“The War on Kids” is a 2009 documentary directed by Cevin Soling that critiques the American public school system, arguing that it suppresses students’ individuality and creativity while enforcing rigid rules and harsh disciplinary measures. The documentary compares schools to prisons, emphasizing how surveillance, control, and punishment are used to manage students rather than educating or nurturing them.

The film focuses on several key issues:

1. Zero-tolerance policies: These policies are shown to criminalize normal childhood behaviors, leading to expulsions or even arrests for minor infractions. The documentary argues that such policies contribute to a culture of fear and repression within schools.
2. Surveillance: It highlights the use of metal detectors, drug-sniffing dogs, and cameras in schools, likening the environment to that of a high-security prison.
3. Overmedication: The documentary also raises concerns about the increasing number of children being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed psychiatric medications, questioning whether this is a method of control rather than care.
4. Standardized testing: “The War on Kids” critiques the emphasis on standardized testing, arguing that it stifles creativity and independent thought, reducing education to a series of rote memorization tasks aimed at test performance rather than critical thinking.

The film ultimately paints a grim picture of the public education system as an institution that prepares children not for success in the real world but for subservience and control.