I am not on a fight against LeBron!

2 in 1 kid dreams to be LeBron when he grows up! (No, that wasn't a typo - I didn't mean to say 1 in every 2.. the total desire to become James #6 is just much more than sum of its parts!!) .

As parents we need to gently remind them that the minimum number of players in a NBA team is 10, the maximum is 15, there are 12 active players at any time and only 5 in the court playing..Also, there is a great probability that #6 will be retired with Lebron!

I am not on a war against Mr. James. I confess, I was also one of them who shamelessly speculated if he was going to be with the Cavs..Or may be come to Big Apple..Or will he join his friend Wade in Miami Heat? I was holding my breath and gasped when he said 'I am taking my talent to South Beach Miami'.

But, let’s not burden him with any more responsibility of shaping our next generation, and mentoring our children! , he already has a big responsibility of bringing another ring to the Miami Heat franchise.

Our children need be exposed to 'Education and Innovation' as Mr.President said. Exposed to the greatness of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Indra Noyi. Now, what would that take, a Jersey that will say Apple #1 Steve Jobs? If so, let’s manufacture them.


This is the inspirational collage frame we made this afternoon.. Mark Zuckerberg - Founder and CEO of Facebook, Ed Rosenfeld – Chairman and CEO of Steve Madden, Andrew Mason - Founder and CEO of Groupon, Charles Best – Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, Esther Duflo – MIT Economics Professor, Boaz Weinstein – Founder SABA Capital, Kevin Plank – Founder and CEO of Under Armour and few others from Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40.

My son looked at it and asked ‘Where is LeBron? He was #20 in this list!’
Irony!! but I was pleasantly surprised and glad that he had taken time to review the list this year’s class of Movers and Shakers.

This is the next generation; they are extremely smart and full of surprises.

But still, our children have lot more challenges than we did 20 years ago
- College education is no more half way to opportunities, it is a prerequisite
- My friends, even my kid brother learnt French in high school (I wasn't allowed to, my mom made me continue learning Tamil as a true Dravidian) as it was considered to be fashionable.

Now Robert Davis, Chicago Schools Chinese Language Programs says 'Chinese isn't the new French, it is the new English!' and many Americans are learning Mandarin to have that one more edge!

The other day I was watching 'Price of Admission - Americas College Debt Crisis' on CNBC and here is some reality that I choked on
- 67% of American Students will graduate with a debt. The average debt is $25k.
- $880 Billion in Student Debt during 2010, Student loan crisis can be even bigger than Mortgage loan crisis
It is no more class of 2011 or class of 2012..we are moving towards creating a Class of borrowers!!!

But to create a class of borrowers without the necessary skill set to compete against the global competition will be a bigger sin! A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Our choice of education has to become relevant.

There is a sense of "Why do I have to adjust? This will come back. I'll be fine again’. But no, they won't be fine. They need to train - not for today's jobs but for tomorrow’s"
~ Allan Gilmour President, Wayne State University and retired Vice Chairman of Ford Motor Company.

Our children don't have to start attending SAT preparation classes from their freshman year, and take 50 practice exams. But can we create enough exposure and kindle their interests to make the right selections? No...I am not talking about making the right selections in the standardized tests multiple choice.
- Let’s create a passion for education, and learning.
- Give them ample opportunities to make decisions, and assure them it’s ok to make mistakes
- Let them know mild greed is good
- Teach them that it’s not Intellect over Material things, it’s not Mind over Heart. They need to work together.
Many of us including me are actually forced to learn these ourselves with the economic challenges we are facing for the very first time in our life, let’s learn along with our children and lead them on their way to becoming a class act when they leave our nest.

Now, why does the thought make me teary eyed?

[PS: Suddenly I See 'You don't have to be an extreme parent and micro manage the child as if he/she is an empty vessel but instead remember that your child is the explorer and you or his/her guide.' ~ Psychology professor Kathy Hrish-Pasek.]