as though they aren’t as smart as teenagers from other countries, which isn’t entirely true. There are students from all over the world that are highly intelligent as well as many that aren’t so bright. I don’t think China and India are in anyway smarter than the teenagers here, I just believe that Americans has found a better way to balance their lifestyle than India and China has. Just because America has found a way to balance out their life, doesn’t mean they won’t be as successful or as happy as teenagers in other countries who choose not to have a social life. It’s also ironic that the Indian and Chinese students who study so diligently each day, did not make it into their first choice schools but the American students didn’t have a problem doing so. It just seems as though these kids who are striving so much for success are only setting their selves up for failure in the end. Each individual has their own sense of what makes them happy and content with themselves. Maybe these students from India and China are just fine with doing school work 8O% of their day, and that’s just fine. And maybe Americans enjoy balancing out school work and their social life. Who is to say one way is wrong and the other is right? Although the Chinese and Indian students are thought to be heedful, I still feel as though Americans are more well rounded. They’ve already had more experiences than the Chinese and Indian students have. Americans have an idea of how the real world really is, while the teenagers from the other countries have not yet been exposed to this. The insipid lives of the Chinese and Indian teenagers just don’t seem as fun to me as the life that Americans lead. I do respect your point of view, I just don’t think its fully right to act like Americans aren’t as smart as the teenagers from other countries.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
p.s. mr kefor you forgot to add "you're welcome" at the end of this assignment...
Jess Herrera.
Dear Mr. Compton, the film that you created, (2 million minutes), is a great way to show people that education should be increased or bettered in specific environments. I think the issue at hand is very big and should not be narrowed down into specific subjects. However, I do feel your points were very good and I respect them greatly. I also feel that the way you portrayed students and their schools were somewhat inaccurate. One of the American schools they showed was a high class high school and didn’t portray an average American high school. Foreign people who see this film will think that American school is a lot better than it actually is. I also think that we need to focus on school in general rather than the subjects in specific (Rearranging of adj) . Students need to be more involved in social life and flowing within their school. The film also showed very smart students who have an easy time because they find school easy. It would have been better if they showed someone such as a handicapped student who had a harder time flowing in school and its social aspects. In your movie, 2 million minutes, education was shown as a central aspect of school, while it should have been a topic shared with social aspects. (Rearranging of adj.)
I think you were very elusive by including smart students who didn’t make colleges. This shows that we do need change, and I agree. However, the type of student you showed would usually be successful with what they had achieved. You showed them as almost failing and not reaching their goals despite doing extraordinary work. I did however like that you showed the resilience of the students after their dreams had been crushed. I feel that being resilient is key and can lead to future success. The ephemeral success of students straight out of high school shows that we need to focus on academics I do agree. However, I think that the flow of life is important and should be key in high school. If kids learn that high school can be fun and enjoyable and also learn, success will come.
Connor O'Sullivan C period
( Just got it too you because I just saw on the sylabus, wasnt here friday.)
Dear Mr. Crompton,
Since the dawn of time, man has found it very difficult to comprehend basic understandings of outside work, socializing, and school work. Being half European it was very difficult to keep up with the regular American school systems. Although I was born here in Ameica.
When you speak a specific language at home with your family and then going to school to speak an entirely different one is really stressful. I stuggled through my English classes because I tutored people in Spainish after school and also because of my in depth knowledge of Germanic improv. Even though I had good grades in English class, the hardest part was looking at a page filled with English written content and seeing some of the text pop into my head with Germanic meanings. And because my History teacher, Mr. Fernandes spoke some German and mostly sang and understood bits and pieces I sailed through his class with a lot more ease than my English teacher who had no knowledge of German at all.
Another good example was working in my vocational program, there was always constant chit chat about religions and world affairs. And seeing that I am atheist I felt alone and somewhat neglected from my friends. My vocational program was special and unlike any other vocational program because everyone there had a different heiritage and culture.
Another problem that vocational schools have is incorporting every vocation into academics. And teachers all across the world have been arguing for years about this subject.
sincerly,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
First, I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your film. I found it to be very interesting. The students from America, India, and China were intriguing to watch and provided a variety of viewpoints to the education systems around the world. However, as much as I enjoyed your documentary, I do not necessarily agree with some of your thoughts you were trying to convey.
It is apparent that you feel that the educational systems in America are far behind those in India and China. It seems that another point you were trying to convey was in order to be successful and “happy”, a high school student much spend the majority, if not all, of their time studying. This idea, to me, seems unrealistic and unnecessary. If a high school student wastes their time in their room studying for school, they miss out on socializing with their friends and building relationships. Skills these students will need in the working field, they will not be able to develop by spending the majority of their time studying.
High school should not necessarily be about receiving the top grade; there has to be some element of fun involved in their experience that encourages and brings happiness. Encouraging high school students to study more, takes away from their time of happiness. I believe that happiness cannot be achieved through materialistic items, which your film seemed to be promoting. Some may be able to find happiness in achievements and doing well on an exam, but in the end, their happiness will not last. I believe that education is extremely important to both the student and, in turn, society. But, I do not think that students need to be pressured into performing perfectly every time throughout their high school experience.
I, again, thoroughly enjoyed watching your documentary and I hope that it encourages education to all of the world, but hopefully in a way that is not too demanding or overwhelming for today’s students.
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
I added the different sentence forms and the vocab words because I forgot to bring home my binder to do this last week.
Dear Mr. Robert A. Compton,
First, I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your film. I found it to be very interesting. The students from America, India, and China were intriguing to watch and provided a variety of viewpoints to the education systems around the world. However, as much as I enjoyed your documentary, I do not necessarily agree with some of your thoughts you were trying to convey.
It is apparent that you feel that the educational systems in America are far behind those in India and China. The disparity in the general study habits between the students in America and the students in China and India was significant. China and India’s study habits were the very antithesis of those of American students; they spent most of their week studying for school, while American students spent more of their time in extra curricular activities. It seems that a point you were trying to convey was in order to be successful and “happy”, a high school student much spend the majority, if not all, of their time studying. This idea, to me, seems unrealistic and unnecessary. Had the students in China and India spent more time having fun, they may not have felt the pressure to perform at the level they did. (Verb Subject Claude) If a high school student wastes their time in their room studying for school, they miss out on socializing with their friends and building relationships. Skills these students will need in the working field, they will not be able to develop by spending the majority of their time studying.
High school should not necessarily be about receiving the top grade; there has to be some element of fun involved in their experience that encourages and brings happiness. Encouraging high school students to study more, takes away from their time of happiness. I believe that happiness cannot be achieved through materialistic items, which your film seemed to be promoting. Some may be able to find happiness in achievements and doing well on an exam, but in the end, their happiness will be ephemeral. I believe that education is extremely important to both the student and, in turn, society. But, I do not think that students need to be pressured into performing perfectly every time throughout their high school experience.
I, again, thoroughly enjoyed watching your documentary and I hope that it encourages education to all of the world, but hopefully in a way that is not too demanding or overwhelming for today’s students. To encourage today's high school students to spend time enjoying themselves may be the answer to success. (Infinitive Phrase)
Sincerely,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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